2nd Sunday of Easter (C)

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.
Jn 20:19-31

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.
The body of Jesus was transformed in the resurrection. It no longer had the limitations of an earthly, physical body.

Peace be with you.
Shalom is the normal greeting among the Jews. But now it has a new meaning. At the Last Supper Jesus said: “My peace I give to you.” The peace that Jesus gives is salvation. “Salvation I give to you.” And why not? Through his death and resureection, Jesus has paid the price of our salvation.

He showed them his hands and his side.
Because Jesus was resurrected his appearance changed. Mary Magdalene thought he was the gardener. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus did not recognize him either. His wounds were his ID. For his apostles to recognize him, he had to show them his wounds.
What are our identification marks? If people were to identify us by pointing out our qualities, would it be easy for them to name positive qualities? Or would they find it easier to identify us with our negative qualities?

A man went to work as an OFW. There he met a former colleague, an engineer. While they were reminiscing those days when they were still working in the Philippines, the engineer wanted to ask about another colleague. But he forgot his name. So he said: “Kumusta na si….yun bang mainitin ang ulo.”

If people were to describe us by our qualities, would they find it easier to point out positive qualities or negative qualities?

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
In St. John’s gospel, the sending of the Holy Spirit occurred on Easter Sunday. On the other hand St. Luke reports that the sending of the Holy Spirit took place 50 days later, on the Jewish feast of Pentecost. The great feast of the "Jewish Pentecost" is kept in remembrance of the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai, 50 days after the liberation of the slavery from Egypt (the Passover).

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave his Church the sacraments of the Eucharist and of the Priesthood. On Easter Sunday, Jesus gave his Church the sacrament of Confession.

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
Sometimes when we are asked a question and we do not know the answer, we jokingly say that we were absent when the teacher taught that particular topic. Absence can be a problem. The search for a better future for their children force one or both parents to become OFWs and thus, are absent while their children a growing up. This may cause potential problem-children. But sometimes parents may be physically present but emotionally absent. There is a Readers’ Digest article about fathers who are emotionally absent, that is, they are emotionally distant from their children. It is the male children who are most negatively affected by this.

Students absent themselves from class by cutting classes. This does not only mean that these students miss learning a topic but it may lead to forming bad habits and attitudes towards studies. And since we are talking about studies, we should also mention that there are parents who are absent at school meetings and school activities. Parents must remember that the education children is a home and school partnership.

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.
Do you believe that I have a P1000 bill in my pocket?

Once you see, you no longer believe. You already know. The bible says that to believe is to have confidence in things that we do not see. That is why when we reach heaven, we no longer need faith. There is no longer the need to believe in God. We already know there is God because we see him face to face.

St. John Bosco had this to say in his Memoirs of the Oratory: “I was not yet two years old when the merciful Lord hit us with a sad bereavement. My dearly loved father died unexpectedly.” And a little further, he notes the words of his father to his mother. “Strengthened by all the comforts of religion, he recommended to my mother confidence in God, then died, aged only thirty-four, on 12 May 1817.” Do we not have here two examples of great faith?

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas made a profession of faith here. He recognized Jesus as God.

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.
Have believed what? That Jesus is alive? That Jesus is God? That Jesus is savior? What do you believe about Jesus? What do you believe about God?