Gospel reflection for April 27, 2025, Second Sunday of Easter
For a reason that only becomes clear later, Thomas was not present in the Upper Room when Jesus appeared to the disciples. Often the skeptic, he remained unable to accept the testimony of the others. What it must have felt like for Thomas as he listened to the enthusiastic proclamations of the others, and yet remained unpersuaded? It was here – that the Gospel proclamation – the kerygma – began to take shape, with Thomas proving to be their initial foil, representing the many others who will hear the message and choose not to believe.
In the Gospel According to John the terms “testify” and “witness” emerge among the principle themes that appear throughout the Gospel. Jesus bears witness to the Father, Jesus invites his followers to bear witness to the truth, and yet he rejects the testimony of others on his behalf. Jesus is the truth, and that truth should be enough.
As Mary Magdalene reported to the disciples that the stone had been rolled away and then, after the beloved disciple and Peter investigated only to discover the tomb was empty, the testimony of the disciples as to the truth of the resurrection of Jesus began. This was further enhanced as Mary Magdalene encountered the resurrected one outside the tomb. Later on that same evening, Jesus appeared to the assembled disciples, although Thomas was not there.
During the course of the week, and with others testifying that they had seen Jesus in various locations, the essential work of evangelization began, the formation of what is called the kerygma.
At the core of the proclamation was eyewitness testimony. Those who had been with Jesus since the very beginning formed the heart of a new movement. Others had come along at various points of the ministry, so much so that we do not have a full sense of how many there were. Included now in this grouping is also the Mother of Jesus and members of his extended family.
Each one has their own testimony; their own witness experience to their encounter with Jesus. Like all eyewitness testimony they will differ with one another as to when and where Jesus might have said this or that, or perhaps where this healing or experience had occurred. Yet, at the very heart of their testimony is precisely this: that he had risen from the dead. The tomb is empty. He is alive, yet he has also been transformed. The resurrected Jesus is somehow different than the Jesus they knew.
Before they could bear witness to the world, this nascent Church needed first to bear witness to one another. They shared their stories, their personal encounters, and the profound experience of the resurrection. They repeated the sayings of Jesus, and began to understand more completely some of the more nuanced things that he had said to them.
Into this mix of excitement, confusion, and struggle to grasp the meaning of what has gone on, stands Thomas.
One of the Twelve, Thomas has proven to be a little more skeptical about the teaching and work of Jesus than were the others. It is then fortuitous that he was not there when Jesus appeared to the disciples. He did not accept their testimony. He was unconvinced by the eyewitnesses, and any other appeals to what Jesus had said and done during the course of his ministry. He needed, indeed demanded, the personal encounter. He needed to see for himself.
In this way, Thomas stands almost as a patron saint for post-Modernism. Signs and wonders are not enough. The testimony of the ages, the eyewitness accounts, the reflections of two-thousand years of proclamation and lived-experience, are not enough. The skeptic demands a personal encounter, something transactional that proves the thesis.
Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. We know this because we have the testimony of those who knew the moment.
Thomas gets his moment with Jesus. He is then the first to call Jesus “My Lord, and my God.” But Jesus also offers a warning to the Church and the world. No one else will receive this moment: we are more blessed as we believe without seeing.
We all harbor those moments of unsurety, but we stand on the eyewitness testimony of those who knew, saw, and believed.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.