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2nd Sunday of Easter Year C - 7/4/2013 - Gospel: Jn 20:19-31
A Living Presence
The Apostles of Jesus saw that Jesus was executed as a criminal and was nailed on the cross to die. He did die and was buried in a tomb. People who wanted to crucify Jesus were partying because they had successfully eliminated their enemy. Some of the apostles of Jesus were in hiding for fear of being arrested. They were confused, worried and aimlessly looking for tomorrow. Other disciples were deeply saddened and with their dream shattered they went to their home town to start a new life again.

While the opponents of Jesus were celebrating their victory there was something quiet and mysterious happening out there, unknown to the world. They soon came to know after receiving news that made them wonder and worried. Out of every body expectation Jesus appeared to the women and to the apostles. The opponents of Jesus heard about the news- the man Jesus whom they have crucified he has risen from the death. The authority quickly sent out the soldiers to gather information about the rumour amongst the people whether the news of resurrection of Jesus was reliable.  The soldie rs came back with a report to confirm that the tomb used to burry Jesus now empty. They found not the body but only the stained cloths used for the burial that were folded nicely and placed at one end of the tomb. The women standing outside the tomb made the claim that they met the Risen Christ and have talked to him. Further the field his apostles instead of running away now came out from hiding holes and began to shout for joy of the resurrection of Jesus. There were gatherings of his apostles and friends in various locations in Jerusalem waiting for Jesus as Jesus told them to gather to meet Him. The news made the Scribes and the Pharisees recall what Jesus foretold before his death that he will be sentenced and nailed on the cross and after three days he will come back to life again.

The soldiers also confirmed that the women and the apostles saw Jesus for a few brief moments and then Jesus disappeared in front of their eyes. Jesus reappeared at different times and at different locations, not once but from time to time and for many days Jesus appeared and disappeared from their sights. The apostles testified that it was not their imagination but what they saw was actually real. It was the real Jesus. Some had touched his wounds; other put their fingers in the holes the nails had made. The women affirmed the same thing what they saw was not a vision but the actual Jesus and he was real in the flesh. The apostles talked to Jesus and he talked to them. The women talked to Jesus and he called them by their names.

His physical body is no more imprisoned in time and space but he is free to move. Jesus can move through the closed door and appear elsewhere miles away in a blink of an eye. His physical body has been transformed and shown like the apostles saw on the mountain top on the feast of the Transfiguration. His appearance is visible to the naked eye to whoever he wants to reveal it to and is concealed to those around who see but saw nothing.

The women and the apostles who had seen the risen Lord could not understand how because risen from death is something that is beyond the human mind to grasp. It is a mystery and remains a mystery- the mystery of the resurrection of the body. Jesus is the only source of trustworthy information and if you refuse to believe him then there is no other reliable source available.

The appearance of the risen Lord is not fiction but real. It is reality for those who have seen Jesus. For us, Christians, we see Jesus with the eyes of faith and with a conviction that one day we will see him face to face and that is our hope in the Risen Lord. The hope that has its foundation on the women and the apostles who had met the Risen Lord and he has called them by names.

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