Scripture:
Acts 5:12-16
Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
John 20:19-31
Reflection:
For the first few Sundays of Easter, our Gospel readings are accounts of the appearances of the Risen Jesus to His disciples. We don’t usually associate these appearances with healing, as we do the miraculous cures we read about during Jesus’ ministry before His Passion and death. but I am more and more beginning to realize that these appearances of the Risen Jesus are healing experiences.
The Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Easter is the encounter between the Risen Jesus and the apostle Thomas (John 20:19-31). Where is the healing in this encounter? I see Thomas healed of grief, of disillusionment and of despair. For some time, I have seen Thomas’ adamant refusal to take the other apostles’ word that Jesus was risen, not as a weakness of faith, but as a defense from being hurt again. I can imagine Thomas vowing to himself that he would never let himself believe in anything or anyone again, lest he be hurt as he was when he saw Jesus die on the Cross.
When Thomas finally sees that Jesus is indeed risen, he is healed of despair and doubt and grief. When does this occur? When Thomas touches Jesus’ wounds. When we are hurting from grief or despair; when we are wondering whether God really loves us or not, or even if there is a God, we can do as Thomas was invited to do – touch Jesus’ wounds. We can contemplate the Cross and reflect on all that Jesus endured for our salvation, and be healed. We can let the Risen Jesus enter our hearts and touch our wounds and be healed.
For me, the encounter between Jesus and Thomas also has something to say about the healing needed in our world. I think one of the most prevalent doubts in our world is doubting the humanity of the “other.’ We human beings can justify violence and slavery and all sorts of oppression and injustice, as well as indifference, by convincing ourselves that “they” are somehow less than human, or at least, less than us.
How could we be healed of that? I think it might be healed if we were willing to “touch” the wounds of others. By that I mean, being willing to hear people’s stories; being willing to hear about the wounds inflicted by prejudice and hate and fear (by our prejudice and hate and fear?). Perhaps we could also see their wounds, just as we might see our own, as connected to the wounds of Jesus. And maybe, just maybe, we could recognize their humanity, and we could let the love of God in Jesus Christ lift us all up.
If we would be willing to take on such a task of love, filled with the hope of Easter, we might let ourselves be open to respond to God’s call, and be willing to help bring healing and love, just as we read about the apostles in our first reading (Acts 5:12-16). We might find ourselves willing to work for justice, even justice for the “other,” and seek to make peace.
If we celebrate this Sunday as Divine Mercy Sunday, may we not only reflect on the mercy God has shown us in Jesus Christ, but be willing to be instruments of God’s mercy for others.
Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.