2ND
SUNDAY OF EASTER – C
John 20:19-31
After
the crucifixion and death of Jesus, His disciples thought that the cause of
their Master was a total failure. They
were in the state of shock and fear; they never understood yet the meaning of
the events. Like a team that experienced
the loss of their greatest game, they felt so disgraced and defeated so they
hid themselves behind locked doors. It
was in this most depressing situation that the Risen Christ appeared. The first thing he said to them was “Peace be with you.” The Lord took away their fears and gave them
peace. He had to show them the signs of
His Passion: His wounded side and hands to ascertain that the Crucified Jesus
was now the Glorified Christ!
The
Risen Christ did not just greet them and give them peace but empowered them as
well with the gift of the Mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending
you.” Suddenly the “losers” were now
transformed into victors. With this empowerment, the apostles received the
power and authority from the Holy Spirit confirming them as the first
ecclesiastical leaders: the first priests and bishops of the Catholic Church.
While
the other apostles were shrouded with fear, Thomas on the other hand was full
of doubt. He refused to believe in the
Risen Christ and he needed some empirical proofs that can be verified by the
external senses: to see is to believe.
When he stretched out his hands to feel the fresh wounds of the side of Christ, he uttered his
irrevocable profession of faith; “My Lord and my God.” Jesus proclaimed “You believe because you see me.
Blessed are those who believe although they have not seen.”
Fear
and doubt! These are the poisons that cripple those who live outside the
resurrection. Just like the apostles
prior to the resurrection, our lives without our experience of the Risen Christ
are surrounded by many forms of fear.
Human as we are, in our weakness we have all the reasons to be afraid of
as we confront the uncertainties of life: poverty, tragedies, sickness,
depression, failures, etc. Like the apostles, we also cringe in the
deepest recesses of our fears. In
moments of doubt we are not certain to believe because of the seemingly absence
of God: when life seems but a series of
suffering and pain; when we have nothing to hold on to; when there is no light
at the end of the tunnel and when there is almost nothing left to hope
for.
The
Church is at her best when she is totally poor, naked and abandoned because
she, as the bride of Christ, best resembles her groom. Like the Church, as disciples of Jesus, we
become closest to God in our absolute nothingness because it is when we best
resemble our Master. In the midst of
this emptiness, Jesus gives us fullness of life. This is what peace is all about: when our
life is in perfect harmony with God, with ourselves, with others and with the
world.
Even today, the resurrection stories
continues. The Risen Christ continues to show Himself to the many doubting
Tomases around us. The Risen Christ reveals Himself to us through a friend, a
neighbor, a stranger. In this way, the
Easter journey continues through us….
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