Gospel Reflection on John 20:19-31
- Apr 9
- 4 min read
April 12, 2026
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
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We tend to live our lives based on the human capacities we possess and one of those key capacities is the ability to see. To see doesn't just refer to the physical sight, as dear as it is, to most of us. To see is a metaphor for having power over life, for being able to control what is before us to analyze it and even to manipulate the circumstances of our existence and our favor.
We apply this also to our faith. We believe because of what we have seen, because of what
we have experienced. But we also sadly see what can erode faith. We see the inhumanity of human beings. We see their casual disregard of human dignity. We see the marks left in the lives of human beings.
So seeing supports what we believe, but it can also limit what we can believe. Into this scene we call Easter, we meet the apostles who have clothed themselves behind barriers of
fear. They've locked themselves away at a fear caused by what they've seen; they've seen the effects of sin; they've seen those effects in the crucifixion of Christ. And it has imprisoned them in fear. But now they witness the mercy of God made visible in this new life of Christ.
Easter is a life that enters through closed doors. It breaks down the defenses of those barricaded by fear. It breaks down our fears and touches us with peace.
The fact that Thomas is missing is important because all of us were missing that day. All of us had fled because of what we have seen. Jesus appears and invites Thomas to experience
physically the wounds he has suffered, the marks of torture. The wound in his side in particular is a wound that bears witness to the death of Christ because it was a wound given to those being executed to make sure they were dead.
Thomas is invited to experience the wound of a person who should not be alive. But the
life that is erupted into this place of fear is not a place, a life dedicated to revenge or punishment, but to pardon to mercy.
The first communities of believers showed us what this mission looks like. We see the way of life of those who live this new life of Easter, sharing what they have. Not as a political strategy, but simply out of love. They live lives and done prayer in the breaking of bread: in other words, the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we consume the effects of sin; we eat the wounds, the body of Christ of wheat, and share and the wounds of all those who suffer.
And in return, we give back pardon and peace. This transforming way of life to take in evil and to give out peace, stun the world. And it has been passed down to us through the lives of the faithful, diffusing itself from generation to generation.
The resurrection of Christ shows us that the mercy of God goes beyond the evil we commit. Just as Christ was sent, now we are sent. We're gifted with something beautiful: a mission.
The day is coming when we are called to believe even in times of darkness and doubt, even when we can no longer see. These are the trials of faith. If those disciples do not bear witness to the mercy of God, who will? They've seen the crucified Lord, the documentation of the sin of humanity, the results of sin, and they've seen him risen. They know what it's like to be imprisoned by fear.
And now they and we know what it's like to be afraid to serve.
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