DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY (The healing touch of the Risen Lord)
First Reading: Acts 4: 32-35
Second Reading: 1 John 5: 1-6
Gospel Reading: John 20: 19-31
*First reading is from the Acts of the Apostles. A vivid account of the life of the early Christian community is portrayed. The risen Lord had a decisive and strong influence on the lives of His followers. Their unity of heart and mind was truly praise-worthy. It was a community ideally faithful to the Gospel values where believers shared their faith and shared their possessions.
*Second reading is from the first letter of St. John. John exhorts the Christian community to live a life of love. He reminds us that every Christian is a child of God. Hence he/she should show his/her love for God by keeping God's commandments.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe Today's Gospel reading is from St. John. The disciple at the center of today's gospel narrative is Thomas. Thomas was a deeply wounded and broken man. When Jesus his master and friend was put to death on that tragic Friday he was in deep pain and left the company of the other disciples. Hence he was unable to meet the risen Lord when He appeared to the other disciples. Later he came to know about it and he was deeply hurt. When the Lord appeared again to all of them, He showed His wounds to Thomas. They were the proof of His love for them. Then the Lord invited Thomas to touch those precious wounds. Thus it was by touching and being touched that he was healed of his unbelief, grief and pain. What Jesus told Thomas that day should ring in our ears whenever we are in doubts. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." The world today is full of doubting Thomas(es). Many do not believe that Christ is risen and that we can experience the power of the risen Lord in our lives. They will not be convinced unless they can touch His wounds and see the radiance of His face. But this can happen only if the risen Lord is seen in His followers. For that we ourselves need to experience the presence of the Lord in our lives.
"The key to wisdom is this- constant and frequent questioning for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning, we arrive at the truth." -Peter Abelard
"Jesus' willingness to accommodate Thomas' unbelief is a reminder that God can handle our doubts." - David D Flowers
"Doubting Thomas uttered the greatest confession of faith recorded anywhere in the Bible." - Dr. R. F. Wilson
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