“The disciples were together behind locked doors for fear of the Jews” (Jn 20:19)
The Easter narrative describes, in strong terms, the situation of the Christian community when Christ Risen is absent from its centre. Without his living presence, the community is reduced to a group of men and women living “in a house with doors locked for fear of the Jews”.
With “doors locked”, one cannot know what is happening out there; it is impossible to discern the Spirit’s action in the world; spaces for encounter and dialogue with anyone cannot be opened; trust in humanity fades, and fears and prejudices grow. A community that remains in the tomb, immersed in fear and incapable of encounter and dialogue, is a tragedy, for Jesus’s followers are called to make visible, in today’s history, God’s eternal dialogue with humanity.
Great fears do not often appear; rather, it is the small fears arising from daily encounters with reality that rob us of vitality and dynamism. Fear inhibits thought, prevents concentration, and is therefore largely responsible for doing things in a mediocre way, without value, below our possibilities, and against our expectations.
Fear is neither a moral act nor an omission. Uninvited, it grows in our heart. In such an atmosphere of fear, imagination and all creative energies atrophy.
We have reached postmodernity with an enormous burden of fear; we are continually tormented by fear; a nameless fear, a faceless ghost, dark as a shadow and swift as a storm; a cruel fear that strikes the brave and attacks the bold. No ammunition depot is more potentially explosive than the stores of fear kept in the dark depths of our being. Fear makes us vulnerable to manipulation.
Fear can paralyse the “movement of life” initiated by Jesus and block our best energies; under fear’s impact, the tendency is to close ourselves in sterile rites, cold doctrine, unhealthy legalism and moralism that lead us to reject what is different and condemn what is new. With fear, loving the world and people is impossible. And if we do not look at reality with God’s eyes, how will we communicate the Good News? If we live behind locked doors, who will go out from the fold to seek the lost sheep? Who will dare touch a marginalised sick person? Who will sit at table with sinners and outcasts? Who will approach those forgotten by religion?
Those who seek the God of Jesus will find us with doors locked.
John’s narrative is evocative and stimulating. Only when they see the Risen Jesus in their midst do the disciples’ group transform, rediscover peace, fears vanish, they are filled with unknown joy, the disciples receive Jesus’s breath upon them, and they open the doors, for they feel sent to live the same mission he received from the Father.
The Johannine narrative presents a series of expressions revealing the profound “resurrection” experienced by the disciples’ community; it had to make the passage from darkness to light, from fear to courage, from timidity to mission; they are expressions full of life, future-oriented, open to the new, and urging to resume the same mission Jesus lived during his public life. The Risen One rebuilds his community of followers, breaks the chains of fear, and sends them back into the world.
“‘The first day of the week'”: a new Creation begins, and with it a new Covenant. In Jesus, the creation of humanity is completed, bringing humanity to its fullness.
The locked place, as a consequence of fear, delimits the community’s space amid a hostile world. Mary Magdalene’s message informing them that Jesus was alive had not freed them from fear. Jesus unexpectedly comes out to meet the disciples; his presence manifests directly. It is he who always takes the initiative and appears at the community’s centre, for now he is their only reference and factor of unity. The presence they experience is not an invention nor born of a desire or expectation of the disciples. None of them would ever have imagined Jesus could appear, having witnessed his failure and death.
“‘Peace be with you'”: Jesus greets them; the warmth of the greeting dissipates fear and uncertainties; it is the gesture linking what is happening with the Jesus who lived and ate with them.
Jesus’s presence imposes itself as a close and friendly figure, manifesting interest in them and seeking to lead them to the fullness of life.
“He breathed on them”: the same gesture of the Creator when he transformed the man of clay into a “living being”. All this is the Spirit’s work. God acted in Jesus, acts in us, and acts in the world. The work of Creation continues. On the seventh day, God does not rest; the Saviour does not rest until all are sons and daughters. Jesus is the new Creation; so are we. We are creators with God, in his image and likeness.
“‘My Lord and my God'”: Thomas’s response is as extreme as his unbelief. In calling him “Lord”, he acknowledges Jesus’s love and adheres to him. In saying “my”, he expresses closeness, like Mary Magdalene. He did not need to touch the wounds but had to realise that the Risen One is infinitely more than the senses can grasp.
And in recognising him, his perception of his own identity also changes, immersing himself in wonder, admiration, and praise.
“‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe!'”: The Risen One invites to “believe” because, when one believes, the capacity to “see” is regained. Faith enables a contemplative gaze: it sees what all see, but differently. It sees the signs of the Risen One in all that exists and understands that everything has meaning, imperceptible to the light of external senses. Resurrection permits an open, simple, natural gaze, enchanted before every aspect of reality.
The Gospel narrative this Sunday reveals that our first step is to let the Risen One enter through the many barriers we erect to protect ourselves from fear. May Jesus occupy the centre of our lives and communities, may he alone be the source of life, joy, and peace! May no one take his place, appropriate his message, impose a way of living different from his! We need, more than ever, to open ourselves to the breath of the Risen One to receive his Spirit.
For those who have experienced the encounter with the Risen One, there are no more fears, obstacles, or locked doors preventing them from walking the ways of proclaiming the Gospel, communion, and mission.
Resurrection commits us to open doors to free people from a sclerotic religion, a religion of condemnation and exclusion. At Vatican II, Pope John XXIII opened the Church’s doors and windows to air it out, allow better air circulation, and free Christians sick in a dogmatic and doctrinal Church.
This is why today’s Gospel must challenge us, followers of the Risen One. We must understand that it is necessary to open the Great Door, which is Christ, to allow all people to circulate freely. If we want to be faithful to him and our Christian mission, we must open the door to the world so all can enter our communities in full freedom.
Biblical text: Jn 20:19-31
In prayer: To experience the encounter with the Risen One, it is necessary to break the “padlocks” of our inner dwelling: padlocks of fixed ideas, cold feelings, empty relationships, deadly legalism.
At a broader level: what are the “padlocks” blocking the Church’s life, preventing it from being a sign of the Risen One? What are the “fears” blocking the creativity and boldness of Jesus’s true community?
Father Adroaldo Palaoro, SJ