Reflection for Divine Mercy Sunday, 2023

John 20:19-31

Today we meet, as we do every Easter Season, St. Thomas the apostle who was not present with the other apostles when Jesus appeared to them on Easter Sunday. I wonder where he was, and why he wasn’t with them. Imagine missing the appearance of someone on whom you had fastened all your hopes and dreams, to whom you had given yourself completely, only to see Him arrested, charged with a capital offense, tortured, executed and buried. Imagine further that the person appearing after death and burial is one whom you loved as you’ve never loved anyone before. And you missed Him.

Imagine then that you didn’t believe the visitation really happened, because you couldn’t let yourself believe, in case you would later find out it wasn’t true after all. Could anyone blame you for that? Yet, Thomas has been for two millennia called ‘the doubter.’

He had told the others that he would not believe it unless or until (depending on the translation) he could put his fingers into the wounds of the hands, and his hand into the wound in the side of Jesus. Yet, there was still hope in him, and that hope would not be shattered. One week after the first appearance (for we know it happened) Jesus again entered the locked upper room. This time, Thomas was with them. And Jesus, taking him at his word, said, ‘Come, Thomas. Place your finger, place your hand….’  And Thomas cried out to Jesus, “My Lord, and my God.’

Locked doors. Broken hearts. Incredible hope. And fear, still a fear that they themselves might be arrested and killed.

Have we ever felt these emotions? We can’t find God in our prayers. We recall all the times we have failed in fidelity to Him. Dare we hope for God’s return to us? Are we worthy of His mercy?

Thomas, and Jesus, show us that the human condition is prone to so much sadness and uncertainty, even about God. Yet suddenly Jesus comes, and He asks that we turn to Him as though nothing had ever happened between us.

This may be why Jesus came to the apostles when Thomas was missing: to teach him and the apostles, and to teach us that there may be doubts and questions and absences of God, but there will be healing, with no questions asked. That’s why this Gospel and Mercy Sunday intersect.

Let us, like Thomas, have hope in all things.

Blessed Mercy Sunday to you.