UNLESS I SEE…

II SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR C, 07.04.2013.

The Invitation to see... the invitation to believe

A week later (Jn 20:26)… yes we are celebrating the day, a week later! A week after that great event, which is still fresh in our mind, that event which gives meaning to our Christian life, a week after the day which had a dawn that gave light and hope to the whole human kind, a week later we celebrate today the Low Sunday, or the end of the Easter Octave.

Today the Liturgy has two verbs that dominate the message… to see, and, to believe. The first reading presents to us what the faithful saw when the apostles were around; and what the people saw in the Christians! The second reading speaks of the things that John saw revealed to him by God, as things seen and yet to be seen! The Gospel presents to us Thomas, who wanted to see in order to believe and Jesus who invites him to see and to believe! The Liturgy invites us to see and to believe!

There can be five kinds of people: those who don’t see and so don’t believe; people who see but don’t want to believe; people who want to see in order to believe; people who believe and therefore see; people who believe no matter what they see! It’s important for us to know to which category we belong to.

The first category is almost an impossibility…today everyone is given to see. But this fact notwithstanding, if someone has not seen the wonders of the Lord, and has no clue as to believe in the Lord, it is not the person’s mistake.

The second group is abundant today… they see but are adamant not to believe. Pride, Negative Influences, Arrogant Independence makes these persons purposely turn down the Divine Revelation.

The third group is where majority of us fall into. We would like to see, we long for signs and wonders, we rush to places to catch a glimpse of reported miracles, we storm the heavens with a prayer for a sign, we pick up news and reports that indicate something extraordinary, we look for something that will provide a justification for what we want to believe.

The fourth group is the exemplary group that keeps the faith community going! The persons who believe so fervently, that they see things so wonderful and inexplicable around them. They believe ardently and so they begin to see and the more they see the more they believe.

The last category is where we are invited to be; to be persons who believe no matter what they see. During the holy week I would have heard the confessions of over 300 hundred persons, and so many of them struggling with what they see in their own life on a daily basis – problems, concerns and crises. There are those who see what is happening to the innocents who suffer, the just who are stifled, the kind who are trodden over. The world today has countless instances of unjust policies, inhuman practices, usurped justice and unheard cries. In spite of all this we are challenged to believe! 

Dear Friends, Thomas was someone who loved Jesus to the core, he wanted to go with Jesus and die with him; he was convinced that Jesus was dead, Jesus was killed for the sake of Truth, for the sake of liberating the people from meaningless ritualism and slavish faith. He was so sure of the death and suffering of Jesus that the wounds of the nails and the lance were the absolute proofs for the identity of Jesus. But Jesus comes with all his mercy to assure him of the same, that he died, that he was killed, that he was wounded… all because he wanted them to believe –, to believe in the unlimited forgiveness of God, to believe in the unconditional love of God, to believe in the Mercy of God! Right enough in the year 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II initiated the tradition of celebrating the Divine Mercy on this Sunday, the Sunday when the Risen Lord appeared with such merciful understanding to strengthen his disciples in faith.

Today the same Risen Lord invites us to see, to see and to believe! To see him present in our lives and believe that he wants us to act on his behalf everyday! To see him wounded in every person who is in need, who is troubled, who is depressed, who is broken…and believe that it is the Lord beckoning us to act with mercy and love. If we respond to the invitation, we can rightfully proclaim with all our heart, My Lord and My God! 

May the Divine Mercy fill our hearts and make us ever merciful to all those with whom we live specially among them, those in need.