2nd Sunday of Easter.

April 27, 2014 Year A

Do you always believe what other people tell you? Well Saint Thomas was also a skeptic. His friends told him that they had seen Jesus who had been raised from the dead, but he didnt believe them. When he heard the story he was unconvinced, he needed proof. He is just like us, when something sounds too good to be true, it is almost certainly untrue. Some things are just hard to believe and they demand evidence. Our minds are incredible machines that in most cases cant make a leap of faith based on what others tell us. In a lot of cases people, especially children, become emotional in storytelling and speak of things that they imagine, to help animate their tales. Sometimes they become so infatuated with the stories that they tend to say things that they wish were true. Our minds in turn come to only one conclusion, only one thing that will prove the story to be true, and that is evidence, pure hard evidence. But Thomas, Doubting Thomas as he has come to be known didnt really want anything more than the rest of them had already received.

Mary Magdalene when she arrived at the tomb thought Jesus body had been stolen and she didnt believe he had risen until he appeared to her, and the other disciples who were gathered together in a locked room without Thomas, saw the risen Lord on the evening of the day of resurrection. Until that point, they also were unbelievers. They all saw their Lord crucified, and death as they knew it was permanent. Thomas wanted to see the blood of Christ on his fingers as he placed them into the wounds on his hands and into his pierced side, and that is what happened on the 8th day. Today is that day, the day that we celebrate the appearance of Jesus to Thomas and the disciples for the second time after his resurrection. St. Johns story is providing us with a clear message helping us to see the truth. He gives us evidence in this story so that we also will know with certainty that Jesus indeed was raised from the dead. He tells us in the gospel today that: these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

For Thomas Jesus was killed and no matter what anyone told him, in his mind, death was permanent. Now he had proof that as we sang in the Exultet at the Easter Vigil, Jesus Christ broke the chain s of death and rose triumphant from the grave! And Jesus said to him: Do not doubt but believe. and Thomas answered, My Lord and my God! At that moment he realized for certain that Jesus was indeed God. Maybe it was Thomas himself who first proclaimed the Easter cry that we still use today: Alleluia, He is risen indeed!

In our own lives we also know about the permanent state of death when we lose a loved one. Our friend is physically gone. We no longer share words or have the opportunity to meet and socialize. Our minds make it hard for us to believe that they are indeed alive in Christ, but Jesus has risen and has broken the chains of death for all believers, and St. John proves that to us today, in the story of Doubting Thomas. Pope Francis also reminds us that: "The Resurrection of Jesus is not some type of fairytale ending. It's not the feel good ending of a movie, but rather proof that God is present even in difficult and dark moments. The night is always extremely dark just before the sun begins to rise. When we lose a loved one we share in the crucifixion, we do personal time on the cross, but Pope Francis also tells us, not to lose faith while we're on that Cross. These words from the Holy Father and the example of St. Thomas in the gospel is our proof, now we can rejoice knowing for certain that for those who believe in Christ there is life after death. So do I always believe everything that I hear? Not always, but I do believe that we are loved, that we are forgiven and that we will rise again if we follow Jesus, and these last 2 weeks bring that promise to life for all of us. Saint Thomas represents the 2nd generation of Christians, and we are part of that generation, a generation that is called to believe on the testimony of others. In the 2nd reading St. Peter also reassures us: Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. Alleluia, Jesus is risen indeed! and because of him we also will rise on the last day.