DOUBTING THOMAS - Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Easter

Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter

Based on the Jn. 20: 19-313 (Gospel);  Ac 4:32-35 (1st Reading); 1 Jn 5:1-6 (2nd Reading)

From the Series of “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

DOUBTING THOMAS

“Unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe’. (Jn. 20:25)

The title for this Sunday’s homily is a very important one because it has given the English language a very important idiomatic expression, which is “doubting Thomas”, an expression for unbelief in general and a doubter in a particular. A doubter is a person who does not easily believe, or who refuses to believe without first asking for proof. The source for this idiomatic expression is, of course, Jesus Christ’s apostle, Thomas, who doubted (Jn. 20:24-29). Encarta dictionaries defines “doubting Thomas” as an “unbeliever, cynic, agnostic, pessimist, skeptic’.

The article on Microsoft Encarta  lists the three instances in the gospels where Apostle Thomas was mentioned, to wit:

“Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Although much has been written on his life, only biblical accounts, principally those in the Book of John, are considered reliable. The first of three references (see John 11:5-16) implies Thomas's devotion to Jesus: When Jesus sets out for Judea, where Jews have threatened to stone him, Thomas suggests, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” The second reference (John 14:1-7) occurs at the Last Supper, during which Jesus says, “And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas asks, “... how can we know the way?” Jesus responds, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” In John 20:19-29, Thomas, absent when Jesus first appears to the apostles after the Resurrection, doubts the others' accounts of the event. When Jesus appears again and invites Thomas to touch his wounds, the apostle exclaims, “My Lord and my God!” Thus Thomas was the first to explicitly recognize Christ's divinity. The phrase “doubting Thomas” stems from this account” (Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.)

Our gospel narrative for this Sunday, under the heading “Appearance to the Disciples”, is:

                “In the evening of the same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were,ⁱ for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them. ‘Peace be with you’, And showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you’. After saying this he breathed^j on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’

                Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the^k disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe’. Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’, he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side^.l  Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him: ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’^m

                There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.” (Jn 20:19-31).

Our First Reading, under the title “The early Christian community^m”,  is:

“The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common. The apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power,ⁿ and they were all given great respect.^o None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles, it was then distributed to any members who might be in need. (Ac 4:32-35).

 Our second Reading is:

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten by God; and whoever loves the Father that begot him loves the child whom he begets.^a We can be sure that we love God’s children if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us; this is what loving God is - keeping his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult, because anyone who has been begotten by God has already overcome the world; this is the victory over the world - our faith. Who can overcome the world? Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God; b Jesus Christ who came by water and blood, c not with water only, but with water and blood; with the Spirit as another witness – since the Spirit is the truth. Jesus Christ who came by water and blood, ^e not with water only, but with water and blood’; with the Spirit as another witness - since the spirit is the truth” (1 Jn 5:1-6).

V. 6 of this Second Reading (1 Jn 5:1-6), which mentions blood and water” has a parallel with v. 27 of the Gospel narrative(Jn 20:19-31)  that mentions the scar on Jesus Christ’ side that was pierced by a soldier’s lance as he hanged on the cross. Both verses relates to the passage of Jn 19:34 that says: “One of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.^r”

v. 29 of the Gospel that says, “Jesus said to him: ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe’” is related to the following passges:

Jn 4:48 - “Jesus said, ‘So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!’”

Jn 12:37 - Though they had been present when he gave so many signs, they did not believe in him.

Lk. 1:45 - “Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

The Gospel (Jn 20:19-31) is also related to the First Reading (Ac 4:32-35) when they particularly refer to the faith of Jesus Christ’s disciples, including doubting Thomas, when they came to the point where they shared everything, i.e. material goods, with everyone. This faith of Jesus Christ’s followers (disciples) is what overcame the influence of the world over individual lives that made them share their resources like the first Christians, which was narrated by this Sunday’s First Reading. As verse 4 of 1 John 5 (Second Reading) says: “And his commandments are not difficult, because anyone who has been begotten by God has already overcome the world; this is the victory over the world - our faith.”
 

