No cartoon on Good Friday, as usual for Tomics. Instead we'll have an Easter Sunday cartoon. See you there!
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NOT-SO-JOKE-OGRAPHY:
In Matthew 26, Jesus sits to eat a holiday meal with His closest disciples. As they begin eating, He reveals that one of them will betray Him. They argue, each one insisting they would never do such a thing, but Jesus assures them His betrayal is foretold in Scripture. However, He adds, "But woe to the one through whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." To me, this is the most chilling sentence ever spoken, particularly because it's said by Jesus, Himself. For Him to declare that someone's fate is so bad that NEVER EXISTING would be preferable is straight up horror so vast I struggle to grasp it.
Psalm 41 contains a poem or song by King David about a betrayal he suffered. Jesus reflects on this song while He faces His own betrayal at the hands of His disciple, Judas.
The last few weeks of this Lent have been filled with pretty serious or contemplative cartoons, so here's a little levity to get us over the hump to Easter: Someone referred to my Jesus as a "Soyjak" because I depicted Him smiling with His mouth open, so remember to keep your Jesus's mouth shut at all times, sinners.
JOKE-OGRAPHY:
This cartoon references a lot of verses, so here's an explanation for them all:
Matthew 1:18-24 is about the Annunciation (Gabriel announcing to Mary that she will bear the Son of God). This takes place "when Mary and Joseph were betrothed but before they came together." In this context, the word "betrothed" is being used for the stage of ancient Jewish marriage where the bride and groom had entered into the marriage contract but did not yet live together. So Mary and Joseph are legally a couple, but Joseph doesn't take her into his home until the end of this section after the angel reassures him in a dream. The taking of the bride into the groom's newly built home was the final stage of the marriage.
Matthew 22:1-2 is the beginning of one of Jesus's parables where He likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a king preparing a wedding feast for his son. The Bible is just lousy with wedding imagery when it comes to God's relationship with mankind; or rather, marriage is lousy with imagery pointing to the ultimate destiny of humanity to unite entirely with God in life-giving, self-giving love.
Matthew 26:26-28 is where Jesus lifts the bread and wine at the last supper and declares them His Body and Blood of the covenant. Jesus's cup is the cup that all other cups and covenants reflect all throughout the Bible. THIS is the big one, where God pledges Himself once again to mankind, IN THE FLESH!
John 13:33 and 14:1-3 are where Jesus talks about leaving the disciples for a time, then assures them that He's going to prepare a dwelling for them in His Father's house. He adds that, once He's done, He'll come back for them, to take them to Himself. In light of the other verses compressed into this fun little amateur Bible study, we can see Jesus is once again using very wedding-coded imagery to speak about heaven and the anticipated union with the Divine.
Thanks for reading! As a reward -- and because I can't post something without a joke (per MY covenant with my patron, St. Lawrence) -- here's a classic: "What do you get when you eat all the potatoes?"
In this Bible story (Luke 24), Jesus has risen from the dead and is appearing to various disciples. Two of these disciples (one named Cleopas, and another unnamed) are leaving Jerusalem on the road to a town called Emmaus, still sad about Jesus's death. Suddenly, He appears beside them and asks what they're discussing. They -- being supernaturally unaware that this is, in fact, Jesus -- wonder how this guy could've missed the news of the huge execution in the city, and explain it to Him. Jesus then travels with them for a ways, but they only realize it's Him when He breaks bread over dinner and disappears.
It's worth noting throughout the Gospels that sometimes, when people see the resurrected Jesus, they know Him right away, and other times, they mistake Him for a gardener or a random traveler. Jesus going around pranking folks with His resurrection powers is canon. Make of that what God wills.
In this cartoon, Jesus appears to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and, instead of them being supernaturally unable to recognize Him, He simply puts on a set of goofy glasses. Maybe there's still some supernatural stuff going on, though, because I've depicted Him in His full glory with a halo over His head and a glow around His body, adding to the whimsy of the disciples not recognizing Him right away.
The flow of the cartoon essentially matches the marked verses (Luke 24:13-21). However, when the disciples are surprised by Jesus's apparent lack of knowledge about the recent crucifixion, the woman asks, "Where've you been? Under a rock?" This is an idiom that implies the person would have to have been buried underground in order not to have heard some widespread news. Jesus's reply -- "So what if I was?" -- is based on the fact that He actually WAS buried during the last couple days, laid in a tomb with a large stone over the entrance. So, by technicality, yes, He was under (or buried behind) a rock.
The exact identity of the two disciples in this story is not too important, but it's an interesting place where different interpretations open different dimensions of meaning. In this version, I depicted the two disciples as a married couple who share a resemblance with two other characters in my comics, because where one couple walked with God until their eyes were opened to their sin over shared food (Gen 3:6-7), this couple also walks with God until their eyes are opened to their salvation at the breaking of bread (Luke 24:30-31). This interpretation is borrowed from Dr. Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins (authors of Walking with God: A Journey Through the Bible). Again, it's only an interpretation, so take it or leave it. I thought it was cute.
