Weekly Scripture Reflections
April 18, 2007-Easter 2
Second Sunday of Easter
Cycle C
Readings : Acts 5:12-16; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19;
John 20:19-31.
I have to see it myself!
Though the apostle Thomas is sometimes referred to as "doubting Thomas," he was not a man without faith. He was simply unwilling to accept the resurrection of Jesus on the word of others. He wanted concrete proof.
Who can blame him? No one
really expected that Jesus would rise from the dead. It was a surprise to
everyone. Thomas was skeptical because he thought that the message was too good
to be true. However, after his experience of the Risen Lord, Thomas’
enthusiastic testimony was a remarkable declaration of faith in Christ’s
divinity. He cried out: "My Lord and my God!"
The readings for the
Sundays after Easter are meant to serve as catechesis or religious instruction,
primarily for the newly baptized. However, we all can benefit from this teaching
as well. The first concerns our responsibility for handing on the religious
tradition that has been handed down to us. As Christians, we are all called to
this responsibility, regardless of our age, our occupation, or our state in
life. How is this to be done? We preach our faith as we live out its ethical
values. How we act proclaims to those around us: "We have seen the
Lord!"
A second lesson concerns
the role the Christian community plays in our lives. There is a communal
dimension to every resurrection appearance of Jesus. In fact, Thomas’
predicament resulted from his having been absent from the community when Jesus
appeared to them. While Peter is a prominent figure in the first reading, the
miracles were actually performed by all of the apostles. God’s concern is for
the entire people. We who live in a society that values an exaggerated form of
individualism have much to learn about being members of the body of
Christ.
Today’s first reading
provides yet another lesson. It illustrates how the power of the resurrection
working through ordinary people can bring about miracles. Some might think that
this is too bold a claim.
And yet a friendly smile, a
gentle touch, a willingness to forgive have healed more than one broken spirit;
and the challenging words of a parent, a teacher, or a friend have quickened
many minds and hearts.
In the reading from Revelations, John describes an extraordinary experience he had while living in banishment in the penal colony on the island of Patmos. Not even incarceration could prevent the spread of the gospel. John’s days of preaching might have been over, but he could write, and write he did. The scene described in the passage is of extraordinary splendor, and there in the midst of that splendor was "one like a son of man," the risen Christ. The message is even more astounding than the vision itself. Death has been overcome; Jesus the Christ is now alive forever. It is the very message that Thomas found so hard to accept at first. It is the message that we are called to live out in our lives.