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Many of us have mastered Zoom and Skype this past year; we’ve
come to live for those online chats and visits with loved ones. We’ve
learned to teach, to interview, to conduct business with students and
clients and coworkers in living rooms all over the world – but an image
on a screen is no substitute for a face-to-face exchange, the most
effective learning dynamic is experienced in the community created in
the classroom, love is most happily expressed in a grandchild’s hug.
In today’s Gospel, the disciples tell Thomas they have seen Jesus.
Thomas replies that “unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and
put my finger in the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not
believe.” In countless sermons over the centuries on the Second Sunday
of Easter, Thomas has been criticized for his “doubt” in the resurrection
– but Thomas is no different than we are: Thomas wants something he
can touch; he wants a tangible sign of Jesus’ resurrection. After the
horrific week since Jesus’s crucifixion, he wants more than a metaphor.
Thomas wants real life, life perfected and re-created by God. And Jesus acquiesces. The Crucified Jesus lives again – In us. Our compassionate
presence to one another, our embrace of one another in peace and
respect, our commitment to the Gospel work of reconciliation and justice
are all tangible signs of Jesus’ resurrection. This Easter season, may we
realize the many ways we can “touch” and make real the Risen One in
our midst