Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13,
17-19; Jn 20:19-31
When the Risen Lord appeared to the disciples that
evening of Easter Sunday, he offered them three things, namely: peace, mission
and authority to forgive sins.
First, the Risen Lord offered the disciples peace.
Jesus knew that his followers were scared to death. They were hiding from the
Jews because they were afraid to suffer the same fate with him. He also knew
that the disciples were feeling bad for abandoning him during his passion in
Jerusalem. What a relief it was for these frightened and bothered followers to
hear the Lord’s salutation, “Peace be with you!”
In Jewish society, “peace” is the
most important greeting that a person can give to another. It is a greeting
that wishes people well-being, including material and spiritual blessings.
Imagine how wonderful and forgiving the Lord was. After being betrayed, denied
and abandoned by his closest friends, he continued to look for them and to wish
them peace. Ordinarily, we stop communicating with people who have hurt us.
Sometimes we wish them harm or look for a way to get back at them. The Risen
Lord’s example should encourage us to continue desiring the good of others,
including those who have hurt us.
Second, the Risen Lord offered the disciples the
mission which he received from his Father: “As the Father has sent me, so I
send you” (Jn 20:21). Basically, the mission was to extend divine love and
mercy to all people. The gospel says: “God did not send the Son into the world
to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”
(Jn 3:17). Jesus tried to fulfill the task by making people feel God’s real
compassion in their lives through his free, generous and inclusive ministry of
service. He brought it to perfection by giving his life on the cross as ransom
for many. The wounds in the hands and side of the Risen Lord became important
reminders of his great sacrificial act for humanity. They were signs that he
loved his people up to the end.
Before he returned to his Father, Jesus entrusted his
mission of love and service to the community of disciples. The first reading
narrates how the apostles performed signs and wonders in the name of the Risen
Christ. The people brought their sick and troubled members to the apostles and
they were all cured (Acts 5:16). Consequently, people highly respected them and
many were attracted to join the Christian community. This account should
inspire us in the Church to take special care of the needs of the poor and the
sick. Genuine concern for the less fortunate ones is a significant
factor of our ecclesial credibility.
Finally, the Risen Lord offered his disciples the gift
of forgiving sins. “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of
any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”
(Jn 20:23). Somebody noted that when God created the human being, “he breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen 2:7); and when the Risen Lord
breathed on the disciples, he made them a new creation capable of loving one
another and forgiving one another. Forgiveness was one of the central themes of
Jesus’ message; it also was his final gift to his followers. The disciples were
the first to experience the boundless mercy and forgiveness of the Risen Lord;
they in turn were to deliver the same kind of unconditional love and pardon to
every sinner.
Experience would tell us that forgiving another is not
an easy task, especially when the offender has so deeply hurt us. And yet, we
are reminded that the Risen Lord has already empowered us to extend forgiveness
to every enemy or sinner. Since we are a forgiven people ourselves, we should
not deny forgiveness to others.
