DOCTRINE AND FAITH....2nd Sunday of Easter: Year B

(Acts 4,32-35; 1 John 5,1-6;  John 20, 19-31: 2nd  Sunday of Easter:  Year B)

            The proof of his resurrection, which Jesus offered to Thomas cleared the doubt of the Apostle and others like him, including us. We no longer follow Thomas in his insistent doubt but in his profession of faith: My Lord and My God. One’s argument may be that, it was very easy for Thomas to believe because he saw the physical proofs that demonstrated that it was the same Jesus crucified that rose from the dead. Therefore, there was no need to believe what one has seen. St. Augustine would respond to this by stating that it would be one thing to see and another to believe. Thomas saw and touched the risen Jesus, but believed in his divinity. The experience of the resurrection of Christ leads him to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and Lord of the universe. This should also be our belief.

 

            Jesus’ reprimand to Thomas is also applicable to us: You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe. There is no need, now, to insist on signs and miracles to sustain our faith. One simply need to trust in the Lord and the proofs which He had already shown to us, such as the sincere and sure witness of the Apostles and the word of God contained in the Sacred Scriptures that inspires the teaching of the Church. The Church continues Jesus’ work in time and space; just as Jesus was sent by the Father, so also was the Church sent by Christ:

Just as the Father sent me, in the same way I send you. Jesus entrusted to the Church through the Apostles and their successors a great mission in these words: ... For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained. Some people argue that the above statement is more or less generic. Be it as it may be, it is a direct indication of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, an authentic power entrusted to the Church to absolve or retain sinners and also to excommunicate or reintroduce someone who had sinned into the fullness of communion with the Church. And for the Apostles and their successors to be able to fulfill this great mission, the Risen Lord granted them the gift of the Holy Spirit: ... He breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. Christ, thus, communicated to the Apostles and the Church his life as the Risen One; with the gift of the Holy Spirit, he gave to the Apostles and their successors the power to raise men from the death of sin and make them new creatures in Christ. We should feel proud belonging to the Mother Church. Yes, the Church, made of men and women and not of Angels, can have her dark sides and wrinkles, but like every Mother, she is still beautiful, great and is precisely so because she possesses the Spirit of Jesus; guards the deposit of his divine powers; communicates her life to us and puts us in communion with the Father. 

 
          

  Jesus concluded his encounter with Thomas by affirming: Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe. Jesus calls those who believe, happy, fortunate. This is because faith is a sure way that leads to life; the last verse of today’s gospel reading goes thus: ... and believing this you may have life through his name. Faith is also light, which illuminates our mind and reveals the significance of our existence as well as God’s design or plan of salvation. Faith is also a consolation and support in moments of difficulty and suffering.  It is the power that enables us to conquer the world, that is to say, the forces of evil that is operational in the world. John affirms this in the 2nd reading of today in these words: this is the victory over the world - our faith. Faith is also to be seen as the source of love, and this is verified in the love we have for God and for neighbour. If we believe in God it is not possible, not to love him. If we love God and observe his commandments, we cannot but love His sons and daughters as today’s second reading enunciates. The type of fraternal love that comes from faith is exemplified practically and vividly in the Acts of the Apostles (First reading): The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common. This passage from the Acts of the Apostles should inspire us. If in our community of faith we are not of one heart and one soul and if we do not truly love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not a Christian community but just an aggregate of persons. If in our community, we are not worried about those who have needs or are in difficulties on account of material problems (lack of work, food, medical care, money to take care of basic human needs, lack of accommodation) or moral problems (lonely persons, crisis in the family, helpless sick persons living in penury) or even spiritual problem (loss of faith), then we are no church at all, nor a Christian community; we are rather groups of people, clubs and social associations. Let us pray in this Eucharistic celebration of today that our faith in the divinity of the Risen Lord may grow in leaps and bounds, that we may appreciate well and profit from our belonging to a Church where the Spirit of the Risen Lord is guide and guard; and that our community will be a Christian community of vivid faith, active and practical love. All the above wishes will become ours, if we make ourselves available to the Risen Lord who waits to share with us His healing word and resuscitating meal at Masses, every Sunday (every eight day of the week).  Happy Easter still! Happy Sunday! 

+John I. Okoye.