HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Second Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Apr 27, 2025

375

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First Reading

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (5:12-16)

Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon's portico. None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them. Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women, were added to them.

Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.

A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24)

(R) Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.

Let the house of Israel say, "His mercy endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say, "His mercy endures forever." Let those who fear the Lord say, "His mercy endures forever." (R)

I was hard pressed and was falling, but the Lord helped me. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my saviour. The joyful shout of victory in the tents of the just. (R)

The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Book of Revelation (1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19)

I, John, your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos because I proclaimed God's word and gave testimony to Jesus.

I was caught up in spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet, which said, "Write on a scroll what you see." Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.

When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with the right hand and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards."

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (20:19-31)

On the evening of the 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 and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

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." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to 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 into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."

Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Henry Graham Greene, an English writer and journalist who died in 1991, was regarded as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. In his last religious novel called "Monsignor Quixote", Henry tells a story involving two characters - an ageing Catholic priest, called Father Quixote from a little town La Mancha in Spain and Quixote's best friend Sancho, a retired, ex-mayor of the town and a staunch communist. Both men hold very different but strong beliefs. However, they are bound together by a common feeling of self-doubt. Once Quixote and Sancho go on a vacation together and at one point, they have the following conversation: Quixote says, "My friend, I hope that you sometimes doubt too. It's human to doubt." "I try not to doubt", says Sancho. "Oh, so do I. In that we are certainly alike," says Quixote.

Describing these two characters further, Henry says, "It's odd... how sharing a sense of doubt can bring two men together perhaps even more than sharing a faith. The believer will fight another believer over a shade of difference; the doubter fights only with himself". The rest of the novel shows these two characters embracing their doubts, and their doubts leading them to re-examine their beliefs. Henry himself who was converted to Catholicism in his early twenties later in life called himself a Catholic agnostic, meaning someone who has been baptized into the Catholic faith, but for some reason, is unsure of God's nature or existence. However, Henry also made a confusing statement late in life: "The trouble is that I don't believe my unbelief either", (Wisdom Stories to Live By).

Today's gospel from John recounts the story of Thomas, one of Jesus' disciples who struggled with doubt following the resurrection of Jesus, John (20:19-31). The story begins with the disciples gathered in a room with the doors locked, out of fear of the Jews on the first day of the week. In fact, from the day of Jesus' arrest, His disciples barely ventured outdoors fearing that what happened to their beloved leader Jesus might also happen to them. This was already evident when Peter denied Jesus three times on the night of His arrest before His crucifixion, Luke (22:55-62). And now, even after the discovery of the empty tomb and Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene, the situation among the disciples had not changed. They continued to be frightened and terrified. That's when Jesus appeared, greeted them with their traditional greeting "Peace be with you", and showed them His wounds, which in turn, brought much joy and comfort to them.

To strengthen further the spirit of the disciples and encourage them to continue His mission on earth, Jesus did three things:

He repeated His greeting of peace so as to reassure the disciples that He was not a ghost, was still with them in the flesh.
He breathed on the disciples thereby imparting His life-giving spirit just as God breathed on Adam and gave him the breath of life.
He conferred on the disciples the power to forgive sins.

Unfortunately, one of the disciples, Thomas wasn't with them during this time. So, when others eventually met up with him and, in their excitement, told him about what had happened, he refused to believe them until he saw Him for himself. He said, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe", John (20:25). Jesus responded by appearing to him and others a week later. After the greeting of peace and without any delay, Jesus called out to Thomas saying: "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it in my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe", John (20:27).

It appears Thomas did not even touch Jesus, because there's no mention of it in the text. He merely saw Jesus and responded immediately with the most profound profession of faith of who Jesus is: "My Lord and My God!". The expression of his declaration shows that while he was shocked and astonished by Jesus' appearance, he was also humbled by Jesus' invitation to him to come and touch His risen body. In response, Jesus said, "You have come to believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed", John (20:29).

These words of Jesus teach us about the nature of true faith, especially in a world that often demands physical proofs or visible signs like Thomas and other disciples. They believed that Jesus had risen from the dead only after seeing him in the flesh, face to face. Jesus acknowledged their faith, but more highly commended the faith of those who would come to belief in God's promises and testimonies, even without any sign or physical evidence. This means blessed are you and I because we believe but have no first-hand experience of Jesus' miracles, teaching, and resurrection.

What is the message for us?

No matter where we are in our faith journey, like Thomas, we all struggle with doubt and unbelief. Although we are believers in Jesus, at times we do say, "It's hard to believe or it's too good to be true or I won't believe if I can't see, hear and touch Him - but if He appears, I'll believe", and so on. We demand proof that Jesus Christ is truly alive and that He is present in our lives. We have doubts not just about the truth of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead but also about the nature of God and the power of the words of Jesus. For instance, it is difficult for some of us to believe that God has forgiven us and that God loves us, and Christ died for our sins once and for all. Or it is hard for some others to believe that God can, will and does, heal and restore us physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and in every other way. Or still some others are unwilling to believe that God uses us even after we fail.

Doubt is something we all face. It is a normal part of Christian faith and life. Even if we have made the right choice, we sometimes doubt ourselves. A little bit of doubt is a good thing as long as we can handle it. Doubt makes us question, probe and seek answers. In doing so, we can gradually understand our faith, build our faith and deepen our faith in God. We can also get rid of false beliefs and misconceptions. So, it's okay to doubt.

In his book "The Asian Journal," Thomas Merton, one of the most influential Trappist monks, writers and theologians of the 20th century writes, "Faith is not the suppression of doubt. It is the overcoming of doubt, and you overcome doubt by going through it. The man of faith who has never experienced doubt is not a person of faith."

By openly expressing his doubt and his need to see Jesus for himself, Thomas was very honest about the fact that it was hard for him to believe that Jesus had really risen from the dead. He did not pretend to believe because everyone else around him did. So, like Thomas, when we have doubts in our faith, let us be honest about them and stop pretending to be believing. At the same time if you are struggling in your faith, like Henry Graham Green, unable to understand, accept and believe in the things beyond our "understanding" in all levels, whether intellectual, emotional and spiritual, remember that Jesus is not upset with any of us for our lack of faith but rather wants us, "not to be unbelieving but believe", John (20:27b).

The Lord knows our struggles, and He sees our doubts and unbelief. Let us, therefore, just be honest and take them all directly to God and pray, like the man who had come to Jesus once, fell to his knees weeping, and said, "I believe, help my unbelief", Mark (9:24). Let us also put our trust in Christ Jesus who said that we are uniquely blessed because we believe without the evidence, without the signs and without seeing Him.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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