'That by believing you may have life in his name.' Sunday Reflections, 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B

 

The Incredulity of St Thomas

Caravaggio [Web Galleryof Art]

My Lord and my God! (John 20:28; Gospel)

Second Sunday of Easter

Divine Mercy Sunday 

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel  John 20:19-31  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, 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 in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, 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; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “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 believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

The Torture of St Thomas

Giambattista Pittoni [Web Gallery of Art]

The Gospel on Ash Wednesday gives us the first recorded words of Jesus: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). Repent and believe the gospel is one of the formulas used in applying the ashes on our foreheads.

The closing words of today's Gospel tells us why it was written: so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31).

The First Reading tells us what the Apostles preached: And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all (Acts 4:33). 

St John in the Second Reading emphasises that our faith is in the Risen Christ and that it is through him we are saved: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him . . . Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:1,5). St John goes further in the next two verses: This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

It is the same St John, who stood at the foot of the Cross, who told us in the Good Friday reading of the Passion and death of Jesus: But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe (John 19:34-35).

I often think that St Thomas is 'underrated', if I may use that expression. He is called 'doubting Thomas'. In today's Gospel he rejects what the others told him but then shows great insight: Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.

Then when Jesus appears he makes the greatest act of faith in the whole of Sacred Scripture: My Lord and my God! Here in Ireland those words may be used as the acclamation after the Consecration when the priest says The Mystery of faith. In the Traditional Latin Mass there is no acclamation after the consecration but, at least in Dublin when I was young, we had a far more powerful acclamation after the Consecration: a 'communal cough' that was a release of the sense of awe at what had just happened, the bread and wine having become the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Risen Christ.

For St Thomas the scars of the Crucifixion that Jesus carried were the proof of his Resurrection and the sign of God's love for us as sinners. The Risen Lord carries these scars for all eternity. And he gives the Apostles the authority to forgive sins: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. This authority is passed on to all priests through the sacrament of Holy Orders. And in the sacrament of Confession the priest may at times withhold absolution in order to help the penitent to repent of a particularly grave sin when it is evident that repentance is not yet there. This is an act of mercy, not a condemnation, an invitation to continue struggling with God's help to repent and believe the gospel.

One particular lobby accuses the Church of not welcoming sinners when what they mean is that the Church refuses to accept certain kinds of sinful behaviour. The most welcoming place in any church should be the confessional. All who enter it are equal, including the priest. They are like the people lining up to be baptised by St John the Baptist in the River Jordan. Those who saw Jesus there would have presumed that he was just another sinner.

There are at least three churches in Dublin city centre that have confessions every morning and afternoon, Monday to Saturday: Whitefriar Street (OCarm), Clarendon Street (OCD) and the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (SSS), which is temporarily closed at least until 12 April. I sometimes go to confession in the latter two and always find other penitents there. In the Philippines confessions are a major part of the ministry of the Redemptorists, especially on Wednesdays when the Novena  to the Mother of Perpetual Help is celebrated.

Pope St John Paul II made this Sunday Divine Mercy Sunday. The scars of Jesus, as St Thomas understood so clearly, are the proof of God's mercy. The sacrament of Confession (Penance, Reconciliation) is an expression of that mercy, an ongoing invitation from the Risen Lord Jesus to repent and believe the gospel . . . and that by believing you may have life in his name.

I know that my Redeemer liveth

from Handel's Messiah

Sung by Pavla Flámová with the Café International Baroque Orchestra

I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God (Job 19: 25-26). For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep (I Corinthians 15: 20).

The High Altar, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, France

by Charles-Antoine Briden

[Wikipedia; photo]

Traditional Latin Mass

The Octave Day of Easter (Low Sunday)

The complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-07-2024 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 John 5:4-10. Gospel: John 20:19-31. 

The Incredulity of St Thomas

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing' (John 20:27; Gospel).