SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
19 APRIL 2020
Throughout
his public ministry, Jesus consistently told his disciples about his coming
passion, death, and resurrection.
However, they consistently failed to process his words. Perhaps they did not understand. More likely, they could not imagine that a
promised Messiah would be executed like a common criminal. In Saint John’s account of the Last Supper,
Jesus makes one last attempt to prepare them for his passion. He tells them that their hearts need not be
troubled, because they know the way to his Father’s house. Thomas has the courage to speak for all of
them when he raises his hand to say that they do not know the way where he is
going.
They would
soon discover what Jesus has been trying to tell them. They would watch in horror as one of their
own would betray him to the authorities.
Except for the beloved disciple, they would run away in fear as Jesus
endures mock trials at the hands of the religious leaders and the Roman
governor. Their hopes in a triumphant
Messiah would be smashed by his death and burial. Just as they had not understood his words
about suffering and death, neither do they understand his words about being
raised from the dead.
Thomas had
separated himself from the group and is not present when the risen Lord breaks
through the locked doors of the place where they have been hiding. He is not only in the deepest grief. He is also filled with guilt. When Jesus had announced that he was
returning to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas had sworn that he
would go with him and die with him. If
the news were true, then certainly Jesus would be angry at being abandoned in
his darkest hour. Thomas demands proof –
he needs to see the wounds on the Lord’s body.
A week
later, Thomas is with the disciples. In
truth, even they have not fully responded to the mystery of the
resurrection. Even though Jesus had
breathed on them and given them the gift of the Holy Spirit, they remain behind
locked doors. They have not acted on his
commission to proclaim the good news of his merciful love. Breaking through the locked doors, the risen
Lord greets them again with the words of his mercy: “Peace be with you.” Seeing the wounds on the transformed body of
Jesus, Thomas makes the most profound profession of faith in the Gospels,
combining the Greek words Kyrios (Lord) with Theos (God).
The Acts of
the Apostles reveals what happens when they finally leave their locked room and
embrace the commission given to them. Guided
by the Holy Spirit, the earliest Christian community devoted themselves to the
teaching of the Apostles. They lived the
communal life as the Body of Christ.
They celebrated the Lord’s real presence in the breaking of bread, Saint
Luke’s term for the Eucharist. They
continued to pray in their homes. In
reading the Acts of the Apostles, we know that the early Church did not always
live up to these ideals. But they
pursued them vigorously, always striving to be the Body of Christ, even in the
midst of their wounds.
As the Body
of Christ today, we too are called to live those ideals, even if we do not do
it perfectly. We can easily let our hearts be troubled and give in to worry
about the uncertainty of the future.
Even in this time of great loss, God can transform us. We take courage from the teachings of the
Apostles. We share a communal life and
remain mindful of those in need, even in our separation from one another. We are connected at least by technology to
the breaking of bread. We pray in our domestic churches, perhaps like never
before. Thomas came to believe when he
put his fingers into the wounds of Christ.
His fingers point the way to deeper faith for us. Those wounds are permanent in the transformed
body of the risen Christ. They are
powerful reminders that resurrection comes from a sacrificial love that is
eternal. Jesus calls us “blessed,”
because we believe, even though we have not seen as Thomas had seen.
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