IInd Sunday of Easter-Divine Mercy

IInd Sunday of Easter- Divine Mercy Sunday

Perhaps you've heard the story of the Yugoslavian judge who was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. This guy’s poor wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead and was placed in a preparation room under a crypt in the town cemetery for twenty-four hours before burial.
Well, in the middle of the night, the judge came to life. The judge looked around at his surroundings and suddenly realized where he was. He got pretty excited and rushed over to alert the guard. But instead of being any help, the guard was terrified and promptly ran off.
Fortunately, though, the guard returned with a friend, and they released the newly-revived judge. The judge's first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her that he really wasn't dead. Unfortunately, he got no farther than, "Honey... it's me," when his wife screamed and fainted.

So, he decided that the best course of action was to enlist some friends. He went to the houses of several friends; but because they all had heard the news from his distraught wife, they all doubted that he was really alive. They were all convinced he was a ghost.
Finally, in a last desperate effort, he contacted a friend in another city who hadn't heard about his death. And that person was able to convince his family and friends that the judge really was alive. This story almost sounds like one of the Gospel writers could have written it.

Thomas thought seeing is believing, but Jesus told him, believing is seeing. On this Second Sunday of Easter, we always hear the Gospel of Doubting Thomas proclaimed. This Gospel always leaves us pondering two main questions: “Why do we have doubts?” and, “Why do we have faith?”
The story of "doubting Thomas" is presented as a warning to those of us who have trouble trusting the spiritual side of life. We often assume that those who knew Jesus in the flesh had a great advantage over the rest of us and we may even envy them. In fact, however, the risen Lord is far more present to us now in the Spirit than he ever was in the flesh.
It is interesting that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, doubting Thomas, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith. Look at his confession, "My Lord, and my God." Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter. Finally Thomas came to believe that Without faith, no evidence is sufficient; with faith, no evidence is necessary.

Faith is not just an idea. It is more than that. It is believing in the power of God to transform us. Thomas believed that Jesus had the supreme power to change the lives of all beings. That is why he acclaimed him Lord and God.

Theologian Karl Barth once remarked that to say the old line from the creed, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" does not mean that we believe in the church. It means rather to believe that God is present and at work in the church, that "in this assembly, the work of the Holy Spirit takes place. ... We do not believe in the Church: but we do believe that in this congregation the work of the Holy Spirit becomes an event."

The tragedy that happened with Thomas was that he had separated himself from the disciples and therefore, in his solitude, missed the resurrection appearance. I think that john is suggesting to us that Christ appears most often within the community of believers that we call the church, and when we separate ourselves from the church we take a chance on missing his unique presence.
The moment we keep ourselves away from the believing community we run the risk of losing the redeeming presence of the Lord. The Lord promised his abiding presence with his believing community. When two or three are gathered together in your name, I will be in your midst. I will be with you till the end of the world..

We have faith because Jesus has given us life. The tomb is empty, but our lives are full. Jesus Christ is our deepest love. His presence makes all life worthwhile. His presence is a guarantee of eternal life. His presence is a guarantee of eternal love.
Thomas said: "I will not believe unless I see." This "seeing" is what others demand of us. They ask that we reflect Jesus, the Risen Lord, in our lives, by selfless love, unconditional forgiveness and humble service.
Let us have the courage of our convictions to share our faith as St. Thomas did, going all the way to India to spread his personal experience of His Lord and God. We are not to keep the gift of faith locked in our hearts, but to share it with our children, our families and our neighbors.

This Sunday is also called Divine Mercy Sunday. When we consider our human condition with all our doubts and with our need for faith, we have a deeper understanding that we live under the mercy of God. Of all the Apostles, perhaps Doubting Thomas experienced this mercy most dramatically. Jesus wasn’t offended by Thomas’ hesitation and resistance, he was just eager to get his faith back.
We are all Doubting Thomases. We all resist God's action in our lives in one way or another, get mad at him, don't trust him, and rebel against him. In his conversations with St Faustina, Jesus promised to unleash on the world a flood of mercy. The flood hasn't yet reached every heart. All we need to do is keep ever on our lips that prayer that he himself taught to St Faustina: Jesus, I trust in you.