In this Bible story, Jesus is giving the disciples a sense of assurance before His passion and death. He explains He'll be leaving them soon, but once He's gone, He'll send them a paraclete (or an advocate) to guide them to the truth until He returns. This paraclete is understood to be the Holy Spirit, Who comes to the disciples as tongues of fire after Jesus's ascension to heaven.
Jesus's line in the first panel of this cartoon is a direct quote from John 14:20. The exact wording of the quote sounds a little like a paradox, since He says, "You are in me and I am in you," but Jesus is saying that the disciples will remain in His Body, the Church, and He will remain in the disciples' hearts in spirit.
In this cartoon, Peter's reaction to Jesus's apparent paradox is a full-on mental breakdown as he imagines him being within Jesus while Jesus is within him while he is within Jesus and so on and so on into maddening infinity. This is, mathematically, very funny and simply the cleverest.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This is yet another "Tomics Resurrection," where I take an old cartoon and make it new. The old version is from about 9 years ago -- crazy! -- but while the character designs and colors in the new version have been updated to match my evolved style, the writing and pacing of the comic have remained substantially the same. So you realize that the old is in the same script and the new is in the old and the old is in the new.
In this Bible story, Jesus addresses a parable to "those who were convinced of their own righteousness." In the parable, a pharisee (a respected Jewish teacher) and a tax-collector (someone hated by most common folk) go to the temple to pray. The pharisee proudly declares himself very holy and thanks God for making him so much better than the tax-collector. Meanwhile, the tax-collector beats his chest, praying only for God's mercy. Jesus says the tax-collector goes home justified, but the pharisee does not. "He who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
In this cartoon, a modern man reads this very parable. When the pharisee thanks God for making him better than the sinful tax-collector, the man reading the story smirks at the obvious pride and thanks God for making him better than the prideful pharisee. However, the man catches himself at the end, because by thinking he's better than the pharisee, he's committing the same sin the pharisee committed by thinking he was better than the tax-collector. Touché, once again, Christ!!!
Of course, the story isn't saying to abandon value judgments completely, because in order to do the right thing, we have to discern between different behaviors and actions and determine which are good, bad, better, and worse. The story is warning us against using comparisons as a vehicle for pride rather than actual growth, holiness, and love.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
The astute will surely see that this is a "Tomics Ascension," where I've taken an ancient comic that was already "Resurrected" (redrawn once before) and redrawn it yet again. This cartoon was inspired by my father nearly a decade ago when this reading came up in Mass. He mentioned this was exactly his thought process while reading, and I thought it made the perfect cartoon. I don't think it's ever been the most popular Tomic, but it's a near one and a dear one to me, so I'll continue redoing it every once in a while to keep it spiffy and fresh.
You can see the Original and Resurrected versions in the free post on my Patreon!
Happy (almost) feast of St. Carlo Acutis (October 12), who was just canonized last month!
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JOKE-OGRAPHY:
This cartoon's premise -- saints in heaven interceding at desks in the clouds like it's a wholesome little 9 to 5 job -- is based on the trailer for Tiny Saints' new animated show, which you can help fund now by going to their website right here! You've probably seen their cute little saint keychains and rosaries in gift shops, but this is a whole new way to enjoy your favorite saints. As of today there are about 13 days left to support their campaign, so give what you can!
For those who don't know, St. Carlo Acutis was born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan. Most of his family members were lapsed Catholics, but he showed an interest in the faith and learned about it from his Polish babysitter. He learned, he grew, and he shared his vibrant faith with his loved ones by word and action, inspiring family and friends to convert (or return) to Catholicism. He loved giving to the poor, standing up for the downtrodden, and using his talents to enrich others. Eventually, he fell ill with leukemia and offered his suffering to God before passing away in 2006 at only 15 years old. Despite being a 90's kid, his story is reminiscent of many older saints. He was canonized as an official saint in the Catholic Church in September of 2025 (and I actually got to attend his canonization Mass at the Vatican)! This October 12th marks his first feast day as an official saint, hence (in this cartoon) Mary's greeting in the first panel.
When Carlo was old enough to have a computer, he learned how to code and build websites. He built a website for his local church, then made websites to compile Marian apparitions and Eucharistic miracles to bring people closer the Jesus. As a saint, he's often depicted with a laptop, one of his many methods of evangelization.
As a 90's kid, Carlo played sports and videogames. One of the games he's said to have played is "Halo: Combat Evolved," a game about the space soldier, Master Chief, fighting the evil alien alliance, the Covenant. The Halo franchise became huge between 2001 and (at least) 2010, defining a generation of gamers. Despite it's special place in my heart, today's Halo media struggles to recapture the franchise's glory days, hence (in this cartoon) Mary's harsh appraisal of its modern relevance in the final panel.
Saintly intercessions (or the practice of asking saints to pray with you or on your behalf) goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. The practice is linked to the belief that the saints are still alive in God, and so, just like we ask our friends (who are alive on earth) to pray for us, we ask the saints (who are alive in heaven) to pray for us. Because Carlo was a gamer, in this cartoon, he's fielding a bunch of somewhat petty prayers from people who want him to ask God to help them beat a videogame. When he explains this to Mary, one might assume she'd have no clue what he's talking about, since she lived nearly two millennia before the first videogame was produced. However, as the most popular saint when it comes to intercessions, I'm sure Mary's picked up on some things.
