April 24th 2022.  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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. Thomas does not encounter the Lord because he was not with the brothers. It is when we are in communion with the Church that we encounter the Lord.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, as is traditionally the case, we read of the appearance of Jesus to the apostles on the evening of the first Easter Sunday. He breathes the Holy Spirit on them and gives them the most fundamental mission of the Church, that of the forgiveness of sins. Thomas is not present. We are told that his other name was “Didymus” which means “twin”. A twin remains always a twin, someone whose identity is marked (in a positive way) by the fact that he is a sibling. It is interesting that this “brother”, Thomas, is not with the other brothers when Christ appears. There is an important lesson here: we do not encounter the Lord as individuals but as part of the fraternity of the Church. None of the saints ever went to the Lord in an individual manner. Even St Paul, who had a direct revelation of Christ on the road to Damascus, was still welcomed into the Church by means of the action of the disciple Ananias.

 

2. Attendance at the Christian assembly for the commemoration of the day of the resurrection is the normal way to encounter the Lord.

Encountering the Lord requires this communion with the Church. In addition, this reading shows us how to achieve such communion. Thomas is present with the brothers eight days later. “Eight days later” is a Jewish expression for the passage of one week. We see therefore that the early Church was already settling into the rhythm of the weekly encounter with the whole assembly, the day on which the resurrection was celebrated. In this life of relationship with his brothers, there are appointments which are regular in nature. In fact, in the early centuries of the Church, the sense of the importance of Sunday was very strong, not least because it was something with solid Jewish foundations. The celebration of the Sabbath and the importance of repose on that day were essential to the Hebrew mind. The first Christians were all Jews and they maintained this sense of the Sabbath, but moved it by one day to the day of the Resurrection.

 

3. Salvation is not procured individually. If we wish to guide people to the Lord, let us encourage them to attend the Sunday assembly with the Lord.

Mercy is fundamental for our salvation, but it is not something received in an individual way. The nature of the faith involves the call to fraternal communion. As Scripture says, I cannot claim to love the God I cannot see if I do not love the brother that I do see. Mercy is not an automatic dispenser of grace whenever it suits me as an individual to present myself for it. As the prophet Isaiah says, “Seek the Lord while he is to be found, call upon him while he is near”. It is not up to us to decide when to approach God for mercy, the Lord himself has let us know where and when he is to be found. I might be under the impression that I can be redeemed in my own time on my own terms, but it doesn’t work that way. The Lord has given us the liturgical appointments. It is to these appointments with the Lord and his assembly that we must guide other people who seek faith.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

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”.