Apparently, the source for the faithlessness on the part of Apostle Thomas was his frequent absenteeism. Because he was always absent from the gatherings of the apostles, he did not readily believed what had been told about by those who were present during his absences and he always doubted them. Hence, he lacked the faith that the other members of the group have.

The lesson to be derived from the doubting Apostle Thomas is that frequent absences from gatherings or assemblies will necessarily generate doubts, incredulities and faithlessness in the absentees.

FORGIVENESS OF SINS - 3rd Sunday of Easter Cycle B

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter

Based on Lk. 24:35-48 (Gospel);  Ac 3:13-15, 17-19 (1st Reading); 1 Jn 2:1-5a (2nd Reading)

From the Series of “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

FORGIVENESS OF SINS

The six Sundays of Easter are dedicated to the mystagogical instructions of the neophyte Christians of the early church who were baptized during the Holy Saturday’s Paschal Vigil.  Hence, the scripture readings for the Eucharistic celebrations for these six Sundays of Easter are concerned with the new life that these neophytes have received.

“Forgiveness of sins” is our theme for this homily because this is the common thought of the three readings for this Third Sunday of Easter (Cycle B).

In the Gospel, we find “forgiveness of sins” in verses 46 and 47, that says:

“And he said to them, ‘So you see how it is written how the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

The parallel text of these verses is:

Ac 2:38 - ‘You must repent,’^w Peter answered ‘and everyone of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ ^x for the forgiveness  of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ This text (Ac 2:38) mentions the Spirit  as received in baptism and as the principle in forgiving sins.

The First Reading for this Sunday,  Ac 3:13-15, 17-19, also mentions ‘forgiveness of sins’ in verse 19 that says:

“Now you must repent and turn to God,^l so that your sins may be wiped out.”

The parallel text of this verse is also Acts 2:38 already mentioned above.

The Second Reading for today, 1 Jn 2:1-5a, also mentions ‘forgiveness of sins’ in verse 1 which says: “I am writing to you, my children, to stop you sinning, but if anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ who is just”.

This text is very important reminder for the neophytes because it assures them that in case they fall into committing sins after having been baptized as Christians, they can receive forgiveness of sins again because of the Spirit who is the advocate being mentioned in this verse.

One of the parallel texts of this verse is the following:

1 Jn 3:6 - Anyone who lives in God does not sin^.d and anyone who sins has never seen him or known him.

Footnote d for this parallel text says: “Because God, living in the Christian, is present with all his divine power for life. John is talking in general terms, ignoring people’s momentary lapses, 1:7-2:1; all he is giving is an schematic contrast between two worlds, cf. 3:9; 5:18.”

Another verse, v. 2 of this Second Reading further mentions ‘forgiveness of sins’:

“he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and not only ours, but the whole world’s.”

Parallel text for this verse is  1 Jn 4:10 that says:  “This is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.”

Again, this is another very important reminder for the neophytes regarding committing sins after baptism had been received, because it says that God’s love for us is so much that he has sent his Son to us in order to take away our sins.

Of course, not everybody can forgive. It is only those you have the capacity to understand and to ignore other people’s momentary lapses, can. In forgiving, apparently, we cannot change what has passed, but we can change what is forthcoming in the lives of those people who are forgiven.

VINE AND BRANCHES - 5th Sunday of Easter Cycle B

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter (Cycle B)

Based on Jn 15:1-8 (Gospel),  1 Jn 3:18-24 (Second Reading) and  Ac 9:26-31 (First Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

VINE AND BRANCHES

“I am the vine, you are the branches” (Jn 15:5)

In the year 1990, when Fatima Parish at San Isidro, iriga City where I was then the Parish Priest, produced a Yearbook, I used the theme of “Vine and Branches” as a conceptual framework for book. In that Yearbook, I compared the parish to a grape plant, complete with root, main trunk, leaves, fruits and branches.  My hypothesis then is that the parish is not merely an organization of people, with an organizational structure, but an organism, with a life of itself, like a plant:   “the plant which my Father planted” (Mt 15:13).

