John 20:19-31, Divine Mercy Sunday

If Jesus simply showed himself to his friends in his Resurrection and then ascended into heaven before their eyes, Christianity would still have been born. I mean, Jesus did not have to do all the other things; like ask for something to eat, catch up with his friends walking to Emmaus, cook breakfast for them by lake Tiberias, ask Peter, “Do you love me?” or challenge Thomas to probe his wounds. The mere sight of the risen Jesus would’ve clinched the deal for Christianity for all time. But it seems the Lord couldn’t just rise from the dead and ascend to heaven.

And we get it, sisters and brothers. If you and I rose from the dead, & we found ourselves in the very same place where we lived and died, the first thing I imagine we’d do is hurry back to family and friends, show ourselves, and tell! Tell them what happened. Scholars and mystics have theologized and spiritualized about the Risen Jesus doing familiar things before the Ascension. They say it was to prove that Jesus was really human and divine, and to show he was the fulfillment of the Prophets. With all due respect to them, I bet Jesus was just so happy he was back alive. I bet he was beside himself with gratitude, that he just had to do the familiar things again with his friends…to surprise them, to fill them with wonder, to tell them how awesome God really was, to cheer them up! Because here was his heaven, on earth, back with his friends!

 And never mind that Peter denied him, that Judas betrayed him, and that Thomas doubted him. When you’re very happy and very grateful, you don’t even think of payback for offenses. For Jesus, not right now…not ever…even when his already glorified body still bore wounds. And we get that, too, don’t we, sisters and brothers? When we’re really, really joyful, and really, really thankful, we’re capable of doing many things like dance goofy and sing off key and not care, and say “I love you” and kiss everyone in the room including the goldfish. We are also amazed at how much we  can forgive. And say “Peace” and mean it. Sure, the wounds may still be there; the ones inflicted on us, as well as those we brought upon ourselves, thanks to our habitual, stubborn, wrong choices. But deep joy and gratitude make our wounds smart no more, regardless of the Peters, Judases, and Thomases in life; our deniers & betrayers, our doubters and deserters.

Our Church teaches that the Resurrection is the central mystery in our Faith. That if Jesus did not rise again, Christianity wouldn’t have been born. Or if it ever began, it would’ve been short-lived. And that if Jesus stayed dead, his credibility would’ve simply died wth him. But see, sisters and brothers, for me, the Resurrection is not just a theological truth. It’s a matter of everyday survival for me. I need pockets of Jesus’ Resurrection in my life as a Jesuit. I need reiterations of the First Easter in my day to day as a brother in my community, in my month to month as a teacher, in my year to year as a priest. You and I need birthdays and anniversaries, holidays and family reunions, meals with friends, laughter. Pockets of Easter. Or even just recovering from sickness, or completing a grueling task, or passing final exams; or for me, getting back to the classroom with my students after too many holidays. I would not know where to draw deep happiness and life-giving gratitude unless paraphrases of the First Easter happened in this life, sisters and brothers. I probably wouldn’t be able to apologize either. Even less, forgive. Because peace runs on hope. And hope springs from continual joy and gratitude.

No wonder the already glorious Jesus, achieving full Lordship, still defaulted to friendship. He asked for something to eat, walked with unsuspecting friends to Emmaus, cooked breakfast for them, asked if Peter loved him, challenged Thomas to poke him. Jesus wanted all of them to share in his joy and gratitude. And this we also get, sisters and brothers. When we’re deeply happy and incredibly thankful, we just need them shared. Kahit nga iisang tao lang ang napakaligaya at napaka-thankful sa piling ng maraming tao, hindi niya matiis na siya lang ang sobrang saya at thankful. Gusto niya group hug! And no one should stand outside that happy circle, not even the Peters, Judases, and Thomases in the room. In deep joy and gratitude, everyone belongs.

So, in this Easter Weeks, dear sisters and brothers, we beg God to constantly bless our everyday lives with pockets of Easter. He knows we need them. And not just to make us happy and thankful, but to make us happy and thankful enough that we also forgive and make peace. In his Resurrection, Jesus made sure his friends knew that he constantly enveloped them in his presence and love. In our pockets of Easter, may we feel that way about the happy, thankful Jesus, too.