Fr Kevin Kilgore

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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 Gospel of the Lord.

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Niagara Falls is one of the great natural wonders of the world. Part of its beauty comes from the sheer force of water that spills over its edges – on average, more than 75,000 gallons per second, and up to 40 million gallons per minute!

Over the centuries, people have attempted to “conquer” the falls through death-defying stunts like going over the edge locked inside a barrel.

One person even tried – unsuccessfully – to swim across.

Then there was the daredevil known as the “Great Blondin,” who crossed Niagara Falls on a highwire several times. In one attempt, he decided to push a wheelbarrow across while balancing on a wire only a few inches thick.

Before attempting this death-defying stunt, a skeptical onlooker shouted out from the crowd, “You’ll never make it across! Goodbye!”

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But the Great Blondin slowly pushed his wheelbarrow from one side of the falls to the other, then he turned and came all the way back. Shouting to the anonymous skeptic below, he said: “Now do you believe I can do it?”

The onlooker said, “Yes, a hundred times, yes!”

“Well, if you really believe,” the Great Blondin replied, “then get into the wheelbarrow!”

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How many of us would’ve taken the offer? The thought alone makes me shiver.

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This must’ve been how the Apostle Thomas felt about placing his trust in the Apostles’ account of seeing the Risen Lord. He wasn’t budging.

“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,” he says. Because of his skepticism, Thomas is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.”

But that nickname seems a bit unfair to me. It’s not that Thomas is unwilling to believe; he wants to believe. He simply needs more proof.

Thomas reminds us that the human mind is wired in a certain way. It searches for order; it seeks to organize, manage, and make sense of things. We don’t like unresolved puzzles, unsolved crimes, or mysteries that linger. We want certainty.

This is what makes the resurrection so hard for Thomas to comprehend. He cannot reach it’s logical conclusion. Jesus died in the worst way imaginable – after being scourged, spit upon, insulted, and nailed to a tree.

Then Jesus was placed inside a rock-hewn tomb with a boulder rolled across and soldiers standing guard to squash any possibility of people saying that somehow the Lord escaped.

Trying to convince Thomas that Jesus overcame impossible odds and was somehow alive again sounded like a cruel, delayed April Fool’s joke, which tortured his mind – and worse, his heart. 

He wanted proof, literally demanding to slide his finger into the warm, punctured side of Jesus. 

But can we blame him? If what the others said was true, then this would forever change his life – and the rest of human history.

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Interestingly, Thomas is also referred to as, “Didymus,” which is Greek for “twin.” Perhaps the name is not only meant to signal to us that Thomas had a physical twin; spiritually, we might also be related.

Like Thomas, we want faith to make sense. But there’s a skeptical, unbelieving voice within us that pokes at the soft spots in our faith.

Our twin, Thomas, shows up when children ask us questions about God and we don’t the answer. 

Thomas shows up when we see unnecessary suffering in our world; when someone we love is sick; when an important prayer request goes unanswered; or when we stand at the graveside of a loved one weeping.

Thomas shows up when we cannot get to the other end of “why?”

This must’ve been why John includes the story of Thomas at the conclusion of his Gospel, immediately after the resurrection appearances – to give us all permission to be Thomas. 

To doubt. To ponder. To question. To search for truth.

What happened to Jesus was real. He died, and three days later was raised from the dead! But it takes time for our mind, and more importantly for our heart, to make that leap of faith from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

It’s why the Church gives us seven weeks – nearly fifty days – to ponder and celebrate this great mystery.

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“If you really believe me, then get into the wheelbarrow!”

May the Lord grant us the grace to do just that.

To yield in our demand for absolute proof, to embrace mystery, to slide into the wheelbarrow as Jesus leads us safely across the rushing waters of life into his eternal kingdom.

For he is Risen! Alleluia! 

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Image credits: (1) The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio (2) Niagarafallslive.com (3) System100

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Gospel: John 21: 1-14

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We also will come with you.”
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something.”
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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A few weeks ago, I received a letter in the mail from my seven-year-old niece, Amelia. The cover was filled with colorful pictures – her, me, their dog, Max, a tree from their front yard. Inside the letter, there was a very important message.

Dear Uncle Kevin, 

I miss you.

Love, Amelia

P.S. I really, really miss you.

Shortly thereafter, I booked a roundtrip flight to Atlanta. Had I ignored that letter, something tells me I’d no longer be on her “good list.”

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A similar dynamic is unfolding in today’s Gospel.

Technically, John concluded his Gospel in the previous chapter. Jesus had been raised from the dead; he appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem; he walked through walls; he broke bread with them; and, finally, he imparted his peace and sent them out.

Period. End of story.

But much like my niece who needed “P.S.” to end her letter, John adds a second ending to his Gospel in order to reiterate a few important themes. 

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First, the role of Peter. 

Although the “beloved” disciple recognizes Jesus is the one standing along the shoreline, it’s Peter who lunges into the sea and swims to greet Jesus first. It’s Peter who hauls the catch of fish ashore. And it’s Peter whom Jesus speaks with directly, asking him, “Do you love me?” 

Then the Lord issues his great command to Peter, “Feed my sheep.”

Second, John uses the image of the net stuffed with fish to symbolize the mission of the Church. We are to fill her to the brim with souls thirsting for Christ without tearing; unity is key.

Notice, the net is filled with “one hundred fifty-three” fish, representing our need to embrace all of humanity; no one is to be excluded.

Finally, John demonstrates the Risen Lord’s knowledge and mobility. Jesus not only remembers his disciples; he can also appear to them anywhere he chooses – in Jerusalem, in Galilee, and in the quiet stillness of our own hearts.  

Come, Lord Jesus!

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Image credits: (1) Caitlin Trussell (2) thelifeididn’tchoose (3) Redbubble

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Gospel: Luke 24:35-48

The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way,
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.

He said to them,
“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There are seven recorded resurrection appearances in the Gospels, one being the Road to Emmaus, which we heard in yesterday’s Gospel. 

Today the two disciples whom Christ appeared to on that road have rejoined the rest of the community, who are hiding somewhere in Jerusalem.

As they share their mysterious encounter with the Risen Lord, how they could see him, but not really see him, Jesus appears in their midst, saying, “Peace be with you.”

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Everyone is baffled. Could this be a ghost? A dream? A hallucination?

The Jesus of the resurrection is not the same Jesus of Good Friday. 

On Good Friday, he was beaten badly, scourged, spit upon, mocked, then nailed to a tree with a nameplate tacked above his head. There could be no case of mistaken identity here.

Jesus of Nazareth died.

His resurrection, however, was largely based upon rumored sitings. Think about all of the others – those whom Jesus healed, touched, and forgave – who were not in this room where the Lord suddenly appeared. Are they to resurrect their crucified hope and believe?

Even those standing right in front of Jesus are stunned.

Yet the Lord speaks to them. He breathes upon them. He offers them his peace. But then he does the one marquee thing assuring them, in the words of John, “It is the Lord.”

He shares a meal.

He did it after blessing five loaves and two fish, feeding thousands. He did it on the night of his betrayal, hours before his death. He did it on the road to Emmaus. He did it on the shores of Galilee over a charcoal fire, reconciling Peter with himself.

And he does it again in today’s Gospel, assuring his disciples unequivocally that he is alive again. 

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This is the same way the Risen Lord appears to us today, “in the breaking of the bread.”

May the Lord give us all the eyes of Easter, allowing us to see him in the Eucharist, bread broken for the life of the world.

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Image credits: (1) The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio (2) Adobe Stock (3) Canon Law 101