Second Sunday of Easter, May 1, 2011

(Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31)

Acts reports that the church in Jerusalem devoted themselves “to the apostles’
teaching, to community, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.” Therein lies
the ideal picture of what the church is supposed to be about. History does not
always match the ideal portrait.
The common life included ridding themselves of their worldly goods and
sharing things “according to each one’s need.” We often hear people claim how
“Christian” our country is until we come across a passage like this from Acts. Then
the silence becomes deafening: “Each one according to his needs?” That particular
teaching is usually shoved under the rug.
In fact, even the church quickly ended its own experiment in communal living
when it became clear that the Lord’s final and glorious return was not going to
happen according to their timetable. One such modern timetable even came up with
the absurd notion that Judgment Day is scheduled for May 21, 2011 with the end of
the world scheduled to follow on Oct.21, 2011. Gads!
Peter mentions the “final time,” even though “now for a little while you may
have to suffer through various trials.” But it does not take a theology degree to see
that any New Testament enthusiasm for a quick return of the Lord gave way
quickly to a realistic assessment that the Lord’s return was going to be delayed
indefinitely and was not something we should fret over.
Rather, although we do not see Jesus Christ now, we “believe in him…rejoice
with an indescribable and glorious joy, as (we) attain the goal of…faith, the
salvation of…souls.” Thus Peter encourages us to stay the course as we await “an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
who…are safeguarded through faith.”
While it would be a comforting thought to be certain that this letter came
directly from Peter, there are too many things arguing against it to warrant such a
thought. It probably came from a disciple of Peter late in the first century, after
Peter had already been martyred (in 64/65 AD in Rome).
That brings us to John’s Gospel “on the evening of that first day of the week.”
Jesus greets his disciples, who were cowering behind locked doors, in peace. He
repeats the greeting of peace (for emphasis?) and then commissions them with the
Holy Spirit to forgive sins. The forgiveness of sins is at the heart of the Church’s
mission. Of all the gifts (and commands) Christ has given to the Church, the
forgiveness of sins stands out. It follows naturally from the peace greeting of the
risen Christ.
 John does not specify who all gathered together as “disciples” behind the
locked doors. But in the preceding episode, Mary Magdalene had sought out the
disciples, at the Lord’s command, to tell them that she had seen the Lord. The text
is unclear whether Mary Magdalene or any other women were with the rest of the
disciples, but her role in announcing the risen Lord to the disciples is unparalleled
in this Gospel. Not even Peter and the beloved disciple had been given such a
command.
In any case, the lone holdout remains Thomas who refuses to believe, until he
sees. That’s often the reaction in every age to mystery. But in John’s Gospel,
seeing is believing: as the Samaritan woman had done; as the woman caught in the
act of adultery had done; as the man blind from birth had done; as Martha and Mary
had done; as Mary Magdalene had done. It remains for Thomas to do (and to say):
“My Lord and my God.”

Fr. Lawrence L. Hummer