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Second Sunday – Year C – Easter (Divine Mercy)
Readings: Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; Jn 20:19-31.
1/ First Reading: NAB Acts 5:12 Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s portico. 13 None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them. 14 Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women, were added to them. 15 Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them. 16 A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.
2/ Second Reading: NAB Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos because I proclaimed God’s word and gave testimony to Jesus. 10 I was caught up in spirit on the Lord’s day and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet, 11 which said, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest. 17 When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with his right hand and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, 18 the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. 19 Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards.
3/ Gospel: NAB John 20:19 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.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 (Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” 24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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.” 26 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (his) disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you may (come to) believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
Written by: Fr. Anthony Tien M. Dinh, O.P.
I. THEME: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Many people say that they only believe things they can see or understand, and refuse to believe what they don’t see and understand. They condemn those who believed without seeing are superstitious. These people forget that they also believed many things they don’t see or understand, viz. history, current or wind. When they believed these things, they based their faith on the authority of witnesses or the effect of things which they don’t see. Similarly in the area of faith, the faithful believe, not because they saw God; but based on the effects of His love and power in the universe, through the testimony of His witnesses or their own experience of God.
Today readings emphasize on some facts which people must lean on to believe in God and Christ. In the first reading, the author of Acts emphasized the apostles’ testimony and miracles, many people believed in Christ though they didn’t see him to resurrect from the tomb. In the second reading, the author of the Revelation recorded all what he saw about the things that are going to happen for the seven churches in Asia Minor. His purporse is for them to recognize the good to develop and the shortcomings to correct. In the Gospel, the apostle Thomas refused to believe in the ten apostles’ testimony and he emphasized that he only believes when he sees Jesus with his eyes. Jesus appeared to the eleven the second time and warned Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles.
1.1/ Peter and other apostles helped many to believe in Christ: The most clear evidence of Christ’s resurrection is the apostles’ change: from the weak, timid and ran away in Christ’s Passion to the courage, strong and are ready to witness for Christ to the point that the Sandherin now must be feared of them. By witnessed this change and heard of their witnessing, “more than ever, believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women, were added to them.”
Christ foresaw these results when he chose, trained and sent them to go out to preach and to heal even before the resurrection (Cf. Mt 10:7-9; Mk 3:13-15, 6:12-13, 16:17-18; Lk 9:1-2). The apostles obeyed and went out to preach and returned to report to him all results they obtained. After the resurrection, they went out with even more virgorous faith, and the results they obtained are much greater.
1.2/ Christ gives them the power to heal and to expel demons: Exorcism and healing are what Christ did to lighten up faith of his audience. He also gives these two powers to his apostles to lighten up faith of their audience in Christ.
As the Synoptists reported that all people hustled so that they could touch the fringe of Jesus’ dress, the author of the Acts also reported, “Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them. A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.”
2/ Reading II: “Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever.”
2.1/ All the churches need to be faithful with their faith and Christ’s instruction.
The Vietnamese have one adage to describe of human weakness, “Attending for a long time, the knee shall be tired.” After the eager time in the beginning, the degree of the faithful’s love and charity shall be gradually decreased with time, especially because they must often face the three enemies’ temptations. The author of Revelation received God’s command in his first vision to write out the warnings for the seven churches in Asia Minor. The purpose is to help them to examine their conscience to recognize their sins and to correct them on time; if not, they shall be endured the results of their sins when Christ shall visit them the second time.
A reading in details of what John wrote for the seven churches in Asia Minor: Ephesus, Myrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea; we can recognize temptations of the three enemies in ourselves. All need to regularly examine their conscience to recognize the degree of faith and charity they have for Christ.
2.2/ All the names in the passage want to highlight Christ’s power:
– I am the beginning and the end: Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega; nothing can change him or his teachings. The faithful need to be faithful to their faith and Christ’s teachings; not to follow the world’s teachings or its temporal fashion so that they must endure bad results for themselves, their family and community.
– I am the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever: Christ is still living in the faithful and the Church through the Holy Spirit’s presence. The faithful need to listen and to to follow what Christ teaches through the Church.
– I hold the keys to death and the netherworld: Christ has authority on both the death in this world and the world to come. The faithful can’t be fearful and be conquered before any power of the world and the devil. They only need to be faithful in Christ to be victorious over all powers.
3/ Gospel: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
3.1/ Jesus appeared to his apostles without Thomas:
According to John’s account, the apostles were prepared to welcome the news of the resurrection by the women who visited the tomb, especially Mary Magdala’s testimony of Jesus’ appearance to her; but they were still doubtful about the women’s testimony.
In today passage, Jesus himself came to his apostles to strengthen their faith. There are three facts in this appearance which we need to pay attention to:
(1) Jesus can walk through a closed door: The passage clearly indicated this fact, “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.””
(2) Jesus has a real body, not a dead’s soul or a phantasm, “He showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” The ten apostles witnessed this fact at the same time so none can reject their testimony.
(3) Jesus breathes into and gives them the Holy Spirit: “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.”” Before the Passion, Jesus promised that he shall not leave them orphanage, he shall give them another “Paracletos,” called the Spirit. Jesus also revealed for them about the Spirit as followed, “When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn 16:13-14). With the Holy Spirit’s presence in the apostles, they shall have no doubt about Christ’s resurrection.
3.2/ Jesus appeared to the apostles included Thomas:
Since Thomas was absent in the first appearance, the ten apostles said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” The author used the verb at the perfect tense to demonstrate the perfect faith of the apostles.
But Thomas rejected to believe in the ten witnesses (the law requires only two witnesses); he required a faith based on real fact by saying, “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.””
Jesus also walked through closed doors as the first time. Thomas must be startled because he heard what he said to the apostles before, now was repeated by Jesus. Therefore, he knelt down and said: “My Lord and my God!” Many commentators analyzed this proclamation and highlighted Thomas’ faith: He professed not only Jesus is God, but also as his God.
3.3/ The faith that isn’t based on seen things is better:
People believe because of many different ways such as: by seeing, by feeling its result, or by the testimony of one, two, three or many witnesses. Jesus classified the faith by seeing as the least and without seeing as the first when he said to Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
People need to believe in the Scripture or the testimony of witnesses as the author of the Fourth Gospel wrote, “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 Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.”
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of our faith; therefore, we need to learn about it to understand this foundation.
– We need to hold on to the faith of resurrection in our life, especially during the temptations and persecuted by the three enemies.
– Seeing and believing is the least way in the progress of faith. We need to listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and the testimony of witnesses.
– We have a tendency to fall back into our former way after the Easter. We need to hold firm to our faith and to increase our relationship with Christ in order to avoid this bad tendency.