(Acts 2,42-47; 1 Peter 1,3-9; John 20, 19-31: 2nd Sunday of Easter; Year A)
In today’s gospel, we read about the two apparitions of Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection. Both of them took place on the the first day after the Sabbath, a space of eight days. Jesus who rose from the dead appears and reappears on the first day of the week. It is through this way that we got our Sunday: the new day, the day of the Lord, the day of the new creation that was inaugurated by the resurrection of the Lord. From this day on, the Christian cannot live out his Christian calling well without celebrating Sunday and the mystery of the resurrection. Every Sunday is, as it were, a little Easter.
In the narrative of the apparitions, the evangelist John, did not fail to underscore that Christ who appeared and who was in the midst of his disciples was a real being, the same Jesus who was nailed to the cross. To prove this, Jesus had to show his hands and his side, that is to say, the signs of his martyrdom. However, it also becomes clear that Jesus’ mode of existence before his crucifixion and after his resurrection are not the same. After his resurrection, his body was no more subject to physical and material laws of nature; Jesus entered the room where the disciples were staying, although the door was locked. At the same time, the evangelist John seems to indicate that what happened in those two apparitions repeats itself in every Eucharistic celebration, every time the Christian community assembles for the celebration of the Last Supper, especially on Sundays, the day of the Lord, the day of the resurrection: The risen Christ makes himself present under the sacramental signs of bread and wine, speaks to us, imparts his peace and Spirit on us, and fills us with joy. We can then understand and appreciate the importance of Sunday, the day of the Lord as well as the Eucharistic, which we celebrate every Sunday. Indeed, every Christian should be able to say with conviction: I cannot live without celebrating the day of the Lord. Unfortunately, today some of us, who call ourselves Christians, think that we can sanctify the day of the Lord without participating in the Mass, without the weekly encounter with the Risen Christ and his community. It is an error, a position of ease, and a deformity in thinking. One cannot be a good Christian or keep the faith alive without sanctifying the Sunday.
The gospel episode about the two apparitions of the Risen Jesus Christ also wishes to teach us the importance of faith in our relationship with Christ. Indeed, Thomas who was not present at the first apparition of Jesus, did not believe the witness of the other disciples who asserted to have seen the Risen Christ. He wanted to see him personally, touch him and have his own direct experience. When Jesus appeared, eight days later and Thomas was present, he did not praise the unbelieving apostle, but rather said: Blessed are those, who without seeing, believe. To believe is to trust Christ. Any faith which wishes to see and touch, is not a true faith, but distrust and lack of confidence in Christ and the first witnesses, the apostles who passed down the content of our faith to us. Blessed or happy are those who believe without having seen. This does not mean that the believers do not have trials and sufferings. But as St. Peter says in the second reading: ... you may for a short time have to bear being plagued by all sorts of trials, so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold... and then you will have praise and glory and honour. Blessed are those who do not see and believe because they have the assurance that the Risen Lord is with them and as a consequence, one day they will inherit eternal life that can never be spoilt or soiled, and never fade away. With such certainty, we should remain happy, or rather filled with joy, even though we are in some trials and difficulties of life. We should, therefore, not be like Thomas demanding for tangible proofs but for the graces to grow in pure and genuine faith.
How we are to nurture our faith is what the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles teaches us from the way the first Christians lived: The whole community remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, brotherhood, breaking of bread and prayers. Therefore, listening to the word of God, brotherly and sisterly union, Eucharist and prayers are the principal aliments (nourishment) and authentic expression of the Christian faith. All these are, as it were, concentrated in the celebration of the Mass. If we assiduously participate in it, our faith will certainly augment and continually deepen. This however, is not enough: faith has to be translated into works of charity. In fact in the first Christian community, ... they lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed. Our participation in the Eucharistic celebration should make us pay attention to the needs of the less privileged of our society and community: the sick, poor, lonely and the marginalized. In this way, our assiduous Eucharistic celebration on the day of the Lord becomes a sign and source of a mature and operative faith. Let us ask the Risen Lord in today’s Eucharistic celebration to help us appreciate his presence among us in every Eucharist celebration and to give us a firm and strong faith that is manifest in works of charity. Amen!
For further information on Faith, please consult our booklet: Living the Faith (2006) and on Sunday, the booklet: Sunday, the Lord’s Day: Remember to Keep It Holy (2014)
+John I. Okoye
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