Scripture Scribbles: April 7, 2024 - Sunday of Divine Mercy

the Gospel

John 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them,
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

the devotion

The second Sunday of Easter is full of meaningful revelations. I’m particularly drawn to our Lord Jesus Christ’s actions and Thomas’ reaction.

True to the scriptures, Jesus rose from the dead, appeared to his followers, and bestowed them the Holy Spirit. Just when the disciples of Christ were at their lowest, Jesus empowered them through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has always been and forever will be like this. He gives us what we need, when we need it the most.

The Lord did the same for Thomas.

Here’s a quick Lenten recap: it was just a few days after Jesus’ death. All those who love Jesus were in hiding, in fear, shock, grief, and mourning, to say the least. Thomas happened to be one of these people.

Thomas hasn’t even recovered from the enormous tragedy yet. Hence, in his moment of weakness (probably his weakest one), after his fellow disciples told him that they saw Jesus, he said these words: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

I mean, who can blame him?

He was away when Jesus appeared in the midst of the apostles. Moreover, he and all the other apostles have been through a lot: one devastating moment after another. So how could Thomas possibly believe a sudden good news after everything they’ve just excruciatingly suffered?

It was then that Jesus showed Thomas His hands and His side. Jesus did so, to show Thomas that He is the risen Christ. Oh, what a blessed sight! The Lord understood how Thomas felt so He gave this apostle what he wanted and needed, when he needed it. The Lord knows Thomas could really use some wake-up call. What an awakening it was!

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas is back.

His faith did take a nosedive, but he’s so back. After this incident, Thomas perhaps pondered a million times why he had to go down in history as “doubting Thomas”. However, he knew in his heart that none of Christ’s followers was blameless.

We’re a lot like Thomas, too. Sometimes it’s so hard for us to believe an incredibly awesome news because we started losing faith already. Or, we’re too afraid to believe that something spectacular can still happen to us after all our misfortunes. Or, the news is too beautiful that we need time to allow it to sink in properly.

While we can understand Thomas’ being human like we are, Jesus wants us to rise above our fear, our shock, our grief, and the magnitude of it all. He calls upon us to believe. It’s called walking in faith. Believing, even in the absence of proof, is faith.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20:29)

If and when we fail to believe, because we’re bound to (at some point), Jesus will give us exactly what we need when we need it, to lead us back to our faith.

Today’s devotion was written by Edwina Yu