He is risen! Alleluia! There is new hope. Not only are our sins forgiven and bondage of Satan is broken, we have the hope that we will see God face to face, as he is in glory. The disciples did not hope to see Jesus, once he died. His resurrection enlivened their hope. Each post Easter appearance solidified that hope, that once he returned to the Father, he was with them and they would see him in the fullness of life. This hope sustained them during the rest of their earthly journey. Each time we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, that same hope is stirred in us. We see him now in faith as we receive his Body and Blood. But one day our hope will be attained. We will see him as he is and will be with him forever, according to his providential plan. He created us and adopted us, so we will share in his glory. Alleluia! Thank you, Jesus, for that living hope.

 He is risen! Alleluia! It is the news of great joy. Not only does it confirm that Jesus fulfilled his promise to rise again after death, it confirms that he has delivered us from our sins. Our joy is in the fact that we can live a new life in him and with him now forever. He is risen is the dawn of a new day for all who accept and believe in him. We don't have to live in the darkness of hopelessness, but can now live in the promise of the fullness of our lives. As the Psalm says: "The joy of the Lord is my strength."  This joy is both external and internal. It is external because we approach life differently. It is internal because it is his life in us that enables us to live each day as a new day in the Lord.

 

Homily: Second Sunday of Easter Year B

 

Reading 1: Initial conversion is a beautiful time in one’s life. Initial conversion manifests a special fervor in one’s relationship with God. In our first reading, we have a glimpse into the life of the first Christians following Pentecost, when some three thousand were baptized.  We are told they came together for further apostolic instruction, for community life and sharing, for personal and communal prayer and, at the heart of their life, was the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread.

 

The first five chapters of the Acts of the Apostles convey the scene for us. They were of one heart and one mind. This is the ideal, which we are called to live. It is possible to so, as seen in the life of the early Church community. It was the honeymoon time in their relationship with Jesus. They are sustained by a deep love for one another, enjoying being together.

 

The early Christians saw that what they possessed was not theirs to use in a selfish way but to be shared with those in more need. Up to this time, there was no negative reaction to them from the outside. Then comes the first sign of persecution. They turned to the Lord for his protection. They were committed to proclaim the message of salvation, centered on the death and resurrection of Jesus. What disrupted their bliss was not extern but internal pressure.

 

They began to see certain faults in others in the community. Similar to what happens in the honeymoon stage of marriage. The couple become more award of each other’s faults, which become a bone of contention in their relationship. The earlier community lost the idealism of being one mind and one heart. This is what must be sought again.

 

Gospel: The resurrection of Jesus is a mystery of faith. No one witnessed the actual event itself. But many were witnesses of the Risen Savior himself. Here, we have two of those confirming appearances of the Risen Lord to his disciples. The resurrection is a mystery because it is beyond our natural comprehension. The characteristics of a glorified body are not limited by space and time. It is different in appearance but the same person. Jesus is not recognized so much in his appearances but in his words and actions.

 

But there are other mysteries in the Gospel narratives. Why does Jesus appear to those who did not at first freely believe, those who betrayed him and abandoned him? Why did he not chastise them rather than greet them with peace? Mystery. The commission he gives them seems impossible. As he was sent by the Father as Savior of the world, so they will be sent to bring this message to the world in the power of the Holy Spirit. Mystery. He tells them: “Whose sins you forgive in my name will be forgiven. Whose sins you retain in my name will be retained. Mystery.

 

How was it that the hardness of Thomas’ heart changed so quickly? He was angry that the others had an encounter with the risen Jesus and he didn’t. He not only wanted to experience Jesus but he wanted to verify in a tangible way that Jesus was truly alive by putting his finger into the nail wounds. And yet when he does experience the risen Jesus, his anger and his need to touch vanish. He is the first to proclaim in faith that Jesus is truly his Lord and God. Mystery.

 

Jesus’ response also reveals a mystery of our faith. “Blessed are those who believe in me without seeing me.” We are those prophesied by Jesus, who believe on the word of witness of others. Then John concludes. Through belief in Jesus we have divine life in his name. In him alone can we be one mind and one heart. In him can our life make a difference in another’s. The gift we have receive in mystery we are to give as a gift in the Holy Spirit.

 

Reading 2: What enables us to regain the ideal of one mind and one heart? John says the centrality of Jesus in our lives and loving the way he has loved us are the keys.  Centering our lives on Jesus and truly loving God and others will give us the power to overcome the external and internal pressures of community, whether that is Church or family.

