If I do not put my finger in the sign of the nails and I do not put my hand in his side, I DON'T BELIEVE

The Evangelist John is an extraordinary author, as well as a true theologian. Already at Calvary he had anticipated themes of great importance such as the royalty of Jesus, the fulfillment of his hour, the gathering of the dispersed and even the gift of the Spirit. Realities that for other New Testament authors will come true later or even at the end of time.

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On this second Sunday of Easter the evangelical page corresponds to the last of the four paintings that make up the chapter 20 St John, with its final (GV 20,30-3) — he caps. 21 with a second ending will be added later — and are thus identified: Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb; then Peter and another disciple also run to the tomb; Mary Magdalene meets the Lord while she believes he is the gardener; at last, the last painting, which sees the disciples and Thomas as protagonists.

We are always on the same Easter day, that of the apparitions of the Risen One and the evangelist has just finished telling the story of Jesus' meeting with Magdalene. Here the Risen One appears for the first time to his disciples closed in the cenacle.

«The evening of that day, the first of the week, while the doors of the place where the disciples were were closed for fear of the Jews, Jesus came, stood in the middle and told them: "Peace to you!». Said this, he showed them his hands and his side. And the disciples rejoiced at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again: "Peace to you! As the Father sent me, I'm sending you too". Said this, he blew and said to them: «Receive the Holy Spirit. To those to whom you will forgive sins, will be forgiven; to those you won't forgive, they will not be forgiven". Tommaso, one of the Twelve, called Didymus, he was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him: «We have seen the Lord!». But he told them: "If I don't see the sign of the nails in his hands and I don't put my finger in the sign of the nails and I don't put my hand in his side, I do not think so". Eight days later the disciples were back in the house and Thomas was also with them. Jesus came, behind closed doors, he stood in the middle and said: "Peace to you!». Then he said to Thomas: «Put your finger here and look at my hands; reach out your hand and place it in my side; and do not be incredulous, but a believer!». Tommaso answered him: «My Lord and my God!». Jesus told him: «Because you saw me, you believed; Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed!». Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, he did many other signs which have not been written in this book. But these were written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and why, believing, have life in his name" (GV 20,19-31).

Not having the necessary space here to address the many themes that the Gospel text presents to us, I'll try to highlight some of them - something was already mentioned last Sunday (WHO) — placing them under a single denominator that can help us understand the meaning of the writing, which I would define as starting to breathe again. This time not alone, but as a community. This is very important especially for us who live perpetually connected, but at the expense of true communion, of a sincere and trusted meeting between believers. Furthermore, we are used to thinking of the resurrection as an eschatological event, post-mortem, more than an experience to be lived here and now and to think of it as an individual event, personal, non-communal. But faith in the resurrection of Jesus demands fulfillment in the community, as well as asking to become an experience here and now, in our Christian life today.

The Johannine page presents the community of disciples on the evening of the day of the Resurrection. The same day that Mary Magdalene brought the announcement: «I saw the Lord»; then reporting what he told her (GV 20,18). But this is not enough to move the disciples, for the woman is not believed, as the other evangelists attest even more forcefully. The group of apostles is not only wounded by the loss of the Lord, but it is also blocked by emotions such as fear and distrust. The doors of the house are locked for fear of reprisals from outside, by those Jews who had conspired for the death of the Lord. But even within the place where they are gathered, the distrust is palpable, regarding Mary's testimony as already mentioned, and also for the ever-present trauma of Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial which are certainly fueling a climate of suspicion, so much so that someone, Didymus, he prefers not to stay with the group. The situation is this, internal and external, and who can ignite faith in the Risen One in this circumstance of general discouragement?

The evangelist John is an extraordinary author, as well as a true theologian. Already at Calvary he had anticipated themes of great importance such as the royalty of Jesus, the fulfillment of his hour, the gathering of the dispersed and even the gift of the Spirit (GV 19, 30). Realities that for other New Testament authors will come true later or even at the end of time. But here is Jesus, John writes, he came to that place closed off from external intrusions by the disciples and "stood standing among them", which is one of the very suggestive ways, used in the New Testament, to express the living presence of the Risen One. The Greek verb prompt — standing up straight — will be used to describe Jesus stopping and “standing” with the disciples of Emmaus (LC 24,36), it is the one for which Stephen says he sees Jesus who «stood at the right hand of God" (At 7,55), but above all it is the verb that in the Apocalypse indicates "standing upright" of the Lamb, «as if sacrificed», but living (AP 5,6). Jesus is standing standing at the door and knocking, writes, still, the Apocalypse (3,20), as well as now, after the days of passion and suffering, go back to his parents, he enters the cenacle and, standing among the frightened disciples, addresses them.

