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Second Sunday of Easter
April 15, 2007; Year: C
The readings:
Acts 5:12-16; Rev. 1:9-11, 12-3, 17-9; Jn. 20:19-31
The
Institution of the Church
First Reading...
"Many signs and wonders were done among the people
through the apostles. And the believers were all
together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared to
join them, but the people held them in high esteem.
Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord,
great numbers of both men and women, so that they even
carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on
cots and mats, in order that Peter's shadow might fall
on some of them as he came by.
A great number of people would also gather from the
towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those
tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured."
[Acts 5:12-15]
Second Reading...
"I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the
persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance,
was on the island called Patmos because of the word of
God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on
the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like
a trumpet saying, 'Write in a book what you see and send
it to the seven churches.'
Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to
me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in
the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of
Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash
across his chest.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But
he placed his right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be
afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one.
I was dead, but now, I am alive forever and ever; and I
have the keys of Death and of Hades. now write what you
have seen, what is, and what is to take place after
this." [Rev. 1:9-11, 12-3, 17-9]
Gospel Reading...
"It was evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead, the
first day of the week, and the doors of the house where
the disciples had met were locked for fear of the
authorities. Jesus came and stood among them and said,
'Peace be with you.' After he said this, he showed them
his hands and his side. Then 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.'
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to
them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins
of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins
of any, they are retained.'
But Thomas, who was called the Twin, one of the twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came. So the other
disciples told 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 in the mark of the nails and my
hand on his side, I will not believe.'
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and
Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with
you.' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and
see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.
Do not doubt but believe.' Thomas answered, 'My Lord and
my God!'
Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have
seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have come to believe.'
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his
disciples, which are not written in this book. But these
are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus
is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name." [Jn. 20:19-31]
Helpful Event:
Adelino Amaro of our parish at our parish was sick of
cancer for nearly 4 years. He was a very devout catholic
and especially devoted to Divine Mercy. He would spend a
lot of his time in reading the novenas and chaplet of
the Divine Mercy. On the day he was very ill, that is on
15th of November, he uttered a few words of
great helplessness in his pain. He would continuously
say, Divine Mercy grant me peace, and freedom from pain.
Well, on 20th of November, he forbade
everyone from coming to his room and he would just read
the novena and utter divine praises. That day at 3 pm he
lifted up his hands towards the Divine Mercy picture in
his room and prayed incessantly saying, “Jesus come,
Jesus come and take me, Jesus my friend come and take
me”. Thereafter a total silence, and when his wife
slowly opened the door of his room it seemed he was
sleeping, but came to know that he had left for his
eternal home.
Gospel Reflections:
Last Sunday, we celebrated the glorious Resurrection of
the Lord Jesus. This Sunday, we are called to remember
what happened after Jesus resurrected and the many
events that followed.
During the first part of today's Gospel
Reading, we hear that the apparition of Jesus to his
disciples took place on the first day of the week, that
being a Sunday. The apparition took place on the evening
of the same day that Jesus had resurrected. It is
important to notice on which day of the week that these
events were instituted by the Lord Jesus in order to
understand how, in the early days of the Church, the
Sabbath was replaced with Sunday.
On that evening, living in fear of the
authorities, the disciples had gathered together in a
house and they had locked the doors. Suddenly, Jesus
stood among them. According to the Gospel of Luke, at
first, the disciples were startled and terrified. They
thought that they were seeing a ghost. [Lk. 24:37]
In view of the fact that Jesus entered
the house while the doors were locked, we are reminded
of the words of St. Paul in the First Letter to the
Corinthians. "It is sown a physical body, it is
raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body,
there is also a spiritual body." [1 Cor. 15:44]
Through this event, we come to the understanding that a
spiritual body is not limited to the worldly laws of
nature. The spiritual body has the ability to walk
through doors and walls or appear and disappear at will.
Peace Be With You
Peace is the greatest gift of the
resurrection. There is no reference to the past painful
events of the life of Our Lord. He declares peace to all
the people he meets. Then Jesus said, "Peace be with
you." And He showed His hands and His side to His
disciples. This Bible passage is very important. It is
explicit proof from the Gospel of John that Jesus was
truly nailed to the cross. He was not tied to the cross
as was often the custom in those days.
When the reality had finally set in and
the disciples realized that it was truly Jesus who was
before them, they rejoiced. Being counted among the many
witnesses of the glorious Resurrection of the Lord
Jesus, all their fear disappeared.
Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace be
with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." [Jn.
20:21] In these words, the Lord officially commissioned
the Church through His disciples to perpetual the work
of Divine salvation that is accomplished in Christ.
Through this commission, we are reminded of the words
that Jesus had spoken earlier during His ministry on
earth. "As you (Father) have sent me into the world, so
I have sent them into the world." [Jn. 17:18] "I sent
you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others
have laboured, and you have entered into their labour."
[Jn. 4:38] "Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one
whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me
receives him who sent me." [Jn. 13:20]
Forgiveness of Sins
Having said this, Jesus breathed on the disciples and
said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive
the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain
the sins of any, they are retained." [Jn. 20:22-3] In
these words is found the fulfillment of the promised
Advocate, the sending of the Holy Spirit. [Jn. 3:8,
7:39, 15:26, 16:7] From these same words is made known
that the Sacrament of Confession was instituted on earth
by Jesus Christ Himself. [Mt. 16:19, 18:18; Lk. 24:47]
It should also be mentioned that the power over sin is
also exercised in the Sacrament of Baptism and in the
preaching of the redemptive work.
