SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
3 APRIL 2016
We have no
idea why Thomas is not with the rest of the disciples when the risen Lord breaks
through those locked doors on the first day of the week. More than likely, Thomas is wallowing in
grief, wounded by his own deep sense of guilt.
When Jesus had announced that he was going to Bethany to raise Lazarus
from the dead, Thomas bragged that he would go and die with him. Instead dying with him, Thomas ran away in
fear and went into hiding when Jesus was arrested and executed like a common
criminal. Even though the others insist
that Jesus has been raised from the dead in a way that Lazarus had not, Thomas
refuses to believe. Not only does he
demand to experience the risen Lord, but he also wants to touch his
wounds. Once Thomas encounters the risen
Lord, he works through his doubts, accepts the Lord’s gift of peace, and makes
the most profound statement of faith in the Gospel: “My Lord and my God.”
Like those
first disciples, we have gathered during this Octave of Easter to increase our
faith that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. He has been transformed through the power of
the resurrection. He promises that those
who die with him will be transformed with him.
But, despite our Easter joy and his promise, we continue to bear our
share of wounds. We are wounded by the
scourge of terrorism and violence in our world.
Easter has not taken away the divisions and hatreds in our culture, nor
has it erased the tensions and dysfunctional parts of our families. Even though we continue to bask in Easter
joy, we still bear the wounds of habits that we seem unable to change, or
physical or emotional scars that do not heal quickly. We continue to bear the wounds of our own
failures and sins.
Even after
encountering the risen Lord on Easter Sunday, the disciples keep the doors
locked out of fear on the first day of the second week. Through the prompting of the Holy Spirit,
they will slowly gain the courage to leave that room and share the mercy they
have received. The Acts of the Apostles
shows Peter healing the sick through the touch given him by the risen
Lord. In exile on the island of Patmos,
Saint John feels the touch of the risen Christ and has the courage to write his
vision. We also need time to feel the
touch of the risen Lord, especially when he speaks to us here and feeds us with
his Body and Blood.
This Second Sunday of Easter is
called “Low Sunday.” In the ancient
Church, the newly baptized laid aside their white garments and took their
places in the midst of the assembly for the first time. And let’s face it. This Sunday is “low”, because there are not
nearly as many people as there were last Sunday. In recent years, we have called today the
Sunday of Divine Mercy. Those of us who
have returned to Mass today gather as a community to reflect on the Lord’s gift
of peace. In giving peace to those frightened
and isolated disciples, he does not give peace as the world gives. His peace does not automatically remove all
the wounds which inflict us. His mercy
does not say, “What you did to me was ok!”
His mercy acknowledges the damage done, but provides the courage to
change and be transformed by his love. His
mercy graces us with the courage to move beyond the division and pain we have
caused, to look forward to sharing in his transformed risen life. Once in deeper communion with him, we can
more easily extend that mercy to those who have harmed us, bringing a peace
which the world cannot give.
The Lord
extends his mercy to us, not as isolated individuals, but as a community of
believers. We too can work through our
doubts, as Thomas did, because we are not alone. We have each other. We experience each other’s touch, especially
at the sign of peace at Mass. We can
confidently express our faith in the risen Lord, no matter how many wounds we
bear. We can have life in his name,
because he bears those wounds himself.
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