The first words of the Risen One to the Church are on peace. Raymond Brown wrote in his commentary on the Fourth Gospel that Jesus' greeting, "peace be upon you" (who, in GV 20,19, and then repeated two more times, in 20,21.26) it is not a simple wish: it's a gift. The Risen One brings peace, that, Paul will write, that the Messiah established between heaven and men (cf.. With the 1,20) and those who still encounter the Lord in the Church today are sure of being able to receive it. The second word of the Risen One to this community of disciples concerns the mission, for Jesus is the first apostle of the father. St. John uses the Greek verb here apostello which we translate as send, from which apostle, or "the one sent" (cf.. also GV 3,17: "It gave […] he sent his son into the world"). After the Resurrection the disciples are sent by Jesus on a mission that comes from above, it is not human initiative, but it starts from God himself and is configured as a continuation of the mission of the Son.

Then the Risen Jesus breathes and gives the Spirit. The way the Fourth Gospel describes the gift of the Spirit is unique in the entire New Testament. Only Giovanni, indeed, and only here, in the verse 20,22, it says that Jesus "breathed" on the disciples. The verb is used emphysao, «inflate, alliteration», which the Bible uses for the first time in the book of Genesis, during the story of the creation of man (Gen 2,7). All created reality - we read there - is generated by the word of God, but to make a man this is not enough: God must breathe into his nostrils. Need, that is, that he bends over him and approaches the man and gives him life through his breath.

In the Bible we find other occurrences of this verb, always linked to the theme of giving life back, to be reborn, allow you to breathe again. This is the case of Elijah who performs the miracle of the resurrection of the son of the widow of Zarephath: «Elijah lay down (translate at CEI, but we have the same verb emphysao all'aoristo: sensible, breathed in) three times over the child and called upon the Lord: Lord my God, the soul of the child returns to his body". In the book of Ezekiel the verb is used in the great scene of the dried bones, symbol of the people of the alliance now on its last legs. This people can only rise again if the Spirit from the four winds comes to "breath" life into those dead (cf.. This 37,9). Later, in wisdom literature, we will once again use the verb «alitare, insufflare», to describe the creation of man again: «And who breathed into him the breath of life» (Sap 15,11).

The Spirit of God is life for man, but in the circumstance of the cenacle it also becomes one of the visible signs that Jesus is alive. Just after showing his pierced hands and side He can breathe on the disciples because he breathes. It is further proof that He is not a ghost, but a living one: he started breathing again after he had "emitted the spirit", as we heard in the Holy Week readings.

From Old Testament occurrences first remember, some findings emerge that we can apply to the Gospel story. Saint John allows us to glimpse that as in the first creation, God breathed a vital spirit into man, so now, in the new creation that the Resurrection inaugurates, Jesus breathes the promised Holy Spirit, giving the disciples eternal life that does not necessarily begin after death, but it is already present, because of this gift and because of faith in the Resurrection of the Lord: «This is the eternal way: that they know you, the one true God, and whom you have sent, Jesus Christ" (GV 17,3). And as in the baptismal symbolism of GV 3,5, where it is said that men are reborn as children of God from water and the Spirit; similarly the present scene serves as a baptism for Jesus' immediate disciples and as a pledge of divine rebirth for all believers of the future. It is not surprising if the custom of breathing on those who will receive Baptism will later become part of the Rite of Christian initiation.. Now they are truly brothers of Jesus and can call God by the name of Father (GV 20,17). In this way the gift of the Spirit thus becomes the final culmination of the personal relationships between Jesus and his disciples.

I started by saying that thanks to the presence of the Risen One and through the gift of the Spirit the disciples also breathe again. But this does not correspond to breathing a sigh of relief, like after a big scare, there is a profound theological and ecclesial meaning here. The Risen Jesus does not keep for himself the life that has defeated death, but he also communicates it to the disciples gathered together as a community, as a Church. This life is his and he received it from the Father, He had already announced it in his earthly existence: «I am the way of truth and life». Now it descends on the Easter Church thanks to the gift of the Spirit and it is eternal life that already begins at the moment of baptism and unfolds in the thousand forms of Christian existence. For this reason the disciples rejoice in seeing the Lord and shortly thereafter Thomas too will enter the vital circularity of this faith despite the initial lack of trust in the testimony of the hesitant Easter church. This testimony, including that of Thomas - "My Lord and my God" - ends St. John, it is now delivered in the Gospel. It is the sign that remains and that allows us to participate in the life of the resurrected, but this is possible if we open it with faith and in communion and obedience with the whole Church and its tradition which since Easter has not ceased to announce: «The Lord is truly risen!».

From the Hermitage, 27 April 2025

 

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