Event: Fight between Father and Son
Once there was a severe fight between the father and the
son. The father looking at the son and his disobedient
behaviour said harshly, “get out of my house and don’t
come back”. The son replied, “well, who wants to stay in
your house, you will never see me again” and taking a
few things he left the house. At night, the father was
all upset about the things that had happened with his
son. He could not sleep and was just wandering about in
the house. At one point he heard some noise at the door
of his house. He didn’t mind for a while, but the noise
persisted. He opened the door, and what could he see?
His own son just dozing at the step of the door. The
father gently touched him, took him in his arms and
brought him into his room. The son confused, sad said,
“Papa, I am sorry, where can I go papa? Please forgive
me”. “OK, my son, I had forgiven you this morning
itself, and I could not sleep till now, believe me now I
can sleep peacefully”.
Forgiveness is painful, but it is also
peace-filled. That is why Jesus never taunted his
disciples after he resurrected, he just breathed on them
the Holy Spirit, the spirit of forgiveness and
acceptance.
Doubting Thomas
Modern world is known for doubting. ‘Da Vinci Code’ the
book of Dan Brown and the documentary by James Cameron
‘The Tomb of Jesus’. All these and many more
documentaries and books and declarations indicate that
people do not want to believe the simplicity of Jesus’
resurrection. The more you learn, you should become
simply wise, but if you learn without faith, you become
worse than before.
Proceeding to John 20:24-5, we learn that
Thomas was absent during the first apparition of Jesus
to the disciples. And he did not believe the other
apostles when they told him that they had seen the Lord.
The only way he would believe is by touching the wounds
of Jesus with his own finger.
A week later, again on a Sunday, while the disciples
were gathered behind locked doors with Thomas, the Lord
Jesus appeared again and said, "Peace be with you." [Jn.
20:26] By the emphasis that this happened on a Sunday,
it becomes clear that in John's time, the first day of
the week was the day on which the early Church
Christians assembled to celebrate the liturgy.
Body Contact:
Experience teaches us a lasting lesson. You put your
finger in fire, and that will teach you never to touch
fire, you fall on the ground because you didn’t see a
stone, you will be careful henceforth. You have bad
experience of some food you had, you will certainly be
careful thereafter. Anything that the body touches or
has contact teaches us a lasting lesson. It so happened
in the life of Thomas. Next, we are taken to the moment
when Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see
my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do
not doubt but believe." [Jn. 20:27] In response to these
words, Thomas answered, "My Lord and my God!" [Jn.
20:28] Seeing was sufficient. Thomas believed because He
saw Jesus. [Jn. 20:29]
Total Surrender
When Thomas answered, "My Lord and my God!", he was
affirming the Divine nature of the Lord Jesus. For while
the word "Lord" implied Jesus as "Master" and "Teacher,"
the word "God" implied Yahweh, the God of the Jewish
nation. In the person of Jesus, Thomas perceived the
human and Divine natures.
Today's Reading from the Gospel of John
concludes by telling us that Jesus said, "Blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." [Jn.
20:29] These powerful words of Jesus were not meant just
for the little group that was present in the house. It
was a blessing that was intended to surpass the days of
the first disciples. It was addressed to all Christians
of all time, that including the faithful of today.
As you recall, towards the end of His
ministry, Jesus promised to Peter that he would give him
the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. [Mt. 16:18-9] Shortly
after the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven, Peter was the
one to address the crowd, this affirming his appointment
as the Vicar of Christ on earth. [Acts 2:14]
While many signs and wonders were done
among the people through all the apostles, the Holy
Scripture speaks of one sign that was unique to Peter,
such affirming his leadership as the first Pope. When
Peter walked among the sick, many were healed when his
shadow fell upon them. Through Peter, the power of Jesus
continued to manifest itself after His glorious
Resurrection. Resulting from the many wonders that took
place, a great number of men and women joined the
Church.
In those days, the Catholic Church
counted tens of thousands of members among themselves.
Today, the Catholic Church counts over one billion
members worldwide. Such is the work of the Holy Spirit.
What Can I Do?
Dear friends in Christ, this week, let us ponder upon
our role in the Church. What are we as individuals
doing to promote the growth of the Church of Jesus by
the power of the Holy Spirit? Pondering upon this,
let us all make a resolution as to how we will promote
the Church during the coming year. Some may choose to
evangelize to their children. Others may wish to guide
new converts by becoming involved in the RCIA. A few may
choose to set up an internet website (for our parish)
to promote the teachings of the Catholic Church. All of
these actions are worthy of God's grace for the benefit
of all. May the grace of God be with each and every one
of us as we choose our calling and go forward with the
Spirit of Christ.
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Dear friend, my
homilies will be posted on Thursdays and you can benefit
them and if you need more resources, you could contact
me on
rudyocd@yahoo.com or
rudyocd@gmail.com
Let us make this ministry
fruitful one so that the Word of God becomes a source of
joy for me and for you and help people become more aware
of its riches. You are also welcome to share your
feedback with me. Thanks and God bless.
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