Gospel Reflection Sunday April 7th 2024 – Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)

By Fr Brian Maher OMI

Gospel Reflection for Sunday April 7th 2024 | Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)

Those first days after the discovery of the empty tomb must have been chaotic. I can’t even begin to imagine how Peter and the Apostles even began to get their head around the possibility that Jesus was alive again – Risen from the Dead.

They were afraid, in fact terrified, that they too might end up like Jesus. Hiding away in their locked room they could only hear the stories of appearances to Mary Magdalene and then some other women. They were also getting mixed messages about what the Risen Jesus was saying to them. One story was that an angel told some women at the tomb that, “…He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” (Mtt 28:7). If this were true all of them would have to leave Jerusalem and make their way about forty miles to Galilee. But why would Jesus want to drag them all this way before appearing to them?

Then there was another story which told them to remain in Jerusalem, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” How confusing!

There were even stranger stories doing the rounds; one of them of Jesus refusing to let Mary Magdalene touch him saying, “Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell my brothers, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17) Did this mean that the resurrection and ascension happened on Easter Sunday, and if true was Jesus telling them that they would not see him at all?  Then there were rumours of earthquakes close to the tomb, the appearance of angels and a man dressed in white actually inside the tomb.

For Peter and the others inside that room, the confusion, fear and anxiety must have been palpable. Perhaps the words of the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus best captures what they were feeling, “…some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning  but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” (Luke 24:22)

What we are actually witnessing in the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection is what happens in the aftermath of any major event or trauma. We should not be surprised or concerned that the stories do not tally and some seem to contradict others. There is no contradiction, just a very human response to the shock of suddenly coming face-to-face with an event which is totally outside their comprehension.

What is happening is this: Witnesses tell their stories; those stories are added-to when retold; some details are omitted; some are changed; other details are created. Nobody is being disingenuous or devious. All are simply experiencing a combination of excitement, hope, shock and confusion.

There is, of course, a danger in all of this, and that danger is that, left unchecked, the stories take on a life of their own and become more than complementary accounts of the same event, each one becoming the ‘absolute truth’ in itself with all others declared ‘absolutely false’. It is only a short step from there to the birth of what we now refer to as ‘conspiracy theories’.

All of us remember Covid-19 and the theories of secret world elites injecting us with nano-technology to monitor or control us. We remember the last Presidential Election in the US and the theories of rigged counting machines and bus-loads of votes being secretly delivered to counting stations. We remember the tragedy of the Baltimore bridge collapse a couple of weeks ago and the instant theories linking it to illegal immigrants, cyber-attacks and even President Biden himself! What conspiracy theories have in common is that they serve the agenda of the person telling them and they sow fear in the hearer; a fear which can only be eased by reliance on the person selling the theory.

Peter and the others closest to Jesus would, fairly quickly, have realised the danger of stories about the Resurrection of Jesus growing into conspiracy theories. Apart from the obvious theory that the Apostles stole the body themselves to try to keep the memory of Jesus alive, what might happen if some group claimed that the Risen Jesus had commanded them to revolt against Rome, or against the Jewish leadership groups? What would happen if some group claimed the Jesus had not died on the Cross but had recovered in the tomb and escaped to start a new life? And what about groups who might want to claim that the Resurrection was not real but only some visions or apparitions of the ghost of Jesus?

Indeed any group could use the Risen Jesus to justify their own political or personal agenda, no matter how outlandish that agenda might be.

The only possible response to these dangers was for those closest to Jesus in life to take control of the narrative being told, using their authority as ‘friends and companions’ of Jesus to tell an honest and balanced account of what happened on Easter Sunday morning.

Today’s Gospel, I believe, shows us the Apostles beginning to take control of the narrative of the Resurrection, and the narrative they share with us is simply too good to be true, except it is true!

The Gospel begins with Peter and the others hiding in fear. There is no attempt to present a false bravado. Like everyone else who knew Jesus well they are in danger and they are afraid.

