April 28^th 2019.  Divine Mercy Sunday

GOSPEL  John 20: 19-31

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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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 nail marks
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: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Too often the figure of Thomas is considered to be the classic model of doubt or unbelief. But this would be a superficial reading of the Gospel passage! In fact, Thomas expresses one of the highest professions of faith contained in the New Testament, “My Lord and my God”. Moreover, Thomas does not show greater unbelief than the rest of the disciples. They were all slow to believe when Mary Magdalene testified to the resurrection. What Thomas really demonstrates is something different than simple doubt or unbelief. The real reason that he does not believe at the same time as his brothers is because he was absent from the fraternal gathering when Jesus appeared. Eight days later - which is the Jewish way of sating “one week later” - he is present at the gathering and he too has an experience of the risen Lord. Our faith is not an individualistic thing! We come to have faith as a member of a community of brothers and sisters. And the goal of our faith is to enter into communion with our brothers and sisters! Thomas believes when he encounters Jesus along with the other disciples. This prepares them for the future time when they will no longer see Jesus in the flesh, but they will help others to see him by their testimonies - “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe”.

Do we consider Thomas to be a classic figure of doubt and unbelief? That would be a superficial reading of the passage!

The risen Jesus appears to the disciples and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit, giving them the power to forgive sins, the true principle of new life. But Thomas is not present. A superficial reading of the passage can transform this disciple into a negative figure, as if he were the classic example of unbelief. However, his profession of faith - "My Lord and my God!" - is actually the highest profession of the whole New Testament. Moreover, Thomas’ expression of doubt earlier is by no means unusal among the disciples: his brothers were also very slow to believe Mary Magdalene whe she announced to them that the Lord had risen. In fact, when Jesus appeared to them the first time “he showed them his hands and his side. And the disciples rejoiced to see the Lord. " In a certain sense, when Thomas says: "If I don't see the mark of the nails in his hands ... and I don't put my hand in his side, I will not believe", he is saying: "If I don't have the same experience that you had, why should I believe? You yourselves did not believe before!"

What is the real problem with Thomas? His lack of faith? Or his lack of communion with his brothers?

But in what was Thomas really lacking? Why didn't he also have the experience the others had? He was called Didymus, which in Greek means “twin”. A twin is never a single; whatever he does or wherever he goes, he is a brother! And the curious thing about this passage is that this brother from birth, on the most important day of the fraternity to which he belongs, on the day of the Resurrection of their Lord, is not with the others! He is on his own. He has not been true to the fraternal gathering. What do you need to do to find the risen Christ? Eight days later, Jesus returns among the disciples and this time Thomas is there. These eight days, according to the Hebrew way of calculating the passage of time, constitute an exact week. In order for Thomas to pass from unbelief to faith, he must return to being Didymus; what he really lacked was being with his brothers. When he is with them, then he will see the Lord as they have seen him. He will get ready, like them, for the time when they will continue to believe without seeing him. When that time comes, they will make him seen to others, even though they do not see him themselves. But to arrive at this point they must remain together and be faithful to the Sunday liturgy.

The faith is not an individualstic act. We meet the Lord through fraternal communion, and the GOAL of the faith is to enter into fraternal communion.

Christian faith is not a private, individual fact. No one meets the risen Lord except through fraternal communion. Even the conversion of St Paul, which begins with a personal experience of Christ on the road to Damascus, is completed through fraternal communion with the others. If the Resurrection does not lead us to ecclesial communion, then it is not the Resurrection of the Lord but an individualistic perfectionism, or the product of our imagination. The Resurrection is fundamentally a fraternal, ecclesial experience. The original opening words of the Greek form of the Creed is: "We believe ...". The Father we invoke is not "mine" but "ours". Faith is received in the Church, not purely in individual hearts. Believing is something we do together with others. The source - and at the same time the goal of faith - is communion with our brothers and sisters.