Seeing with real eyes

April 19, 2009

Divine Mercy Sunday
(John 20:19-31)

"On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord..."
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I am struck by three points in this Sunday's Gospel.

First, I've often wondered why the disciples did not recognize Jesus outright.
He even had to show them his hands and his side for good measure, then they saw the Lord. The same phenomenon happened to Mary of Magdala, and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. How could they not immediately recognize anyone whom they had been closely in touch for years? The only explanation I can think of is that they had been too much preoccupied with their own worries so much that it put blinders upon their perceptions.

Secondly, the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
With this I remember the Psalmist words: "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,"
It must be a tremendous feeling that no words can even describe. Such is when one really sees the Lord.

Finally Jesus says: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed". It could be that one can only see and believe when not relying on the the eyes alone.

Let us pray to the Divine Mercy for the grace in seeing Him, his handiwork, and the joy that follows.