We have arrived at the Second Sunday of Easter. It is also known as the Sunday within the Octave of Easter and has more recently been called Mercy Sunday. The way in which the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection points to the fact that it is without doubt the lynchpin of our faith. As St. Paul tells us in his First Letter to the Corinthians, “if Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, your faith.” If we don’t believe that Jesus is risen or has been raised from the dead, then nothing about our faith makes any sense.
During the first week of the Easter Season, the Church concentrates on the so-called “appearance” stories, a series of Gospel passages that speak of how the apostles and disciples of Jesus realized that Jesus was in their presence at various times and in various places. Most of these stories come to us from the Gospels of St. Luke and St. John; however, St. Mark and St. Matthew also mention that Jesus appeared to the apostles and disciples on several occasions. The stories usually include a reference to the fact that Jesus was not immediately recognized by them. So for instance, Mary Magdalene things that Jesus is a gardener until he speaks her name. Cleopas and his wife walk all the way to Emmaus before the recognize Jesus as he sits down to table with them and breaks bread with them. When Jesus appears to the apostles in the upper room, at first they think they are seeing a ghost. Each of these stories tells us that it took some time for the early Christian community to come to the realization that Jesus was indeed still alive in their midst. They did not immediately believe. In fact, the Gospel of Mark, the very first of the Gospels to be written, tells us that the women were so frightened by what they say and heard at the empty tomb that they ran away and told nothing to anyone. If that had been the end of the story, you and I would not be here in this place of worship today. However, as time passed, those first Christians gradually came to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead and that he was still present in their midst.
All of the readings for this Sunday point to the development of that faith – the faith that tells us that not only is Jesus alive, but assures us that he lives among us.
Throughout the Easter Season, we set aside the Hebrew Scriptures from which we usually get the first reading for our Sunday worship, and read instead from the Acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke. This book of the Bible has been called by some “St. Luke’s Second Gospel.” Indeed, the construction of this book is a parallel text. Many of the miracles and many of the words of Jesus which we read about in the Gospel are repeated by the apostles in Acts. So for instance, Luke tells us that Jesus used to teach in the porticos of the Temple. In Acts, we hear that the apostles also taught in the porticos of the Temple. In Luke’s Gospel, we hear that a woman with a hemorrhage was cured as she touched the hem of Jesus’ robe as he passed by her. In today’s reading from Acts, we hear that the people believe they will be cured if Peter’s shadow falls upon them as he is passing by.
Another function of the Book of Acts tells us of the phenomenal growth of the Church. That growth records that like Jesus, the Apostles began to preach to their fellow Jews. For the Jews, the Temple was the center of their faith, so they began in the Temple. As the book unfolds, however, the Church extends beyond the confines of the Temple and moves into the neighborhoods of the countries of the Mesopotamian Crescent reaching all the way to Greece and Rome. We hear today that at first, only the apostles gathered in the porticos of the Temple and that the others were afraid to be seen in their company. However gradually those who placed their faith in Jesus began to come out of the shadows and “great numbers of men and women were added to them.” Notice that it DOES NOT say that the apostles added great numbers to the community. The evangelist uses the passive voice to emphasize that this is the work of God. God is adding to their number because God, in the person of Jesus, is still in their midst.
The second reading for today’s liturgy, and throughout the C Cycle of the Lectionary, the second reading for all the Sunday’s of Easter, comes to us from the Book of Revelation. This book was written much later in the apostolic era. There is evidence that part of it was written before the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (around 70 A.D.), but there is also evidence that part of it was written after that event as well. Today we hear of that mystical figure who is called John and who has been exiled on the island of Patmos. He has been exiled because of his faith.
This man is an astrologer. He sees images in the sky. Now before we give way to the notion that he must be a little strange, let us remember that men and women have seen images in the sky since the beginning of time. We call these images constellations, groups of stars which outline human and animal figures. To this very day, we still name these figures: Orion the Hunter, Ursa Major (the Great Bear), Aquarius, Sagittarius, etc, to name a few. In today’s reading he tells us of seven gold lampstands. These seven lights in the sky were the seven then known planets. Yes, I know there are eight planets; but one cannot see the planet that one is standing on. Yes, for a while we thought there were nine planets, but Pluto has been downgraded and is no longer considered a planet. So amazingly, this astrologer was right all along. Walking among the seven lampstands, he sees a figure “like the Son of Man” in an ankle length robe with a golden sash. While some may name that figure by any one of many different constellation names, this astrologer recognizes the figure as that of Jesus who speaks to him: Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards.” Like the author of the Acts of the Apostles, the author of the Book of Revelation tells us in no uncertain terms that Jesus is in our midst.
The final reading should be very familiar to us. We hear it every year on the Second Sunday of Easter. It is the story from the Gospel of John of two different appearance stories. The lynchpin of these stories is the character of Thomas. Unfortunately, we have come to call him “doubting Thomas.” But I will return to that later.
St. John’s Gospel was the last of the four Gospels to be written and accepted by the community. It is different from the other three in that it states that its purpose is NOT to give us another biography of Jesus as the other three do. The sacred writer tells us that this Gospel is written so “that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.” The very first words of the Gospel tell us what this writer believes: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” After penning these words, he continues in his purpose – to bring us to belief in the Word made flesh.
In the twentieth chapter of this Gospel Jesus appears to the disciples and invites them to preach the Good News of forgiveness. However, the evangelist is a little concerned for those who will not see Jesus in the flesh. Millions will come to faith in Jesus simply by hearing the story. That’s the point of this story of fingers in wound marks and hands in pierced sides. “Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.” That’s you and me, brother and sisters. Thomas speaks for all of us when he, and only he, states unequivocally, “My Lord and my God.” He is the only apostle who verbally affirms his faith. He is no doubter. He is a believer. He stands in this Gospel and represents those of us who have come to believe that Jesus is still in our midst.
Jesus is in our midst. He is alive. He has risen from the dead. The apostles believed it. The astrologer of Revelation believed it. The writer of the Gospel of John believed it. And we believe it. This unbroken chain of believers continues to this very day. For whenever we gather in his name, he is here with us. Let us prepare to unite ourselves to him through our reception of the Eucharist.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator