2 Easter, Year B, April 7
Acts 4:32-35 • Ps. 133 • 1 John 1:1-2:2 • John 20:19-31
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not, as the disciples surmised as Jesus walked to them upon the sea, a phantom, a ghost; it is not a mere wish or a projection born of trauma. If it were such, it would have faded as reason and reflection did their work. Rather, all the witnesses testify to a visceral reality, a real flesh-and-blood person who conquered and defeated death. Moreover, their conviction was so deep that it drew them together into a strangely new community of common love and mutual care. The Church, being an extension of Christ’s risen body, is a real-world community of persons. Thus, the resurrection of Christ is of incredible importance for how we think about and regard our own bodies.
Notice the language of St. John and how he draws our attention to the bodily reality of the resurrection: “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life — this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it” (1 John 1:1-2).
The miraculous appearance of Jesus in the locked house likewise drives home the point that Jesus is bodily present. “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After this he showed him his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19-20).
Thomas, who wasn’t present, refused to believe the testimony of the other disciples, saying, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Dispelling all doubt, Jesus appears again one week later, this time with Thomas present, and says to Thomas, “Put your fingers here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side” (John 20:27). The disciples testify to what they have seen and touched and heard. They have seen the wounds of the nails and the gash in Christ’s side; they have felt his breath and the power of the Spirit.
Drawn together in the absolute conviction that Christ rose bodily from the dead, they formed a new community in which unity and mutual care were especially prized. “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:32-34).
The disciples have “fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7), but this is not to be thought of as common human empathy alone. Rather, they are united to the risen Lord in the most extraordinary way. Listen to Pope Leo the Great: “My most dear brothers and sisters, there is no doubt that the Son of God took our human nature into so close a union with himself that one and the same Christ is present, not only in the firstborn of all creation, but in all the saints as well. The head cannot be separated from the members, nor the members from the head” (Sermon 12, de Passione).
Christ’s body is alive, and we are his body!
Look It Up: Psalm 133:1
Think About It: We are united together in Christ and with Christ.