Jesus Appeared “on the Lord’s Day”
Two apparitions of Jesus are narrated in today’s gospel passage. Both of these events have something in common:
- the timing of the apparitions, which is always on “the Lord’s Day” Sunday;
- Jesus greets them with the same words – “Peace be with you;”
- Jesus shows the disciples the signs of His passion, and
- the people in both apparitions are the same, except for Thomas – who was absent in the first one.
What made Thomas doubt Jesus’ resurrection? He was absent when Jesus appeared to His disciples, who had gathered together to pray and worship on the previous Sunday. Jesus had come to them in bodily form to strengthen them to live their faith and to fill them with His peace. He came to fulfill the promise He made when He was with them: “Where two or three are gathered in my name I shall be in their midst.”
Even today, He comes to us, His followers, at every Mass and especially on the Lord’s Day, to encourage us to live the true Christian life. Absenting ourselves from the communion of the faithful is distancing ourselves from Jesus. Our Risen Lord comes to us in the breaking of the bread to impart us with His love, peace, and joy.
Let us encourage each other so that everyone may experience our Risen Lord in our Sunday Eucharist.
–Fr. Ranjan D’Sa, OCD