SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
27 APRIL 2025
Saint
John reports that the disciples of Jesus had locked themselves the upper room
on that first day of the week for fear of the Jews. He is not singling out a race of people when
he uses the word “the Jews.”
Unfortunately, too many people over the centuries have read the Gospel
incorrectly and have promoted anti-Semitism.
He refers to the religious leaders at the time of Jesus. The disciples are afraid of that group, because
they had been responsible for executing their master in a most cruel way. They feared that they would be next. But, there is one particular Jew that they
fear: Jesus himself! If the reports from the women are correct,
Jesus has been raised from the dead.
They could be very much afraid of him, because they had let him down so
badly. The one who had called them to be
his disciples and who had loved them so faithfully and fearlessly for three
years has gone through a horrible ordeal.
In his most desperate time of need, they had run away and abandoned
him. Surely, he would express his anger
and disappointment when he would confront them.
The risen
Christ breaks through their locked doors of fear. He shows them the wounds in his hands and
feet to help them identify him. Instead
of berating them for abandoning him in his darkest hour, he wishes them peace. Two times, he says “Peace be with you.” On the following Sunday, he gives the same
gift to Thomas, moving him from doubt to the most profound profession of faith
in the Gospels: “My Lord and my God.”
Christ’s
resurrection is not only powerful for them.
It remains powerful for us, in at least three ways. First, he gives us that same peace. Like those original disciples, we live in a divided
and dangerous world. We too are tempted
to lock ourselves up out of fear and spend all of our energy worrying about
what will happen next. Through the
resurrection of his Son, the Father offers us a peace that the world cannot
give.
Second, the
scars of the Son are very important. In
his resurrected body, he is not recognized by his closest disciples. But in those awful wounds, they see the one
who has loved them so much. He made
himself so vulnerable that he allowed soldiers to pierce his hands and feet
with nails, and to pierce his side with a lance. The disciples now understand that they too
can be vulnerable. Even though they had
abandoned him and failed him in so many ways, the Holy Spirit sends them on
mission, not as perfect ambassadors, but as men and women with weaknesses and
flaws. Today, as we pray for the repose
of the soul of Pope Francis and wait as the cardinals enter into the conclave
to elect his successor, we see the divisions and wounds in our Church. But the Holy Spirit still works in our wounded
Church and our individual wounds.
Finally,
the Holy Spirit gives mercy to us. As
Catholics, we understand this passage as the first indication of the Sacrament
of Reconciliation. Not only does Jesus
Christ give the peace of his Father to his first disciples. Through the Sacrament, he forgives our sins
and reconciles us with the Father when we fail to live our baptismal
promises. We call today “Mercy Sunday,”
not only because the risen Christ gives mercy to each one of us, but also
because we are expected to extend that same mercy to those who have betrayed,
abandoned, and hurt us. He pushes us out
of our locked doors of guilt to bring that mercy to others.
The risen
Christ speaks to us when he says to Thomas and the other disciples: “Blessed
are those who have not seen and have believed.”
We have not seen the transformed body of the risen Christ as they did. But we experience his risen presence when we
hear him speaking to us in the Word. We
encounter him in the breaking of bread and the sharing of the cup. He sends us from this Mass to spread the good
news of the resurrection to a fearful and divided world.
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