Acts 4:32-35 / 1 John 5:1-6 / John 20:19-31
Just taking a moment to look around, are we able to see who is missing?
We may wonder what kind of question is that. How would we know who is missing? In the first place we may not even know the names of the persons sitting in front of us or behind us or even beside us.
Of course that is something that needs to be worked at – getting to know each other by name – instead of feeling like a stranger in Church, of all places!
But even if we really know each other by name, are we able to see who is missing?
Well, we may say that those who are missing are those who have chosen not to come here.
But having said that, there is a certain group of people who are missing because they can’t come here.
One of them is my relative who has a chickenpox infection and the rashes broke out on Tuesday so she has to be confined at home.
And because chickenpox is contagious, she can’t come to Church even if she wants to.
And also she certainly won’t want to come to Church with all those rashes and blisters on her face and hands.
I asked if she would want me to go over and pray for her.
She declined and said that I might get infected, although I already had chickenpox.
And she also said this – If I am missing from Church nobody will notice; but if you are missing from Church everybody will know.
And nobody will go near you if they know you have chickenpox.
In the gospel passage, when the Risen Christ appeared to His disciples, we know who was missing from among them.
Thomas didn’t have chickenpox, he also didn't have a bad bout of flu nor was he on medical leave.
He chose not to be with the disciples. We were not told why he chose to stay away.
But when the disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, he refused to believe and he demanded that he would want to put his finger into the holes into those hands of Jesus and even his hand into His side, before he could believe.
It could be that his faith was so shattered and he was so devastated that nothing short of touching those wounds of the Risen Christ could make him change his mind.
Well, Thomas got what he asked for. Eight days later when he was with the rest of the disciples, the Risen Christ appeared again, and He came specifically for Thomas.
Whether Thomas put his finger into those holes and his hand into the side of Jesus is left to us to speculate.
But it was not so much for Thomas to put his finger and his hand into those wounds of Jesus.
Rather it was for Jesus to touch the wounds of the shattered and devastated Thomas.
Thomas has often been called the “Doubting Thomas” and that is because Jesus said to him “Doubt no longer but believe.”
But the “Doubting Thomas” may also be the “Hurting Thomas” in that his shattered faith at the death of Jesus was too much for him to bear and so he didn’t want the rest of the disciples to see him at his worst. And so he stayed away from them.
The missing Thomas was not just a doubting Thomas but also a hurting Thomas.
So as we look around we may begin to “see” who is missing. Some can’t be here because of they are aged and home-bound or ill or hospitalized.
But some are not here by choice. They may have been disappointed or angry with God or had a bad experience with a church member or with a priest (sigh …)
But we who are here may also not be that steadfast in faith either.
We may have “spiritual chickenpox” with rashes and blisters that are painful and hurting. But it is all within.
But just as chickenpox is contagious, we too spread our pain and hurt onto others resulting in more pain and hurt.
Today the Risen Christ comes to us and touches our wounds to heal our pain.
More so, today is also called “Divine Mercy Sunday”. Jesus is the mercy of God and He wants to heal us so that we can believe in Him and in His love for us.
We are not asking to put our finger and our hand into those wounds of Jesus.
We are asking Jesus to put His hand into our hearts to heal our pain and hurt.
When we are healed of our doubting and our hurting, then we will be able to reach out to those who are missing.
May our prayer be that we bring back those who are missing so that together we will proclaim Jesus as “My Lord and my God!”