Shalom Sunday

[1]
“Thomas, put your hand into my side.” (Jn 20:27)

Shalom Sunday

May 1, 2011 Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42-47 I Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31
First reading from Acts

They joined with other believers in regular attendance at the apostles’ teaching sessions and at the Communion services and prayer meetings. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. And all the believers met regularly and shared everything with each other. They would sell their possessions and share with those in need. They worshiped regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness. They enjoyed great favor with the people, and every day God added to their number those who were being saved.

The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.

It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind doors locked out of fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, He showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later His disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger into my hands. Put your hand into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus said to him, “You believe because you have seen me. But blessed are those who have not seen me but believe anyway.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believethat Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in His name

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
An insensitive translation

“The doors were locked for fear of the Jews.” That expression is used only three times in the whole Bible and always in John’s gospel. When Jesus went secretly to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tents, John writes, “No one talked openly about Him for fear of the Jews.” (Jn 7:13) John also writes that Joseph of Arimathea, who asked Pilate for permission to take the body of Jesus down from the cross and bury it, was a secret follower of Jesus for fear of the Jews. (Jn 19: 38) And then in today’s gospel, the apostles were huddled together behind doors locked for fear of the Jews. (Jn 20:19)

No doubt about it, some of the roots of anti-Semitism lurk in that expression “for fear of the Jews,” as it is mindlessly read in the Sunday assembly down through the centuries. Fear of the Jews easily turns into hatred of Jews. We remind ourselves that it was the German Nazis’ fear of the Jews which sent 6 million of them into gas chambers and crematoria.

In a chunky volume containing eight translations of the New Testament only two out of eight are sensitive to the anti-Semitism lurking in the expression ”for fear of the Jews.” The Living Bible and Today’s English Version read, “The doors were locked for fear of the Jewish authorities.” The other six translations as well as this morning’s translation read “for fear of the Jews.” With the Holocaust in mind, that insensitive translation is unconscionable!

The yearly scolding

The Sunday immediately following Easter is always "Doubting Thomas Sunday." It is interesting to note that all the Sundays of the liturgical year have three different gospels assigned them (one for each of the three liturgical cycles of a, b and c). The Sunday following Easter, however, has only one gospel assigned it: that of the Doubting Thomas. It is repeated for all three cycles. Is that repetition on the part of the Church all about making sure that we the faithful are yearly scolded for our doubting? In this passage is Jesus really scolding Thomas for doubting? That’s always been the usual take on this passage, but it perhaps needs revisiting.
Thomas was not with the other apostles when the risen Lord appeared. What was it that took Thomas away from the other apostles that day? Was he appointed by the others to venture out of the locked room, and go shopping for food? Had the apostles gotten into another quarrel about who was the greatest (Lk 9:46), and Thomas left in a huff to compose himself? We’ll never know. But we do know that Thomas has gone down in history as “doubting Thomas.” Refusing to accept the testimony of the others, he demands his own experience of the risen Lord.

Doubting Thomas – an icon for believers

Despite all the bad-mouthing he has received down through the ages, at the end of the day, Thomas the doubter, believe it or not, is an icon for believers. We, who inherit the stories about the risen Lord, must at some point demand proof; our rational nature (like Thomas’) demands this. At the end of the day and despite centuries of bad-mouthing, Thomas the doubter is not an unbelieving scoundrel. He’s simply asking for himself the same proof afforded the other apostles to whom Jesus showed his hands and his side. (Jn 20:20)

Thomas the doubter is not an unbelieving scoundrel. Rather, he is an icon of the intelligent believer who asks questions and constantly struggles with God, and in the course of his questioning and struggling strengthens his faith. Beware of the `believer’ who’s afraid to question and struggle with God; such a believer never strengthens his faith.

Conclusion:

Shalom -- a multifaceted diamond

The second Sunday of Easter is called Doubting Thomas Sunday. It’s also called Shalom Sunday. Twice the risen Lord appears to the disciples huddled behind doors locked for fear of the Jewish authorities. In His first appearance He passes through locked doors and twice wishes the apostles Shalom! (Peace!) Thomas, however, is not there: he has ventured out to buy food, or he has had a quarrel with some of the others and wants to get out of the house. A week later the risen Lord appears again, and this time Thomas is present, and again the risen Lord wishes Shalom to the disciples cowering behind closed doors.

The Hebrew word Shalom is a multifaceted diamond. The seventy men who translated the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek (and gave us the bible known as the Septuagint) used 25 different Greek words in different contexts to express the many facets of Shalom. In different contexts Shalom says different things, but they all have a common golden thread weaving through them.

Sometimes Shalom simply says “Peace” Sometimes it says, “Stop your worrying! Everything will be OK.” Sometimes it says, “Relax! Let go and let God.” Sometimes Shalom is a command to “Quit your complaining and count your blessings.” Sometimes it’s a command to “Let go of your anger and hate; they’ll only poison your soul.” If you’re trembling with fear behind locked doors Shalom says, “Don’t be afraid!” Sometimes Shalom is a command to cut down to size the molehills you’ve built up into mountains. Sometimes it’s a command, to lay hold of a sense of proportion, as we weep and wail over the price of gas at the pump, while the Japanese people weep and wail over the unspeakable devastation of the March 11 tsunami.,

[1] By Michelangelo Merisi of Caravaggio (b. 1573 d. 1610)