“Doubt no longer but believe” John 20.

It makes sense to have our daily Gospel readings following Easter Sunday to be about the appearances of Jesus.  He appeared to various individuals, pairs, and the group of disciples.  Understandably the reactions to those appearances were a mix of alarm, fright, and confusion.  This Sunday’s Gospel draws upon the apostle Thomas and his reaction to news of the Risen Christ.  Out of all those Christ appeared to, Thomas remained the strongest critic and is given the title of doubter.  Only after he was satisfied by touching the wounds of Jesus did Thomas move from being a doubter to believer, by making a full profession of faith “My Lord and My God.”

Another reaction, though a complete turnaround, is the one of joy. The joy that comes from discovering the Risen Christ.  In different ways we can discover the Risen Christ in our lives when we see a turnaround in faith, health, relationships, employment and so on.  Faith allows us to experience a resurrection of our own in this very life when we perceive the world around us differently.  Like Thomas we can verify our beliefs through being in tune with what’s happening in and around us.

Using the same Gospel, it is fitting that the Church celebrates Divine Mercy on the Sunday following Easter Sunday, as we read:

“Receive the Holy Spirit.  For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those who sins you retain, they are retained.”

We are called to be agents of mercy to help others and to help ourselves rise up to live a life empowered and moved by the Spirit.

By Fr Hoang Dinh