A very blessed Divine Mercy Sunday to you! This is the
Octave Day of Easter—a day, just as in musical octave, where the dissonance of
sin is resolved by the harmony of mercy . In ancient times, too, the octave day
would be a special day after a boy’s birth. On the eighth day after his birth,
the boy would be circumcised. It’s a gruesome image, but the ancient Christian
Fathers saw the Resurrection as the definitive new birth—and the eighth day
that followed would be the definitive cutting away of the old life and the
beginning of the new.
These themes play out in any Christian’s life and, as we see
today, Thomas is no stranger to this. We see that he is not there when Jesus
appears on Resurrection Sunday. For some reason, he must have slept in on
Easter. Or, maybe after the crucifixion, he was one of those that ran away,
scandalized, afraid—maybe bitter. Whatever the reason, Thomas is isolated and
not with the community on Easter.
Thankfully, Thomas rejoins the community on the eighth
day, the Octave Day (Divine Mercy Sunday) and Jesus appears again. This time,
Thomas sees. And not only does he see, but he also gets to touch. Thomas places
his finger into the side of Christ—the side that was pierced by the lance. And
Thomas exclaims: “My Lord and my God!” He believes. And not only because he
touched Jesus’ side. Remember what the soldier’s lance pierced—not only the
side of the Christ but also the very heart of Jesus. It was from this heart
that blood and water flowed down onto the head of that soldier and, in that
very moment, that soldier’s doubt was converted. He too exclaims: “Truly, this
was the Son of God!”
Thomas’ finger, therefore, doesn’t simply touch the outer
skin of Jesus. He brings his finger to the very heart of Jesus—the very font of
mercy—and maybe Thomas realizes that it is beating and alive. And that may
sound gross, but Jesus rose not simply spiritually, but in the flesh—and He is
really alive. And He is alive to give us this mercy and to convert us from the
old doubts to the new faith, the new life—actual, heart-pounding life.
* * *
Here is where the great irony—or, comedy—comes in. You
see, Thomas believes precisely because he has seen and touched. But, really, he was
supposed to believe his brothers. Peter and Andrew and John and all the rest
actually saw Jesus risen on Easter night. Thomas, therefore, was guilty not only of not-believing that Jesus was risen from the dead, but Thomas also guilty because he did not believe
them. That’s pretty amazing, given all that they had been through
together. There was no reason to doubt his brothers, his friends. But he did.
As a result, Thomas’ doubt not only separated him from the risen
Jesus, but also from the very people that he had known and loved. The spiritual
translated into the geographical: Thomas was not there on Easter.
But Jesus has mercy on him and visits him when Thomas
comes back to the community on the Octave day. Here’s where the irony/comedy
comes in: After Thomas touches, Jesus says. “blessed are those who have not seen and
yet believe.” In other words: “Thomas, you were supposed to believe your
brothers, but you didn’t. Nevertheless, I am granting you this mercy (to touch), because I
want you to believe. When you go out into the doubting world, the only way
that they will come to believe is if they believe you—that is: I am calling them to do the very thing that you wouldn’t do for your brothers, namely, to trust. And this is going to frustrate you, and you will know the frustration and hurt your brothers had when you refused to believe them, because why should the world believe you Will you have mercy on those that doubt when they say to you the same
thing you said to your brothers? Will
you have mercy on them? What will be your reason for them to trust you? Will you give them my heart to touch by giving them my mercy, my new life?"
Thomas—indeed all of the Apostles—are entrusted with a
great task: not only to evangelize and to announce the risen Christ to all
nations, but to be trusted. And in order for them to be trusted, the Apostles
must prove themselves through a radical charity heretofore never seen on the
face of the earth. The world will only believe these teachers if they are first
witnesses. They will need to bring the very heart of Jesus for the world to
touch. On this octave day, the dissonance of the world must be far from the
harmony of Christ; the old way of life must be cut from our hearts so the new
heart of Christ may urge us onwards.
* * *
A final note: where does this Octave take place? In the same Upper
Room as the Last Supper. There, the Lord had instituted the Holy Eucharist—the very
Sacrament of Charity—and in turn ordained His Apostles to be the very priests
that would confect it.
One may ask: when does Jesus give them the power to
forgive sins? It happens on Easter night in the same Upper Room as the Last Supper
and the Octave Day. On that Easter night, Jesus appears to them and says “Peace
be with you.” Remember: they had all abandoned Him, crucified Him. And here
Jesus comes, not rubbing their nose in it, but saying “Peace. It’s all over. I
forgive you.”
In this moment, He breathes on them and gives them the
Holy Spirit—the very power to forgive sins. You see, the Upper Room is all one Ordination Rite: Jesus waits to give them the
power to forgive until the moment when they finally know mercy. Now that they
know mercy, they are now ordained and commissioned to give it.
Why do I mention this? Because Thomas was not there on
Easter night. So, on the Octave, Jesus comes and does the same thing—but this
time for Thomas. And not only for Thomas, but to give the other Apostles the
chance, too, to forgive. You see, after Thomas puts his finger into Jesus and
believes, Thomas will say to Jesus: “I’m sorry I left you.” But then Thomas
will have to turn to his brothers, too, and say, “Brothers, I’m sorry I doubted
you.” And in that moment, they will be able to lavish upon their brother the
very mercy which they themselves had received.
This is why the best confessors are the ones who have
known well the mercy of God. Indeed, the best Christians are the ones who know
this mercy, too. Indeed, this is the very heart of Jesus that the world longs
to touch—“will not believe until.” That is, until we have received and then give.
In only this way will the world trust and come to believe.
Will they trust you, Thomas? Have you so trusted?
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