The Power of Wounds

"Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."

John 20:27

Those were the words Jesus said to Thomas in the locked room. When the other Apostles had told Thomas that Jesus had appeared to them and that He has truly risen from the dead, he did not believe and said that unless he saw Him and touched His wounds for himself he would not believe. So, Jesus came back and appeared to Thomas.

When Jesus came back to show Thomas that He truly has risen, He laid out everything - He showed him His wounds. Jesus was basically saying, "Here, look. Look at the nail marks and my pierced side. Look. Touch it. Feel. It's me." I read in a meditation that because Jesus showed us His wounds we can bring our wounds to Him. At Golgotha, Jesus was stripped of everything - His clothing, His rights, and His dignity. Jesus gave up everything in order to give us everything. In the locked room, Jesus reminded Thomas of this. Upon seeing Jesus and hearing Him, Thomas fell to the ground proclaiming, "My Lord and my God!" Even in the midst of doubt and unbelief Jesus comes to us. Jesus comes to tell us: "Everything I did, I did so that you can be one with the Father just as the Father and I are one."

The power of Jesus' wounds enables us to bring to the Father our woundedness and brokenness. When Jesus comes to us saying "Peace be with you," He is saying "Do not be afraid. Do not be troubled. You do not need to feel shameful, and do not let the weight of your burdens prevent your heart from being opened to my Father's love. Here are my wounds, what are yours?"

The peace that Jesus brings is the peace that brings about joy, consolation, and mercy. In our times of doubt let us cry "My Lord and my God," and remember the saving power of Jesus' wounds and know that Jesus always comes to us just as He did with Thomas.

Let us ask the Father to give us the grace to trust in the power of Jesus' wounds and the courage to bring our wounds to Him. "My Lord and my God!"

Going Back

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We also will come with you.”

Jn. 21:3a

"I am going fishing" said St. Peter, and the other disciples who were there said "We also will come with you." At this point, Jesus had appeared to the Apostles before already. They were no longer hiding in the locked room. The appearances of Jesus had gradually warmed their hearts and strengthened their spirits. But, Peter returned to fishing instead of spreading the news that Jesus had risen from the dead. However, even here we can see what Jesus said to Peter in the very beginning coming to fulfillment: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Mt. 4:19). The disciples said to Peter, "We are coming with you!" Peter was catching men, but perhaps he did not see the significance of this yet. And so they set out for the sea to catch some fish.

They caught nothing. They were unable to catch anything because they have been called to catch men and be for God, fishers of men. They were unable to catch anything because they were doing it apart from Jesus. Apart from God, man can do nothing, let alone doing anything well. When they had seen Jesus, and listened to His instructions, they caught numerous fish. The lesson they learned here was to depend on God and to heed the Words of Jesus. They caught 153 large fish, symbolizing the 153 species of fish that were known throughout the world and classified at the time - perhaps pointing to their call to preach the Good News universally to all nations and to be fishers of men.

My brothers and sisters, as people who have come to know and love the Lord, we now must serve Him in telling others about Him and bringing them into relationship with Him. Once we have come to encounter Jesus, our lives will never be the same again. Peter could not simply go back to catching fish, because he has been called to catch men. Now that Easter Sunday came and the Octave is slowly coming to and end, we cannot, we must not go back to our old ways. On Easter Sunday we renewed our baptismal promises, and we responded loudly “I do!” to each one of those questions, and now we must live and preach it by our lives. It was time for Peter to let go of that fish. What is the Lord inviting us to let go of today?

Prevailing Peace

“While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them,

‘Peace be with you.’”

Luke 24: 36

With all that is going on in our world today, how comforting are those words Jesus spoke to His disciples, “Peace be with you.” Of all the words Jesus could have chosen to speak to His disciples, the first words that He chose were “Peace be with you.” How much anxiety and fear the disciples must have been experiencing that Our Lord chose those words as His first to calm their worries and ease their minds. Peace.

What is peace? Some say it’s a good feeling inside. Others say it is when there is no violence or war. Peace is not something that comes from man. Peace must come from God, and that is why Jesus gave it to the disciples. We are told that Jesus does not give peace as the world gives peace. The peace that comes from God is what gives us hope. It is this peace that the Apostles received from Jesus and the peace that comes from the Holy Spirit. This peace is a peace that breaks down barriers and can even go through locked doors. Jesus’ peace eases all fears and calms all storms.

Whatever storm that may be brewing in our minds or whatever storm that we may be battling in our hearts, Jesus can bring peace into it. The peace that Jesus brings is one that prevails. When we give control of our storms over to the Lord, we can be sure that He will bring us to shore. What our Lord said to His disciples 2000 years ago in the upper room, Jesus says to you today, “Peace be with you.” Let our Lord’s peace fill your hearts today.