Grief, Doubt, and Meeting Mystery Face to Face: Reflection on the 2nd Sunday of Easter

Christos Anesti!
Alithos Anesti.

The resurrection of Jesus is the central mystery of our faith. By his death and resurrection Christ our victorious king has destroyed death, and won life for all of humanity. This is why we have hope in our own bodily resurrection because Christ, the first fruit of all who have fallen asleep has conquered sin and death. The resurrection occurred to fulfill what had been written about the Christ, that it was necessary that he should suffer these things and so enter into His glory (Luke 24:26). Every weekend and on Solemnities we profess boldly that Christ “rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” It might seem easy for us, who are historically removed from the events we commemorated these past days to mouth the above words, but it was not so for the disciples of this itinerant preacher from Nazareth. Though the disciples came to faith in the resurrection and even gave their lives defending this faith, it was not without some initial difficulty. They had been privileged to see the empty tomb and angels who asked why they sought the living among the dead (Luke 24:5), yet they did not seemed convinced that Christ had risen as he said. They needed more evidence. The two disciples on their way to Emmaus expressed the frustration and doubt of the other disciples even after some women in their group had returned with news of the resurrection and some of them had gone to the grave and found it empty as the women said (Luke 24). To make matters worse, there had been rumors that the resurrection claim was a hoax. Some soldiers had been bribed by the religious leaders, and had concocted a story that his body was stolen at night by his disciples while they slept (Matthew 28:12-13). There must be so much hate for this Jesus in the hearts of the Chief priests and elders that even in death they would make up such defamatory story concerning him.

Today there are people who still deny the resurrection of Christ from the dead. They cannot fathom that such is a possibility – that someone would walk out of their grave. These people make a mockery of a God who would allow his son suffer such cruelty at the hands of his own creatures. They try to explain what is the perfect plan of God using feeble and fallible human logic. They fail to see that even though a historical event, the resurrection of Christ is a mystery of faith. God does not operate according to human framework of thinking; rather, God transcends the limitations set by the human mind. And the resurrection of Jesus is to fulfill what the prophets had spoken regarding the messiah.

For us Christians, faith in the resurrection of Christ is foundational. The denial of the resurrection has implication for faith in Jesus. If he did not rise as he predicted then he ought to be dismissed as a liar, one who did not have the power he claimed, and there was no truth in him. But if he truly rose as he said then the attempt of his detractors to ridicule this famous teacher and his disciples had been repudiated by that very fact. They would therefore doubt the power that raised him from the dead at their own peril.

If all we had was the empty tomb, the rumor about the body being stolen might have deserved a second look. But Jesus would not allow just the empty tomb to be the proof of his resurrection. He manifests himself to his disciples on multiple occasions after his resurrection, and he was seen by many others (1 Corinthians 15:16). The gospel account for this weekend was one of such moments when the risen Lord showed himself to his disciples. In his risen and glorified body he was no longer bound by time or space. The doors were shut, yet his presence was real. Jesus knew there was the need to strengthen the faith of his disciples if they were to be witnesses to his resurrection. He empathized with their grief and patiently helped them come to faith. This weekend, we hear the powerful declaration of Thomas after a brief moment of what is often interpreted as apparent doubt. He said, “my Lord and my God.” Nowhere in the New Testament is Jesus so sublimely addressed directly. And these solemn words come from the mouth of him, whom we have too often referred to as ‘doubting Thomas.’ He refused to believe based on hearsay, and he was rewarded with a repeat visit from the Lord. His doubt was immediately transformed to faith. When he came face to face with the mystery, he did not persist in doubt. The goal of Easter is to help us make that journey from doubt to faith, from disbelief to belief, from questioning to affirming the truth of what has been revealed. We all have our ‘Thomas moments,” when we question aspects of our faith. This is not evil in itself; and in fact, it is encouraged. But we must be open to allow the mystery of our faith unfold itself to us. One who seeks must be humble before that which one does not know; for it is only in this humility of heart that the mystery of Christ’s resurrection can be made manifest. Let us make our own the words of the father of the boy with the mute spirit, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

My gratitude to all who helped plan all the liturgies for Holy Week, those who helped with the decoration of the church, Servers, Ushers, Lectors, Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, musicians and all who attended the various liturgies.

May the joy of Easter be abundant in you.