Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe

Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter

by Fr. Tommy Lane

The apostles must have been suffering from a severe dose of depression since Good Friday. Their teacher and friend, Jesus, whom they believed to be the Messiah, was dead. Jesus had been betrayed to the chief priests by one of their own, Judas, who presumably thought that Jesus, if put into a corner, would have to act to drive out the Roman occupiers of Palestine. The crowd which welcomed Jesus with palms turned against Jesus on Good Friday morning calling for the release of Barabbas and the death of Jesus. The apostles, now afraid of the crowd, had shut themselves in for their own protection. There were ten of them gathered in this state; Judas was no more, and Thomas was temporarily absent. As they gathered in fear, we see that the words of Jesus during the Last Supper were fulfilled, “Satan has got his wish to sift you all like wheat.” (Luke 22:31-32)

Into this situation of pain and being sifted like wheat by Satan, Jesus came with his healing, “Peace be with you” as we heard in today’s Gospel. (John 20:19-31) How much peace they must have felt within now, combined with shock and doubts. This meeting with the risen Jesus certainly brought peace to their troubled minds and hearts. When Jesus came to the ten apostles, he healed them of their pain, doubts, and depression: “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19) Jesus too, like the apostles, had been sifted like wheat by Satan during the agony in Gethsemane when he prayed that the chalice of his passion would pass him by. But Jesus now came to strengthen the apostles. Yet his suffering had left its marks; he showed them his hands and his side.

The ten apostles were blessed because they had to wait only from Thursday evening to Sunday evening to have their pain and doubts healed. Thomas had to wait a week longer until he met Jesus. We don’t receive visions of Jesus when we are being sifted like wheat by Satan, and we have to wait longer than a weekend or a week to have our pain or doubts healed. Some people bear crosses all their lives; they are heroic. Those who bear heavy crosses, and there are many, and who don’t see Jesus, have the faith that Jesus spoke of when he said,

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. (John 20:29)

This is the faith that Peter wrote of in our second reading (Year A):

you rejoice, although now for a little while
you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet 1:6-7)

Although we don’t receive a vision of Jesus to heal us in times of anguish, God does send us comforts when we are being sifted like wheat by Satan. How many times we have heard someone say, “If it wasn’t for so-and-so, I would never have survived during that time.” We all know of people who are sensitive, kind, and caring and they bring peace to others in need just as Jesus brought peace to his anguished apostles. Thanks be to God for his gift to us of people who bring peace. Because of them we can say, “My Lord and my God” even when times are tough. (John 20:28) During the Easter Vigil, I said that the apostles being asked to return to Galilee to meet the risen Jesus is like us meeting the risen Jesus in our ordinary everyday lives. One of the ways in which we meet the risen Jesus is through the kindness of others who care enough to help, and offer wise words.

As we reflect this weekend on the risen Jesus bringing peace to his anguished apostles after his resurrection and bringing peace to others now through kind people, we pray that the peace of Jesus will touch all who are troubled, and bring healing and forgiveness so that  they too will be able to say, “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28)

Copyright © Fr. Tommy Lane 1999

This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.

More homilies for the Second Sunday of Easter Year A

Jesus always waiting for us 2023

Christ invites us to his Sacred Heart 2013

Divine Mercy 2008

Year B: Trust, Surrender, Believe, Receive

Year B: The joy of faith in Jesus 2006

Year B: Why confess sins to a priest? 2006 (excerpt of above homily)

Year C: Trust in Jesus' Mercy and Love 2022

Related Homilies: Jesus Did Rise on Easter Sunday! 2021

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