It is the first day of the week. A new creation is unfolding. It is evening, but earlier the Beloved Disciple and Mary of Magdala realise that Jesus is now with his Father. Now, His disciples discover that He is also with them. In His Ascension he is with God, and in His resurrection, He is with them. He is the bridge connecting earth with heaven. He is the new mediator between God and Humanity. Still, this is what He has always been, and what He will always be.
The big difference now is that the Risen Jesus cannot be locked out. He manifests Himself as Presence casting out fear. His gift is the gift of Peace. In a world where what is given one moment is taken away by the next, Jesus remains steady. He cannot halt the chaos, but He is present within it, calming the heart, bringing Peace.
The Risen One is still wounded. He shows his wounds to His disciples. By doing this He is inviting them to dive to the depths of what is revealed. How are disciples meant to read these signs? The Beloved Son is One with the Father. But this is no private affair. Their love flows outwards bringing life to all who ask to be caught up in it. The crucifixion is the supreme hour of His Glory. It is the time and the place when Gods life and love are most powerfully visible, available and present. The throes of death reveal the greater flow of life. The most beautiful images of this are the holes that Love have made on Him. As his side is lanced, blood and water gush forth, a universal sign of new birth. The open wounds in hands, feet and side are channels that make His interior life with his Father available. This is what it means to see the Lord. The mediation of the love that lays down its life for His friends is the truth that fills them with gratitude and joy. The joy that floods them cannot be taken away any more than the peace which has been given to them.
But Peace is offered a second time. The Beloved Disciple had to look twice into the tomb before he came to belief. Mary of Magdala had to turn twice before she recognised the gardener as her Teacher. Now all the disciples of Jesus hear Him speak of Peace for a second time. The first time it was spoken to expel fear. The second time it is spoken it is to confer the power of mission. What is received must be passed on. Disciples must be life givers. They can only be Life givers if two things happen.
First, they must receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Just as God breathed life into the nostrils of Adam who became a living soul, the Risen Lord breathes into His disciples who become a new creation, who live by the breath of God. The Spirit brings an end to chaos, creates community and heals what is broken. The Spirit is the great bearer of the forgiveness of sins. There is nothing more horrible. There is no higher priority for the disciples of Jesus, and for the Community of the Church, than to end the separation that exists between God and His Creation, and between sisters and brothers. Community will not grow without forgiveness. This is our greatest responsibility. If we hold onto the sins that separate there will be no community. If we let go of these sins, community will flourish.
There are many layers of meaning in today’s Gospel which we must explore inside and outside of time. But is it clear that the Holy Spirit is given to us, in our thirst, to empower us to recreate the world. This is the power of the resurrection of Jesus – freedom from fear, the freedom to heal what has been torn apart, the freedom to build community
