SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, CYCLE A

Readings First: Acts 2:42-47; Second: 1 Pet 1:3-9; Gospel: Jn 20:19-31

Theme of the readings

If Easter Sunday highlighted the mystery of the resurrection, this Sunday presents to us in particular the human response to this mystery: joyful faith. Thomas is at times a paradigm of all human people: he switches from disbelief to faith in the risen Christ, from seeking proof to joyous and deeply-felt confession (Gospel). The community of Jerusalem proclaims its faith in the resurrection when it gathers on Sundays to hear the Apostles’ preaching and to celebrate in fraternal communion the breaking of bread, a sign of the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (first reading). Peter’s words still sound fresh to our ears: "Still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls" (second reading).

Doctrinal message

Faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fundamental pillar of Christian belief. "If Christ has not been raised from the dead then … your believing … is useless … and we are the most unfortunate of all people," St. Paul writes to the Corinthians (1 Cor 15:12-19). Further, if Christ has not risen we are shown to be false witnesses before God, because we testified before God that Jesus Christ had been raised. However, continuing, Saint Paul exclaims: "But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep." With the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God the Father confirms the truth of his whole life and mission, all his teaching, all his deeds and all his work of revelation and redemption. Resurrection comes to be God’s "yes" to his Son Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the whole human race. 

In commenting on the text of Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, we can say that since Christ has been raised, we Christians are the most fortunate of all people on earth. The first Christian community that gathered with the Apostles and with Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the "breaking of bread", testifies to this intense happiness of believers. The reason is obvious: Christ’s resurrection is the first-fruits of the Christian’s resurrection; even more, the genuine Christian already here on earth, takes part in the new life with the risen Christ. How can we not live in eternal joy? This is what Peter sings in what is probably a baptismal hymn: "Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we have a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away" (second reading).

In commenting on Paul again, we can say: "Our witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ pays homage to the truth and fidelity of God the Father to us his children." God is faithful, and for this reason did not abandon his Son to the power of death; nor will he abandon any of us, his children through adoption and mercy. Jesus’ attitude to Thomas, the "doubting" Apostle, beautifully reflects the fidelity of God who complies with man’s "disbelief" in order to lead him to faith, a faith that is sound and forever free from any shadow of doubt: "My Lord and my God!" (Gospel). The Church’s uninterrupted confession of the resurrection of Jesus Christ down through the twenty centuries of her history has ratified and continues to ratify God’s truth and fidelity, day after day.

Pastoral suggestions

Man’s response to mystery is always surprising, whether he accepts it by a "miracle" of grace or rejects it, guided by the feeble light of his finite intelligence. Whatever his response may be, the mystery of the resurrection "is there," with no chance of being forgotten or obliterated. We should not find it strange, as priests and pastors, that on the one hand various responses can be made to this immense mystery. On the other hand, we must not cease to preach it, witness to it, and point it out as of the utmost importance for all human existence, rejoicing with those of our brothers and sisters who accept and are spiritually vibrant with the mystery of Christ risen.

We must preach unambiguously that faith in the resurrection is a gift, a "miracle" of God’s grace and love. We receive this gift in baptism, but we must nurture it, protect it, and appreciate it, so that nothing and no one can uproot it from the believer’s heart. How do our parishioners, those with whom we exercise our pastoral ministry, nurture, protect and appreciate the gift of faith, especially faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? What can I do, as a priest, to help my brothers and sisters nurture, protect and appreciate this faith?

We must explain to the faithful that faith in the resurrection is not absurd, contradictory to the laws of human reason or foreign to man’s daily life. How many realities are there in human life that people cannot see and yet believe without batting an eyelid? It is neither absurd nor irrational to believe in someone who "knows" about something, so it follows that we must believe in God who is infinite wisdom. If human life could be equated with animal life, then the resurrection would lack importance. But doesn’t man feel in his heart that he cannot die? Doesn’t a pagan like Horace say "non omnis moriar" (I shall not die altogether)? Not only is the resurrection of Jesus Christ not foreign to man’s life, but it constitutes the unshakable foundations of its true meaning. Christ has been raised, and "death has been swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor 15: 54). 

Source: http://www.clerus.org/clerus/dati/2004-05/21-13/CICLOA.html by P. ANTONIO IZQUIERDO L.C. (1948-2013)

[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].