In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.
1. Let us open our hearts to receive God’s Word
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then 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.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (Jn 20, 19-31)
i. the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Locked in fear!
They’re now expecting the worse! Life is seen as a threat!
But He who carries the wounds suffered out of love,
He who died giving himself,
isn’t locked in fear:
He transmits “peace”,
He shows the marks of the violence not to show bitterness
but to facilitate healing and forgiveness.
Reflect:
What dwells in your heart? Bitterness or peace?
ii. Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”.
Thomas had heard him say:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life”.
He must have thought:
“if the way ends in a tomb,
if lies eliminate truth,
if death whispers the last word,
then the good life of Jesus is useless!
But if the marks of the nails, the multiple bruises of calumny,
the victims of the culture of death, are carried by the Risen Lord,
then I will not only believe, but also hope and love.”
Reflect:
What do you request on your end?
iii. Jesus he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
Pilate said: Behold the man!
pointing to the man full of wounds
inflicted by people like him
who manipulate truth
who abuse of human beings.
Thomas says: Behold God!
pointing to the man carrying the wounds of the victims
Who is the Truth:
not as stone to hurt and control
but as the Way that leads to Life:
“My Lord and my God!”
Reflect:
How does this scene shape your vision of God?
3. Our Father
Thanks to Fr Jimmy Bonnici for this reflection