In this organism that we considered as the parish, we have an old and a new plant. The old plant is the old parish setup, with its old organizational structure. The new plant is the new parish setup with its local Christian communities, arranged like the rings of a tree trunk around the Holy Father at the center. As the communities in the parish grow big and mature, so does the plant, which is this parish, also grow big and mature.

What we did to have this new plant that are the Christian communities in the parish, was to insert these new communities, through a budding operation, into the old plant that is the old parish structure to make these communities grow and start a life. But once these budded branches are ready to start their own life apart from the old parish structure then they will be cut off and planted into a new site to start a new plant.

The above description of a parish as compared to the vine  and branches of a grape plant, is based on the gospel narrative which we have for this 5^th Sunday of Easter, which is Jesus Christ’s  parable about the Vine and Branches. Jesus said:

“I am the true vine^a and my Father is the vinedresser.Every branch in me that bears no fruit, ^bhe cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. You are pruned^c already by means of the word that I have spoken to you. Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you shall be my disciples^d” (Jn 15:1-8).

Footnotes a, b, c, and d for this text are the following:

^a– On the vine image, cf. Jr 2:21; Is. 5:1+. In the synoptic, Jesus uses the vine as a symbol of the kingdom of God, Mt 20:1-8; 21:28-31, 33-41 and p, and ‘the fruit of the vine’ becomes the Eucharistic sacrament of the New Covenant, Mt 26:29p. Here he calls himself the true vine whose fruit, the true Israel, will not disappoint God’s expectation.

^b–The ‘fruit’ is that of a life of obedience to the commandments, especially that of love, vv. 12-17. Cf. is 5:7; Jr 2:21.

^c – The Greek word seems to be used here in its agricultural sense, but it may also mean “clean’ or “pure”, cf. 13:10.

^d–Var. ‘and so prove to be my disciples'. In this way the Father is ‘glorified in the Son’, 14:13. Cf. 21:19.

Jesus Christ’s parable on the Vine and Branches, especially verses 4-7 of today’s Gospel reading, points to us the importance and meaning of the word ‘union’, which is lavishly mentioned in today’s Second Reading taken from 1 John 3:18-24.

The First and Second Readings is common in reference to knowledge when they say:

Ac 9:30 - When the brothers knew, they took him to Caesaria, and sent him off from there to Tarsus.^o

1 Co 8:1 - Now about food sacrificed to idols, ‘We all have knowledge’; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance – it is love that makes the building grow.

1 Jn 3:20 - Whatever accusation it may raise against us, because God is greater than our conscience and he knows everything.ⁱ

The words of 1 Co. 8:1 that says, ‘it is love that makes the building grow’ points to the message of the Second Reading about love.

GOOD SHEPHERD -4th Suinday of Easter Cycle B

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Cycle B)

Based on the (Gospel) Jn 10:11-18,  (Second Reading) 1 Jn 3:1-2, and (First Reading) Ac 4:8-12

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

“I am the good shepherd:^f the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep.” Jn 10:11

This discourse of Jesus Christ about the “Good Shepherd” comes after the incident of the cure of the man born blind (Jn 9:1-41). It is directed to the Pharisees who were present in the crowd that Jesus rebuked for sending away the man born blind after Jesus restored his sight.

The discourse on the “Good Shepherd starts from v. 1 that talks about entering the sheepfold through the gate. Jesus says that those who do not enter through the gate of the sheepfold are robbers, bandits, thieves and strangers (referring to the Pharisees and to other Jews who were Jesus Christ’ enemies) who cause harm to the sheep by stealing and scattering them away.

Apparently, because the Jewish elders and the Pharisees drove away the man who was born blind that Jesus cured and who was made his disciple later on, Jesus Christ referred to them in this discourse as not shepherds but thieves and bandits and strangers to the sheep who enter the sheepfold ‘in some other way’ in order to destroy, kill and scatter away the sheep.

