During the Easter season, the church celebrates the life-giving effects of Jesus' resurrection. Today's readings proclaim the power of Resurrection faith in the early Christian communities who were often called to live in a hostile world. In gratitude for their example, we sing the words of the responsorial psalm: "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love is everlasting" (Ps 118).
Throughout the Sundays of Easter, the first reading is taken from Luke's Acts of the Apostles which recounts the work of the Holy Spirit in spreading faith in the Resurrection through the apostles' witness "in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Today's reading is one of Luke's idyllic summaries of the life of the early Jerusalem community (see also 2:42-47 and 4:33-35).
In this Sunday's selection, Luke stresses the "many signs and wonders" worked by "the hands of the disciples" through the power of the risen Lord. Responses to these wonders are divided. While the people hold the apostles in high esteem, outside persecutors from the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:1-22; 5:17-42) are afraid to join them when they gather in Solomon's Portico. But believers flock to the apostles in great numbers, bringing their sick and those troubled by unclean spirits. Acts affirms that because the apostles, like Peter, share in Jesus' healing power, the Gospel will triumph, despite official opposition from the Sanhedrin.
Throughout this Easter season, the second reading will be taken from the Book of Revelation, an apocalyptic work written by the elder John for seven persecuted churches in Asia Minor at the end of the first century A.D. (see Revelation 2-3). This Sunday's reading is John's commissioning vision, modeled on the calls of the prophets in the Old Testament (see Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1-3).
In the call, Christ assures John and the seven churches that because of his resurrection he has triumphed over death and the dominion of Hades. Christ appears as the glorified Son of Man in the midst of seven golden lamp stands, holding seven stars in his right hand, and with a sharp two-edged sword issuing from his mouth. John learns that the seven stars are the seven angels who protect the seven churches symbolized by the lamp stands. Overwhelmed by the vision, John falls at the feet of the glorified Son of Man, but then Jesus consoles him:
There is nothing to fear. I am the first and the last and the one who lives. Once I was dead but now I live forever and ever. I hold the keys of death and the nether world. (1:17-18)
John's Gospel account of Jesus' resurrection appearances has two distinct episodes: an appearance on the first day of the week to the disciples, with Thomas missing, and a second appearance a week later when Thomas was with them.
In the first appearance, Jesus is fulfilling the promises he made to the disciples in the farewell discourse at the Last Supper (chs 13-17). He gives them the gift of "peace" and the Holy Spirit/Paraclete as he sends them into the world, just as he was sent by the Father. The gift of the Spirit enables them to forgive one another's sins.
The appearance to Thomas addresses the initial readers and us, who have not had the privilege of seeing the glorified Jesus but must believe on the testimony of others. When Thomas hears that the other apostles have seen the Lord, he insists that he will not believe unless he sees and touches the risen Jesus for himself. "I'll never believe it without probing the nail prints in his hands, without putting my finger in the nail marks and my hand into his side." But when Thomas sees the glorified Jesus, he is transformed from an unbeliever, who must see and touch physical signs, to a believer, who confesses Jesus as "My Lord and my God." Jesus' concluding words praise the believing readers of the Gospel, those who have believed on the testimony of others, without having seen:
You (Thomas) became a believer because you saw me. Blest are they who have not seen and have believed.
(This column originally appeared in The Providence Visitor)
