Gospel: 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 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 nail marks 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 it 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.
Homily
I know a mother and housewife who always cuts of the knuckle of a pork leg before baking it. I have never done so. When I asked the reason I was told that that is the way one prepares a leg of pork for baking and that doing so allows the seasonings to penetrate more deeply into the pork leg. I could not accept that explanation asked the mother of my friend why she had taught her daughter such nonsense. Her reply was that her daughter misunderstood. She (the mother) cut off the knuckle because her baking pan was not big enough to accommodate the whole leg.
Popular tradition can often lead us astray and today is one of those occasions.
The Gospel passage that we have for meditation this weekend is the passage which we know as the Gospel of doubting Thomas. Popular tradition puts Thomas in a bad light when in fact he is being presented as a model of Faith. His act of faith, “My Lord and My God” is the most explicit expression of faith in the New Testament.
Thomas was right to insist that before he could believe that Jesus had risen and had appeared to the disciples he must see the holes the nails made in his hands, put his finger into the holes and his hand into the great wound made by the centurion’s lance. How else could he know that it was really Jesus?
In a culture which upheld the belief in ghosts and demons, Thomas would not take the chance that it was someone else. Ghosts and demons could also pass through closed doors. Thomas shows us that any attempt to conceive of the resurrection without the cross is wrong. We can only believe in one who bears the wounds that have come about because of love. This is important for us if we are to be true followers of Jesus.
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In other words, authentic love is only possible through the death to self.
This passage also gives us another bit of wisdom. Whom do we follow and whom must we follow? The only people we can trust to lead us are people who are willing to suffer for us. This is not a question of following people who tell us how much they have done for us or obtained for us, but of following people who can show us the wounds, the holes made by the nails and the spear. This also speaks to us about our qualities for leadership. When we want others to follow us are we willing to have the wounds that come as a result of our total dedication?
Jesus’ invitation to Thomas also speaks to us of a willingness to continue suffering to help someone to grow. We all know how painful an open wound can be. Inviting Thomas to put his hand in his side and his fingers in the holes of the nails shows a willingness on the part of Jesus to endure more pain for the sake of Thomas’ growth. That too is one of the characteristics of authentic leadership.
Today then we thank God for the authentic leaders in our communities, leaders of families, of churches, of schools etc., who have borne the wounds that have come to them because of their dedication, and who continue to show a willingness to suffer pain for the growth of those in their care.
And we look at our own lives. If we show the characteristics of true leaders, we thank God for that. It is because of God’s grace that we can do that.
The Gospel story then gives us a programme in leadership. When we live like that we join the great band of saints who have imitated Jesus the Christ, and we in our turn keep the memory of Jesus alive. May the Grace of the Risen Christ help us to be authentic leaders.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God your Son Jesus gave us an example which we must all follow. In this world in which power and fame seem to be the forces driving the desire for leadership, help our leaders to recognize that service is the only valid motive for leadership. Help us to understand that a true desire to serve always include the acceptance of suffering not simply in the past but in the present also. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother, and your son Jesus, the true leader. Amen.