On the contrary, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd of the flock whom the gatekeeper lets in and enters the sheepfold through the gate. The sheep hears and recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd which he calls by name one by one. They go out of the sheepfold with the Good Shepherd leading the way ahead and all of his sheep follow because “they know his voice” (v. 3-4).  They never follow a stranger but run away from him because the sheep do not recognize a stranger’s voice (v. 5).

Because his audience failed to understand the parable of the Good Shepherd versus the stranger shepherd, Jesus Christ had to repeat his parable by applying the parable directly  to himself: “I am the gate of the sheepfold. All the others who have come before me are thieves and brigands, and  the sheep took no notice of them. I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me are safe: he will go out and enter freely and find pasture surely.  I have come so that the sheep may have life and have it to the full” (v. 7-10). 

From this point, the gospel narrative for this 4^th Sunday of Easter follow. In whole, the gospel narrative says:

“I am the good shepherd:^f  the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me^g Just as the Father know me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well.^h They too will listen to my voice, and there will only be one flock,ⁱ and one shepherd.

The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will,^j and as it is in my power to lay it down, so it is in my power to take it up again; and this is the command I have been given by my Father.”(Jn 10:11-18)

The First Reading is about Apostle Peter’s address to the Jewish elders who had crucified Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. It says:

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them, ‘Rulers of the people, and elders!  If you are questioning us today about the act of kindness to a cripple, and asking us how he was healed, then I am glad to tell you all. And would indeed be glad to tell the whole people of Israel, that  it  was by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name and by no other that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy, here in your presence, today. This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the cornerstone. For all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.’ ^e” (Ac 4:8-12).

The Second Reading is about Apostle John’s address that says:

“Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are.^a Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us. My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is” (1 Jn 3:1-2)

Here, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, had been refused to be acknowledged by the world says Apostle John.

The article from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, concerning the Good Shepherd says:

“The Good Shepherd (Greek: ποιμήν ο καλός, poimḗn o kalós) is a pericope found in John 10:1-21 in which Jesus is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23. The Good Shepherd is revisited throughout the four Gospels in references to Jesus not letting himself lose any of his sheep. The surrounding context of the allegorical story of the Good Shepherd (John 9:35-41 and John 10:22-30) shows that the people around Jesus realized that he was asserting that he was God.”

Long time ago, I heard someone share to us a story about a characteristic of a lost sheep, especially when it happened that it climbed a very stiff and dangerous cliff.  A good shepherd will not immediately attempt to rescue that sheep in that kind of situation because there is danger that the sheep will fall over the cliff as it tries to escape and resist its rescuer. Instead, a good shepherd will wait for the time until the sheep is already exhausted and is quite calm in its place before he rescues it in that cliff. Do not contradict, or try to oppose, a lost sheep that happened to perch on a high cliff or in a dangerous situation, but calmly wait until he quieted down. When he is already relaxed, then that is the time to force a rescue on him.

Regarding the indictment against bad shepherds, both the political and the spiritual leaders, in Israel, here are the words of the prophets:

