Gospel: Divine Mercy Sunday

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, which is also celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. The Gospel reading will be read from the narrative of St John (20:19-31).

In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, "Peace be with you," and after saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. 

The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord, and he said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you."

After saying this he breathed on them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone's sins, they are retained."

Thomas, called the Twin, who was 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 answered, "Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe."

Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them, "Peace be with you," he said.

Then he spoke to Thomas, "Put your fingers here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving anymore but believe."

Thonas replied, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

There were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of the disciples, but they are not recorded in this book.

These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.

Today's reading from the Gospel of St John is proclaimed in the Second Sunday of Easter in each of the lectionary cycles. This fact alone should alert us to the signigicance of the encounters with the resurrected Jesus that are described in this reading. This Gospel combines two scenes: Jesus' appearance to his disciples after his Resurrection and Jesus' dialogue with doubting Thomas.

Part of the mystery of Jesus' Resurrection is that he appeared to his disciples not as a spirit, but in bodily form. We do not know, however, exactly what this form looked like. Earlier in St John's Gospel, when Mary of Magdala first encountered the risen Jesus, she did not recognize him until he spoke to her. In St Luke's Gospel, the disciples walking along the road to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus until he broke bread with them. We know from readings such as today's that in resurrected form, Jesus was not bound by matter; he appeared to the disciples inside a home even though the doors were locked. Yet the disciples could still touch the marks of his Crucifixion.

In today's Gospel, Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun; as Jesus was sent by God, so Jesus sends his disciples. He gives his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit so that they will be able to accomplish this task. Jesus' words to his disciples also highlight the integral connection between the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, we can share forgiveness and reconciliation with others. 

Thomas, the doubting disciple in this reading, represents the reality of the Church that comes after the first community of witnesses to Jesus. All but the first disciples of Jesus must believe without seeing. Like Thomas, we may doubt the news that Jesus, who was crucified and buried, appeared to his disciples. Our human nature seeks hard evidence that the Jesus who appeared to his disciples after his death is indeed the same Jesus who was crucified. Thomas is given the opportunity to be our representative in obtaining this evidence. He gives witness to us that the Jesus who was raised is the same Jesus who died. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are among those who are blessed, for we have not seen yet believe.

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