Easter 2 (year C)- John 20: 19-31- Resurrection Faith

The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter is John 20:19-31. This selection contains two important resurrection stories. First, there is Christ's Easter evening appearance among the ten apostles (Thomas was absent). Secondly, a week later, the risen Lord comes among the eleven apostles and makes sure that Thomas gets the point. There are a number of topics in this Gospel: the reality of the Resurrection, Christ's transforming power, true peace and reconciliation with God, and the function of apostolic ministry. This time, my focus is on the example of the Apostle Thomas and its meaning during the Easter Season.

Thomas, whose name means "the twin," is one of the Twelve and is mentioned several times in the Gospels. He is probably most remembered for being absent from the group of disciples on Easter Sunday when the risen Jesus manifested Himself (John 20: 19-25). Thomas was doubtful and demanded physical proof. A week later, Thomas was present when Jesus came to the disciples. The apostle then confessed his faith in a way stronger than others because he affirmed Christ as "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).

Thomas' example has a two-fold importance. On one hand, he reminds us that doubt can deprive us of some of the joys of faith. His refusal to believe at first means that Thomas spends a week longer without the hope and comfort of the Resurrection faith. 

On the other hand, Thomas is also an example that Christ can overcome doubt and use former doubters as trustworthy witnesses. Because of his initial hesitation, Thomas becomes an even stronger witness to the physical reality of the Resurrection. Furthermore, Thomas is also a strong witness to the Incarnation and Christ's true identity since he confesses Jesus as Lord and God. 

So in the context of Easter, may the example of Thomas take on a new meaning for us. Let us seek to move beyond Thomas' weakness. Let us avoid being too worldly and too focused on externals. Rather let us focus on spiritual realities. May the grace of the risen Christ open us to believing without having seen! May we believe and strongly confess that our Lord and God has risen and lives!

Easter- Christ's Resurrection (year C)

This year, the Resurrection Gospel is Luke 24:1-12. The account shows remarkable agreement with other accounts, but Luke has a unique way of telling the story. He simply says "they" came to the tomb and does not indicate their gender till the end of the sentence. The writer does not specify who these women were until verse 10. The women find the tomb open with Jesus' body missing, and they are perplexed. This perplexity turns to amazement when two angelic beings tell them that Jesus has risen from the dead as He predicted. The women accept this message and return to share it with the eleven apostles and others. However, the men hesitate to believe the women's report. Peter has to go see for himself, and even then, his initial response to the empty tomb is merely wonderment or surprise.

Luke's account has a special emphasis on two points about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. First, the events of Holy Week had traumatized the disciples. They had not really understood or appreciated the divine plan for salvation in Jesus Christ. Although they loved Him and expected great things from Him, they had not really expected His crucifixion or His resurrection. They were shocked and depressed, and they were slow to understand the meaning of the empty tomb.

Secondly, as this passage starts to show and other accounts develop, Christ's disciples did slowly and convincingly come to believe firmly in His resurrection. If anything, the initial discouragement, perplexity, and surprise of the disciples make their later witness to the resurrection more powerful. The disciples were not confident plotters trying to mislead others. They were humble people transformed by divine revelation and miraculous grace. Let us pray that the same divine revelation and grace may transform us into witnesses for the risen Lord Jesus!