Ezk. 34:1 - 8 - The shepherds of Israel^a   The word of Yahweh was then addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them, “Shepherds,^b the Lord Yahweh says this. Trouble for the shepherd of Israel who feed themselves! Shepherds ought to feed their flock…” (v. 1) Yet, you have fed on milk,^c you have dressed yourselves in wool, you have sacrificed the fattest sheep, but failed to feed the flock. You have failed to make weak sheep strong, or to care for the sick ones, or bandage the wounded ones. You have failed to bring back strays or look for the lost. On the contrary, you have ruled them cruelly and violently. For lack of a shepherd they have scattered, to become the prey of any wild animal; they have scattered far. My flock is straying this way and that, on mountains and on high hills;^d my flock has been scattered all over the country; no one bothers about them and no one looks for them. Well then, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh. As I live, I swear it - it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks - since my flock has been looted and for lack of a shepherd is now the prey of any wild animal, since my shepherds have stopped bothering about my flock, since my shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock… (vv. 3-8). (Footnotes a, b, c, and d of Ezk.34:1-8 are:  ^a - The image of the king-shepherd is deeply rooted in Eastern literary tradition. Jeremiah used it of the kings of Israel to rebuke their slackness in office, Jr 2:8; 10:21; 23:1-3, and to proclaim that God will give his people new shepherds who would pasture them with integrity, Jr 3:15; 23:4, and from these shepherds would come a branch, Jr 23:5-6, i.e., the Messiah. Ezekiel takes up the theme from Jeremiah 23:1-6, later to be resumed in Zc 11:4-17. For their wickedness he rebukes the shepherds, the kings and lay leaders of the people, vv. 1-10. Yahweh will take from them the flock they have ill-treated and himself become the shepherd of his people, (cf. Gn 48:15; 49:24; Is 40:11; Ps 80:1; 95:7 and Ps 23); this is effect the proclamation of theocracy, vv. 11-16; and in point of fact the monarchy was not restored after the return from exile. But the time was to come when Yahweh would give his people a shepherd of his own choice, vv. 23-24, a ‘prince’ (cf. 45:7-8; 46:8-10; 16-18), another David. The term in which the prince’s  reign is described, vv. 25-31, and the name ‘David’ by which he is called (see 2 S 7:1+; Is 11:1+; Jr. 23:5 ), suggest a messianic age in which God himself, by means of his Messiah, rules his people in justice and peace. In this text of Ezekiel, we discern the outline of the parable of the Lost Sheep, Mt 18:12-14; Lk 15:4-7, but more especially of the allegory of the Good Shepherd, Jn 10:11-18, which by virtue of its original context here is seen to be a claim to messiahship on the part of Jesus. The Good Shepherd is later to become one of the earliest themes of Christian iconography. ^b- “Shepherds’ Syr; ‘To the shepherds” Hebr. ^c - ‘milk’ Greek; ‘fat’ Hebr.; ^d - Probably alluding to worship on the ‘high places’.)

Ezk. 34:23 - I mean to raise up one shepherd, my servant David, and to put him in charge of them and he will pasture them; he will pasture them and be their shepherd.

Ezk 37:22, 24 - I shall make them into one nation in my own land and on the mountains of Israel, and one king is to be the king of them all; they will no longer form two nations, nor be two separate kingdoms. My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all; they will follow my observances, respect my laws and practice them.

Jr 23:1, 3 -  Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered - it is Yahweh who speaks! This, therefore, is what Yahweh the God of Israel, says about the shepherds in charge of my people: You have let my flock be scattered and go wandering and have not taken care of them (v. 1).  But the remnant of my flock I myself will gather from all the countries where I have dispersed them and will bring them back to their pastures; they shall be fruitful and increase in numbers (v. 3).

Zc 11:17 - Trouble is coming to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither entirely, may his eyes be totally blinded!

Since human shepherds are hard to find and quite a failure, Yahweh God himself is - the Good Shepherd ^a -    “Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing. In meadows of green grass he lets me lie. To the waters of repose he leads me; there he revives my soul. He guides me by paths of virtue for the sake of his name. Though I pass through a gloomy valley, I fear no harm; beside me^b your rod and your staff are there, to hearten me.  You prepare a table before me, under the eyes of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil,^c my cup brims over. Ah, how good ness and kindness pursue me, everyday of my life; my home,^d the house of Yahweh, as long as I live” (Psalm 23). (Footnote a nd c of Ps 23 - ^a – THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The care of God for the righteous, illustrated by two images: the shepherd, vv. 1-4, and the host of the messianic banquet, vv.5-6. The psalm is traditionally applied to the sacramental life, particularly to baptism and the Eucharist; ^c – Gesture of hospitality in the East, Am.  6:6; Ps 92:10; 133:2; Qo. 9:8; Lk 7:46.)

And Jesus Christ is also the great Shepherd of the flock according to these words which are as follows:

Heb 13:20 -  I pray that the God of peace, who brought out Lord Jesus back from the dead to become the great Shepherd of the flock by the blood that sealed and eternal covenant.

Jn 10:26-27 - But you do not believe, because you are no sheep of mine. The Sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.