Second Sunday of Easter (B)

Acts 4:32-35
Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
1 Jn 5:1-6
Jn 20:19-31

“I’ll need to see some proof.” “Can you back that up?” “How can you be certain?” Have you used any of those expressions today? Hello, I'm Father Greg Friedman, with the “Sunday Soundbite” for the Second Sunday of Easter.

Influenced by the scientific mindset which shapes so much of our way of looking at the world, most of us want proof for anything beyond our experience. We don’t want to be “taken in” by extravagant claims or wild speculations.

So today’s Gospel, the story of “Doubting Thomas,” has a modern appeal. Thomas wants proof of the Resurrection. Scripture scholar Father Raymond Brown notes that, in John’s Gospel, Thomas’s story is part of a string of experiences linking faith to something concrete: the Beloved Disciple sees folded cloths in the tomb, Mary Magdalene hears Christ’s voice, the disciples see the risen Lord. It’s natural for Thomas to want concrete evidence.

But the evangelist and Jesus, Father Brown notes, are interested in a different reaction: What about those who believe without any physical evidence? Clearly, John wants his readers to make an act of faith, for Jesus calls such believers “blessed.”

When we hear this Gospel proclaimed at Mass today, we can draw some reassurances from our fellow believers. The idealistic portrait of the Church in the first reading may not mirror our own parishes in every detail. But when our individual faith wavers, we can gain strength from the Holy Spirit at work in the midst of a community of faith.

Scripture:

•With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. (Acts 4:33)

•My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. (Psalm 118:14)

•Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:5)

•As the Father has sent me, so I send you. (John 20:21b)

Reflection:

•What is your mission in the world?

•What is the source of your strength in the world?

•How do you conquer the world? Who has shown the way?

•How do you proclaim Jesus raised from the dead?

This is crucial: we must be converted—and we must continue to be converted! We must let the Holy Spirit change our lives! We must respond to Jesus Christ. And we must be open to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit who will continue to convert us if we follow Jesus Christ.

The fruits of evangelization are changed lives and a changed world—holiness and justice, spirituality and peace. The validity of our having accepted the Gospel does not only come from what we feel or what we know; it comes also from the way we serve others, especially the poorest, the most marginal, the most hurting, the most defenseless and the least loved.