Then, we are told, Jesus came and “stood among them”. His coming to them is unusual in that he seems to appear even though the door is locked. The Jesus who now “stands among them” is Jesus…but in some way different.

Importantly, his first action is to “show them his hands and side”. The message is clear and simple. The Risen Jesus is flesh and blood. He is not a ‘ghost’ or an ‘apparition’. He does not just live in their minds, like a dream. He is the same person they knew and followed, the man who walked the trails with them for three years.

However, the detail that he appeared through the locked door tells us that he is now more than a resuscitated body.

The Apostles are saying quite clearly: Any rumours you might hear that Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross but recovered and escaped are untrue. Do not believe them. The Jesus who “came and stood among us” did so through a locked door. A resuscitated body cannot do that!

Likewise, they are saying: The Jesus who “stood among us” was flesh and blood, real, the same man we know and travelled with. Any stories you are told that we saw a ‘ghost’ are fake. Ghosts do not have bodies that we can touch.

What comes next is hugely important. The first words of Jesus are “Peace be with you.” – a phrase repeated three times in the next few sentences. Peter and the Apostles want us to know that there is nothing to be afraid of. The Jesus they knew and loved in life was a person of gentle forgiveness. The Jesus who now stands among them, Risen from the dead, is exactly the same person – gentle, forgiving, a man of peace.

This is very important. The future is not something to fear. Jesus, Risen from the dead, will bring us peace. When we remember that John’s Gospel was written well after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, this message that the Risen Lord will bring us peace is especially relevant.

And the response of the Apostles to the Risen  Lord is to be “overjoyed”. The Risen Jesus is not to be feared in any way, but to be a source of great joy.

It is important for Peter and the Apostles that we realise that the Risen Jesus entrusts us with a sacred mission, to bring his peace and forgiveness to the world. We are to remember that the Resurrection is not the end, but the beginning of our mission to the world. The difference now is that Jesus, Risen from the Dead, is with us.

Lastly, in this Gospel, we have the story of poor Thomas, forever condemned to be remembered as ‘doubting’! As one of the twelve Apostles he was so much more than this, but as Shakespeare so accurately puts it, “…The evil men do lives after them. The good is oft’ interred with their bones.” Thus it was for poor Thomas!

However, his story teaches several important lessons. To have doubts is OK – even one of those closest to Jesus had them.

We also learn from Thomas’ story that Jesus does not hold our doubts against us. He comes to us, wanting only to take our doubts away. There is no hint of condemnation in the Jesus to talks to Thomas. There is no, “after all I did for you….”; There is only, “Touch me, stop doubting and believe…”

Finally, the story of Thomas shows us that God understands the challenge his mission holds for us. Believing is difficult, in a time of suffering it is very difficult. Yet we are called to believe, not in what we see around us, but in a man – Jesus – who Rose from the Dead, and lives forever with us.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and who believe” is a challenge to us, not a threat. Thomas could not believe without seeing and Jesus did not condemn him in any way. Jesus understands our difficulties and our doubts. He will never condemn us for them.

This Gospel is positive, joyful and full of hope.

In the immediate aftermath of the Resurrection, when confusion, fear and rumour abounded, Peter and those closest to Jesus, wanted everyone to know the truth about what happened on Easter Sunday and its huge significance for us.

It is a wonderful, beautiful and deeply personal story we are told: “Do not fear, be at peace. I come to take away your doubts; gently, without condemnation or recrimination. The Jesus you see Risen from the dead is not a ghost or a vision. It is ME, the man you knew and followed, as real now as I was then, flesh and blood, touch me and see. I now send you to bring peace and forgiveness to all the world. It is my mission to you. But do not fear, be at peace, now that I have Risen from the dead I will be with you…always…in your times of doubt and in your times of joy. Trust me. I live. Peace be with you.”

Yes indeed, too good to be true, except it is true!

Many thanks,

Brian.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie

Gospel Sunday April 7th 2024, Second Sunday of Easter | John 20:19-31

Eight days later, Jesus came again and stood among them