 

Is Jesus in fact the Lord of our lives? Do our lives revolve around him in every aspect? Are we motivated by love in all we do? Do we see ourselves as victims of victors? Do we conquer our passions or do they control us?

 

We have been begotten by Christ in the waters of baptism. We have received the outpouring of the Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation. What does the Spirit testify about us? How committed are we to walking with Jesus on our daily life? How committed are we to living and acting in love in our family? Even though the reality of one mind and one heart seems at times distant, are we committed to follow Jesus’ plan, so that it can become the norm in all of our relationships?

 He is risen! Alleluia! The bondage of Satan is broken. The second death has no power over us. We have been reconciled and restored to God as his adopted sons and daughters through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Physical death is not to be feared. For it is only an instant in the whole spectrum of one's life. Before Christ, death meant entering into a state of nothingness. Now, because of Jesus, death opens us to the eternal life with God, our destiny, if we have lived with him in this life. That is why we proclaim, Alleluia! What joy! What expectation! What celebration! Thank you, Jesus! How important it is that I live in Christ and Christ lives in me. 

 Second Sunday of Easter Gospel B

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."  

How often are we paralyzed by fear and lack of trust in the word of God?

The women have already announced to them that he is risen, but they still do not believe and are locked in their fear.

Notice that Jesus= resurrected body is different yet the same: different, it is not limited by a closed door; the same, it is the person of Jesus.

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  

·       His appearance in resurrected glory confirmed the message of the women.

. What is it that Jesus was sent to do by the Father that the disciples and we are equally sent to do?

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

In John=s theology we can=t separate the death and resurrection of Jesus from the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Together the two events make up the Paschal Mystery of God=s plan.  In Luke the two events are separated by fifty days.

Just as Jesus received the anointing of the Spirit after his baptism, empowering him to do the work of the Father, so the disciples and we are given the gift of the Spirit for the same purpose. How have we responded?

This mandate to forgive sins is one of the scriptural foundations for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Do we take advantage of this gift of reconciliation from Jesus?

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." 

Following what Jesus told them to do, the first person the disciples witnessed to was to Thomas.

But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." 

Have we found ourselves at times in the same place as Thomas was, struggling with doubts, in spite of what others tell us about Jesus and what he has done?

Have we at times put conditions to Jesus to fulfill before we acted in faith?

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."   Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"  

·       Why do you think Jesus waited for a whole week before revealing himself to them again?

Jesus does not chastise or condemn Thomas for his unbelief. He reaches out in compassion and love.

Of all the confessions of faith in Jesus found in John=s Gospel this is the highest.

Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." 

To believe without seeing is a greater sign of faith than seeing and then believing.

Is our faith in Jesus based more on signs or his person, who he is?

 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (his) disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may (come to) believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. 

The closing verses are addressed to us today.  How has our faith in Jesus impacted our lives?

Pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon you to enable you to do what Jesus has sent you to do in his name.

Other reflections?

 He is risen! Alleluia! He is the same but different. His risen Body is glorified, not just come back to life. The disciples do not immediately recognize him, except in faith. Mary of Magdala thought he was a gardener, until he spoke her name, Mary. The Apostles were fishing but caught nothing until the seeming stranger told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Once they caught a net full, John says: "it is the Lord." When they come on shore he has breakfast waiting them. "No one ask who he was. They knew it was the Lord."  His glorified Body is a foreshadowing of our future glorified bodies in the resurrection, if we are in union with him when we die. Our mortal bodies will have immortality. Our corrupted body will become incorruptible. This is the gift of the resurrection of Jesus to us. It is a mystery that only faith can embrace. Alleluia!

 He is risen! Alleluia! What does that mean? He is truly who he said he was: God/Man, Messiah, King, Lord and Savior. He has fulfilled all the prophesies written in the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi.  Those of his day were demanding signs from him. His resurrection is the final miracle and sign that would firm up the faith of those who truly were awaiting the Promised One. For the rest, both his crucifixion and resurrection would become by choice a stumbling block to them. They rejected the stone that has become the corner stone. If they did not believe the scriptures, the works of the Father, the testimony of many witnesses, they would remain in this disbelief. His appearance as the risen Lord was not wasted on the hardened of hearts but to those who truly mourned his death. What does his resurrection mean to us?