The gospel today presents two apparitions of Jesus to the Sunday (the first day of the week) community of the disciples. The resurrection of Christ had begun to gather the dispersed disciples back into their group. When Jesus was arrested, the disciples had dispersed. Most of them disappeared in ways that would offend the Leader who moved and lived with them for three years. One of them betrayed him, the senior-most among them had denied him three times. The risen Christ has given only peace and joy to them. No sign of condemnation to the disciples who deserted him. The overwhelming feeling of being forgiven was enough to gather them together into a community.
A community, the Church, was being formed around the resurrection and forgiveness. A memorable scene from the movie 2012 is about how we build a new world, a new community. Adrian, the scientist, challenges the politician’s decision to exclude the people who worked to build the safety ships for the time of the flood from entering those ships. He asks, “If we start our future with an act of cruelty, what will we tell our children and their children?” His intervention would finally change the mind of the politicians to accept the poor people into the ship. What is important is how we build a new community of the resurrection. What stories are we to tell the next generation?
Jesus began a narrative with the story of forgiveness for sure. And he wanted that the disciples also tell this story to their next generation. So the risen Lord offers peace, first of all, to their troubled hearts. He also wants the disciples to start the new community with a deep conviction of hope and resurrection. We also find Jesus replacing the sad story of the Emmaus disciples with one of hope and resurrection.
Jesus builds them into a community of strong faith, who can witness to the resurrection. So he allays the doubts of the disciples about the fact of the resurrection. Not all the disciples believed in the resurrection (Mt 28:17). Saint John pictures Thomas, the apostle, as the symbol of all doubting disciples. Thomas refuses to believe unless he touches the wounded side of Christ. Jesus invites him to do exactly that, to touch and believe. His obstinacy vanishes and makes his confession of faith, “My Lord and my God.” He actually believes without touching, though many paintings show that Thomas touched. Well, they are not scriptural. The invitation to all who doubt is to gather with those who have experienced the Lord, and you will believe without seeing.
While the disciples were involved in the story of resurrection and hope, the temple authorities were crafting another story of the theft of the body and the failure of the soldiers’ watchfulness. They developed a story founded on lies. In fact, our societies keep spinning stories about themselves and others continuously. Some stories are founded on lies and others on hatred. There are others who evolve stories of care, love and compassion. It is significant to be conscious of the stories that we use to narrate ourselves and that others use to narrate us. When we become part of the stories of hope and resurrection, we are witnessing to the risen Christ.