April 24 - 2nd Sunday of Easter
(Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-19, Jn 20:19-31)
In the first reading after the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus and the Pentecost many signs and wonders are attributed to the apostles. Just as Jesus cured all who came to him, the apostles cured many of unclean spirits or disease. Seldom in human history is God’s power displayed so evidently. In the Church’s infancy she needed a special display of divine power to aid her mission of evangelizing the world. And at certain times and places, God has seen fit to make his power seen and felt in order to draw humanity closer to him. The responsorial psalm reminds us the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Our Lord is good and his love is everlasting. In the second reading the Liturgy is the place where we relate to ourselves the saving act of God recounted in the Scriptures and use that recounting as an act of worship. Revelation discloses a liturgical format; it’s both a liturgy and liturgical. First, we’re told that John’s vision takes place on the “Lord’s day,” the term used to describe Sunday, the day for Christian worship. Second, the first thing John sees are seven lampstands of gold, which any Jew of the first century A.D. would’ve recognized as being part of the Jerusalem temple’s furnishings. So the first two things this reading tells us are that John is in a time for worship (Sunday) and a place of worship (the heavenly Temple). In the Gospel of John we learn there are two sides of Christ’s love: He comes to show us the truth of our sin and its consequences, but he also comes with mercy and forgiveness. As a Church we’re present on Easter morning to witness the manifestation of the risen glory of Jesus Christ. Like Magdalene and the apostles, we’re also absent and remain doubting on the first Easter day in the person of Thomas. The Second Sunday of Easter could be called Thomas’ Easter. He represents that part of us that hold out against faith, relentlessly asking for proof, for confirmation. Sight and blindness are metaphors for enlightenment and sin. So there’s tension between the evidence that Jesus give us and our human insistence that he continuously reinforce our faith with signs. The Catholic conception of belief has always respected both our human need to be shown the truth and our human need for the faith that perfects our reason. The Church respects both because Jesus respected both.