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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

BIBLE STUDY #40
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 1, 2011

Gospel John 20:19-31


On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The Gospel of the Lord


Reflection

Imagine what the disciples must been undergoing. Jesus had died and they probably felt like they must have been mistaken to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. I’d bet they felt like their following of Jesus was in vain. And if Jesus was killed, would they be next? They still didn’t understand the resurrection and lack the courage to believe in the risen Jesus.

Jesus appears in the midst of the disciples and says, “Peace be with you”. There is only 10 disciples because Judas hung himself and Thomas is not present. This is the resurrected Jesus with a resurrected body. He is not bound by space and time, and can appear to people through walls and locked doors; but he still has human characteristics: he still has a human body, and he can eat.

This peace that Jesus gives the disciples is the peace promised in several parts of the Old Testament when the days of deliverance arrive; that is when the Messiah arrives. This peace now comes from the risen Jesus who has overcome death and delivered us from the bonds of sin and death.

It is interesting to note that it is only when Jesus showed them his hands and his side with the nail marks did they believe it was Jesus. Did they not recognize him otherwise? Was he changed so much as to be unrecognizable? It seems to me that this is what all disciples of Jesus aspire to: to be totally changed into the image and likeness of God.

Jesus then sends them on a mission, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” They are sent to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus, which still is the mission of the church in general and all of us in particular. It is our job to proclaim the good news that Jesus is risen from the dead.

This sending on a mission should remind us of the end of Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus gives the Apostles a mission right before he ascends into heaven: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.” Continuing the mission of Jesus is to teach, to baptize, and to evangelize.

This sending should also remind us of our own baptism when we were sent on a mission to be priests, prophets, and kings. Priests in the sense of being a people of prayer, prophets in the sense of taking the opportunity to speak about our faith, and kings in the sense that Jesus was a king: he was a servant to all.

In today’s gospel, we are also called to preach God’s forgiveness and to offer that forgiveness to all people. We are to preach that God has paid the penalty for our sins and forgiveness is for the asking.

There is a resurrection story that didn’t make it into the gospels. Mary of Magdala sees the resurrected Jesus and runs to the upper room to share this news with the apostles. She arrives out of breath. Peter is concerned and asks her, “Mary, what’s the matter?” In between gasping for breath, she responds, “I have some good news, and I have some bad news. What do you want first?” Peter responds, “How about the good news?” Mary says, “Jesus is risen! I have seen him! Alleluia!” “Wow,” Peter says, “that’s great news! What could possible be bad after that?” Mary responds, “Well, he wants to talk to you guys about last Friday.”

If this story were true, what would Jesus say to the Apostles? I forgive you. That’s the whole point: through Jesus our sins are forgiven and we can become the saintly and holy people God intends for us. This is news worth spreading.

This is quite a mission we have and one that might seem overwhelming except for the fact that we are bolstered in our mission by the Holy Spirit, without whom we are helpless. Jesus breathes on the apostles and gives them the Holy Spirit. In John’s gospel, there is no Pentecost as there is in the Acts of the Apostles; this act of breathing on them is John’s Pentecost.

This breathing should remind us of Genesis 2:7 where God breathed into the first man to give him life. Just as Adam’s life came from God, now the spiritual life of the apostles comes from Jesus.

When the bishop consecrates the sacred chrism at the Chrism Mass (which can be held on Holy Thursday morning, or at some other time. In the Paterson diocese this mass is held on the Monday evening of Holy Week) he breathes into the chrism, giving the chrism the power of the Holy Spirit. This chrism is used to confer new spiritual life at baptism, confirmation, and holy orders.

Thomas, called Didymus (meaning twin), was not present at this resurrection appearance and doesn’t believe that Jesus is risen. Who can blame him? No one had ever risen from the dead before, so why should he believe it? Resurrection was not part of what the people believed concerning the Messiah (neither was dying on a cross). I think most people wouldn’t believe unless they see for themselves, either.

Why did Thomas believe? Because he had a personal experience of the risen Christ. That’s why it is pointless to argue religion with other people who don’t believe. True faith is more than mass attendance, or knowledge, or professing a creed; we believe because, in some way, we have been touched by Christ and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Thomas’s conversion came because he was able to touch the wounds of Jesus. Many times, our conversion comes because Christ touches and heals our wounds. That’s why seeking forgiveness for our sins is so important: it heals the wounds of sin and division.

In our mission to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus, the first person we need to convert is ourselves. We need that personal experience of the risen Lord in our own lives to change and transform us, to resurrect us from our sins, faults and failings before we can ever share God’s love with others. We can’t share with others what we don’t have ourselves.

That’s why I think the early disciples were so successful in their evangelizing. It wasn’t that they had the ‘magic’ words that would convert people, nor were they any smarter than anyone else, nor were they necessarily charismatic; but they had an experience of the risen Christ and it showed in their lives. Their faith made a huge difference in who they were, what they believed, and how they acted. It changed and transformed them to a point where I think people looked at someone like Peter and thought to themselves “I don’t know or understand what happened to him, but it has made such a great difference in his life, and I want that in my life.”

We call Thomas “Doubting Thomas’, when we should really call him ‘Believing Thomas’. In the end, he professed Jesus as “My Lord and my God.” If you have doubts, or maybe are a bit unsure about matters of faith, I ask you to open your heart and invite Jesus in; pray for an experience of the risen Lord to help you overcome your doubts and unbelief.

May we all profess Jesus as our Lord and God, and may our light shine for all to see.


Fr. Phil

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