Eight days later Jesus came and stood in their midst
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 nail marks 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 Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever experienced the presence of someone you loved after their physical death? What happened?
2. The opposite of faith is fear, not doubt. When have you found yourself doubting the possibility of resurrection? What brings this up for you, and what do you do with it? Explain.
3. Do you have trouble believing the testimony of others if what they describe is completely outside your own experience?
4. How is your ability to forgive others directly related to your growth as a follower of Jesus? Are there people in your life you are withholding forgiveness from?
5. How has being a Christian added to your peace of heart? Explain

Biblical Context

John 20:19-31
Sr. Barbara Reid, OP PhD

There’s always someone who’s willing to speak up when everybody else may be wondering about the same thing but is too afraid to ask. In this Sunday’s Gospel, it’s Thomas who voices the doubts and fears with which others are also struggling. As is typical in John’s Gospel, one-character acts as a representative figure. Thomas stands for everyone who is a follower of Jesus yet harbors doubts.

In the first scene in today’s Gospel, the disciples are together, locked in their fear, when Jesus stands in their midst. His double declaration, “Peace be with you,” recalls his promise of peace that casts out fear. Jesus then shows the disciples his hands and side, the unerasable evidence of the brutality inflicted on him. Oddly enough, instead of increasing their terror, this gesture causes them to rejoice. The explanation is found in the Last Supper scene, where Jesus spoke to his disciples about his impending death, likening his pain and theirs to the labor pangs of a woman giving birth, whose agony turns to joy after new life is brought forth. Jesus had assured them that when they saw him again, their hearts would rejoice with a joy that no one could take from them (16:20-22).

Jesus then sends the disciples to continue the mission for which the Father sent him. In John’s Gospel there is no calling or sending of the Twelve; the mission is entrusted to all disciples empowered with the Spirit. As Jesus breathes on them, the new life brought forth through his death and resurrection vivifies them. The image is reminiscent of the creation of the first human being, into whose nostrils the Creator breathes the breath of life (Gen 2:7). It also calls to mind Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones, over which he prophesies, “I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live” (Ezek 37:5). Just as God restored hope to the disheartened Babylonian exiles, so the risen Christ breathes peace and joy into the fearful disciples.

The power the disciples receive with this infusion of the Spirit is the ability to heal and forgive. When Jesus shows his wounds, we see that forgiveness does not erase them, nor does it dismiss them as unimportant. Telling the truth about wounds is essential for forgiveness and healing. Jesus then speaks of “holding on” to every beloved one, just as he himself had done (10:28; 18:9). Note that the word “sins” is not found in the Greek text of verse 23b (“whose sins you retain are retained”). Rather than an instruction to withhold forgiveness for some sins, Jesus’ instruction is to “hold on” to each precious one, “binding up” the wounds. The language is similar to that of Ezekiel 34, which describes God’s work as “binding up the injured” (vv. 4, 16).

In the second scene, Thomas represents all who were not present in the initial experience with the resurrected Christ. Jesus once again stands in their midst, bringing peace. He directs Thomas to probe the meaning of his wounds so that he too can become an agent of forgiveness and healing. When Thomas makes his acclamation of faith, Jesus affirms that there are two ways of blessedness: believing by having seen and believing without having seen. The crucial thing is to believe, so as to have life.

The Gift Is God

Reflection
Fr. Anthony Gittons

This is what is called a “performative utterance”: the words actually bring about the outcome; they generate the action they speak of. When a person is baptized, the words “I baptize you” are performative: as they are uttered and the action performed, so the person is actually baptized. “I now declare you husband and wife” or “I launch this ship” are also performatives (assuming the ship actually moves, otherwise they are a failed performative and acutely embarrassing). So, Jesus is not at all saying the equivalent of “Have a nice day,” or offering a simple conventional greeting. He is doing something very profound.

Everyone in that room is struggling to come to terms with the recent events. They are not at peace with themselves, nor with each other—particularly the petulant and absent Thomas. The air must be electric with their mistrust and self-recriminations. Yet Jesus does not upbraid them. He brings his peace into that room and into the heart and soul of each person there. The peace of which he talks is the peace the world cannot give because the world does not know it (cf. John 14:27). This is another “God-gift”: the gift is God, the God of peace. Consequently, if people have this gift, it resides at the very deepest part of their being, and even the turmoil on the surface and in their daily lives cannot destroy it. This peace is rather like the stillness in the deepest parts of the ocean that hurricanes and typhoons on the surface cannot touch. And this is the gratuitous gift Jesus offers his disciples.

Sr. Barbara Reid, adapted from Abiding Word Barbara Reid, OP, is president of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where she is also the Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies. The author of numerous books, she is general editor of the Wisdom Commentary series and coauthor of the Luke volume.

Fr. Anthony J. Gittins, The Way of Discipleship
Tony J. Gittins, CSSp, taught mission theology and social anthropology at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, and gave retreats and workshops on missionary discipleship and intercultural living. He died in May 2023.