Breaking Open the Word - 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year A
Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday), Year A – April 19th, 2020
On this glorious feast of God’s infinite mercy, the Church asks us to reflect on the famous story of “doubting Thomas.” Why is this episode so well-loved? Perhaps because each of us, to one degree or another, can see ourselves in St. Thomas. There is something in all of us that just wants proof before we give our assent of faith. However, as one Sister pointed out, the ultimate motive of faith is not proof, but grace. Time and time again, this theme appears in conversion stories: someone can be fully convinced intellectually, but finds him or herself unable to believe until God gives the grace of faith. Though faith is never in conflict with reason, it does transcend reason and takes us to a different plane.
The Doubting Thomas by Carl Heinrich Bloch
Another Sister spoke about how she finds Jesus’ merciful actions in this Gospel story to be a great comfort. He does not wait for Thomas to “get his act together.” Rather, He meets the doubting Apostle exactly where he is, in his weakness. Our Lord is not above stooping to our needs! He also makes use of all types of personalities in spreading His kingdom – the same Thomas who so stubbornly proclaimed his unbelief became equally “stubborn” in his profession of faith. In fact, he went on to evangelize as far as western India, a region where believers to this day still glory in the name “Thomas Christians.” One Sister also pointed out how Thomas, despite his refusal to believe, still stayed with the other Apostles for a whole week until Christ appeared again. Stubborn he certainly was ... whether he believed or not, he was not going to miss the Lord again!
We also discussed the beautiful Second Reading from 1 Peter: “Though you have not seen Him, yet you love Him.” A Sister shared how she always reads this passage as if St. Peter were proclaiming it aloud, preaching to the early Church. We can almost hear the wonder in his voice as he looks upon these second and third-generation Christians and beholds how they, who have not “walked with” the Lord as he and the Apostles have, nevertheless possess the same graces of faith and love. It hearkens back to the story in Acts 10-11 of the conversion of Cornelius. There Peter expresses similar awe at the generosity of God’s grace, granted even to the Gentiles: “If God was giving them the same gift He gave us when we first believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to interfere with Him?” (Acts 11:17)
Returning to the Gospel, one Sister posed an interesting question: did the risen Lord appear to the disciples on any day other than Sunday? Nearly all of the Resurrection stories take place “on the first day of the week,” and none are specified as occurring on other days. Another Sister pointed out that this is a direct contrast with Jesus’ public ministry, when many of his miracles and teachings are described as happening on the Sabbath, the last day of the week. It is as if the Gospels are trying to emphasize how the risen Savior is leading the transition to the new Creation, teaching His disciples that the new “Lord’s day” is to supersede the ancient Sabbath. Going one step further, we can see a continuation of this pattern in the Church’s constant practice of celebrating the Eucharist on Sundays. He still comes to us “on the first day of the week,” to continue the work of His new creation in our souls.
We are glad to have you with us as we resume our Scripture sharing series, and we hope that our reflections throughout this challenging time will give you reason for hope and joy in the Lord!