"My Lord and my God!"
John 20: 19-31
Sadly, we also live in a time when news reports are filled with inflammatory and emotionally driven words to describe the present health concern we live with: "Never before" "Global pandemic" "Numbers moving up!" "Stay home!" While there is truth to this concern, the power of words has caused a pandemic of unfounded fear and panic bringing damage not only to health but worse to our economy and the morale of everyone. Millions of people out of work with no end in sight is unsustainable. Which is the greater risk? Language is powerful. Some people will not venture outside their home for fresh air as if the virus might be lurking outside their door, ready to attack. We need a great act of mercy and trust. God's word of mercy is more powerful indeed.
Beautifully, our passage from the Gospel of John this Sunday offers us a wonderful “sound bite:" “My Lord and my God.” The words of Thomas when he encounters and touches the risen Christ summarize not only this Easter season but where the Lord needs to be in our lives as well; he is our “Lord and God” and thereby the center of our faith lives and our life in general.
While we often refer to poor Thomas as doubtful of the veracity of the resurrection his statement upon seeing and touching the risen Lord conveys a Thomas of faith, not doubt. He recognized who Jesus is – that he is divine. This is the first time in the Gospels, in fact, that Jesus is referred to as God. They had gone from experiencing the Jesus of history and now encounter the same now risen Jesus of faith.
This Sunday and throughout the Easter season, we hear of startling events for the Apostles which forever would change their lives. The risen Lord suddenly and unexpectedly appears to the frightened and confused group hiding in fear with doors securely locked. They hid in fright of what might happen due to their known association with Jesus of Nazareth and find themselves paralyzed as to their next step. They will never forget their cowardly abandonment of Jesus three days before and all of them, save John, scattered from him in his greatest need. What could be more troubling?
In the middle of this, Jesus appears to them, not as a spirit or a hallucination, yet they feared that might be, but in his risen, physical body, eternally alive again! We can only imagine the reaction of the disciples and the energy that must have filled that room. John writes: “The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” I would guess that was an understatement. In the process, Jesus addresses their fear and by association, their earlier betrayal not with judgement but with: “Shalom,” “Peace be with you.” Jesus grants them what they need. It is clear, though, he comes not to seek a payback but he comes with mercy.
What more convincing experience could they have had that would convict them of the purpose of Jesus’ death than to see him raised from that suffering and death to glory before God. That in his dying and rising, Jesus has forever unlocked the door of finality in death to eternity of life with God.
So, he breathes on them, shares his spirit then commissions them to be ambassadors of himself and the forgiveness of sins. He send them as witnesses to go and offer his forgiveness and mercy to all who hear their message of peace. Jesus offers them the breath of life as we recall the breath of God on the lifeless Adam at creation which brought him to life. At the core mission of the Church is the proclamation of God’s mercy and what better Sunday than this one to recall that rich act of love on God’s part for humanity. We see here the foundation of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in which we come repentant and leave healed and forgiven of sin.
Yet, our “sound bite” messenger, Thomas, was absent for this experience and once told, he states his need for physical proof: “Unless I see the mark of the nails . . and put my finger into the nail marks and my hand into his side, I will not believe.” In essence Thomas is telling them, I want the same as you have just experienced. You wouldn’t believe it either unless you saw him. The story is just too fantastic. Jesus well knew their need for proof. Thomas, I feel, wanted to believe with all his heart but he needed something to hang on, not just words as convincing as they may have sounded. These physical resurrection encounters were essential to confirm their faith.
Remember, these men were not old and filled with the wisdom of experience. They were young men, likely in their late teens or 20's, perhaps 30's at the most, and by nature inquisitive, impulsive, filled with idealism and energy but also skeptical. One source commented that Simon Peter was likely the oldest of the lot but perhaps in his 30’s at most, not this old bearded man we see in artistic renderings. Most of them were fishermen, working long in hard labor. The Gospels relate their physical prowess: they ran, they pulled nets, they climbed mountains, they rowed a boat on stormy seas, they endured in the face of threat, they walked distances in the hot sun and made their way through crowds. Such things are not for the physically weak or aging.
So, Jesus comes again a week later (the following Sunday) and offers Thomas the same proof that he had given to the others. Thomas proclaims of Jesus: "My Lord and my God!" If we truly believe that Christ is raised from the dead then the whole of our Easter season and our faith in total makes sense. We can stand confident that the world will not overtake us; that God has all things in control and that Christ is: “Our Lord and God.”
In short, as Jesus’ breathed on the disciples, so that same breath falls on us: his Spirit in the body of believers. He extends mercy, his compassion and in that way, his very nature to us. And if we want to find the risen Lord, we do so through extending mercy and forgiveness to others. Because he is Lord and God faith in him and life in his Church, his Body, is an open door for all. Here we encounter that same risen Lord who always stand with us.
Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles today pictures for us how we come to know this risen Lord as we see and touch the Lord Jesus under the signs of bread and wine - the breaking of the bread and the prayers." Through the preaching of the Apostles many came to believe. Today, we continue to hear and believe as we live out in the community of the Church all that Christ taught us.
In light of the present day when our Churches are unbelievably shut down and so many starving for the Eucharist, we need to hope and pray intensely for a sign of God’s mercy on us all. Let us recognize our need for mercy and come renewed before the Lord.
Let the house of Israel say,
He mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Aaron say,
His mercy endures forever.
Let those who fear the LORD say,
His mercy endures forever.
(Psalm 118 - responsorial Psalm)
No comments:
Post a Comment