During this Easter time, through our beautiful liturgical celebrations, we relive the experience of the Apostles who personally encountered the risen Lord. In today’s Gospel, we read the story of the Apostle Thomas insisting on having the same privilege the other disciples had – to see the risen Lord. When Jesus appears, he invites the ‘doubting Thomas’ to touch his wounds and thereby recognize that he is the Lord. Thomas responded with one of the most beautiful expressions of faith in the entire Scripture: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20: 28). It is to this experience the Apostles bore witness to the rest of their life. St. Thomas was able to carry this faith all the way to India and heroically witness to Christ. The Indian Church tries to keep this flame of faith alive, realizing that St. Thomas encountered the risen Lord. A person who has really experienced Christ in his/her life must be willing to witness the Lord. Our personal relationship with the living God enables us to share this beautiful experience with others.
The Lord showed his disciples the signs of the crucifixion, which he bore even in his glorified Body (Jn. 20: 20, 27). It means that the wounds signify the suffering he endured for our salvation is an eternal mark. It always reminds us of his love for each one of us. In the words of Pope Benedict: “He is a wounded God; he let himself be injured through his love for us. His wounds are a sign for us that he understands and allows himself to be wounded out of love for us.” In our own times, his body – the Church – continues to suffer in different parts of the world.
We hear the suffering of our Christian brothers and sisters in various corners of the world. What enables them to heroically witness Christ is the belief in the presence of God in their lives. The resurrection of Jesus gives us so much hope when we are faced with suffering. Our Christian faith is more than just what we believe. We need to put our beliefs into action by helping others. This is a time when we are called to love God and our neighbor, by trying to ease the hardships of those around us. Also, there is nothing wrong with receiving help from others if we are in need. The resurrected Jesus assures us of his continued presence in our life.
Pope John Paul II declared the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. The devotion to Divine Mercy is connected to the revelations we received through St. Faustina Kowalska. She was a humble and zealous messenger of the Merciful Jesus. Only by experiencing and practicing the mercy of Jesus, we can put an end to the evil in today’s world. As disciples of Christ, we need to experience God’s mercy on a daily basis. For us, the face of mercy is Jesus himself and in today’s world, we need to become a reflection of that mercy to the suffering people.
When the disciples were in fear and the doors were locked, Jesus could still enter there and transform their lives. We need to experience the presence of the resurrected Jesus every time we are faced with evil. We need to pray that Jesus would enter through our closed minds and hearts and transform us. Today also, Jesus is allowing us to touch and experience his wounded body so that we should have the courage to witness him fearlessly. The gift of true peace was given to the disciples by the resurrected Lord. Let us pray that we should inherit this peace by following in his footsteps every day. Let us offer this peace to the rest of the world so that humanity may learn to live in peace and harmony.
Rev. Dr. Mathew Charthakuzhiyil