You’ve heard the saying “Seeing is believing.” Today’s first reading seems to say just the opposite. You might think that when Jesus rose from the dead, everyone would see him. Yet Peter says that he was only visible to some of the disciples. Even they did not immediately see him. The first thing they saw was the empty tomb, with burial cloths lying on the ground. They may have thought that if his enemies had stolen Jesus’ body, they would not have removed the burial cloths; touching a corpse would have made them unclean.
It seems the empty tomb helped them to believe, and believing enabled them to see the Lord. The exception to this may be Thomas, who said he would not believe until he saw and touched Jesus’ risen body. Yet when he does see the Lord, Jesus himself declares that believing is primary when he blesses those who have not seen but still believe (John 20:31).
What does this mean for us? Jesus seems to be hidden again. Yet we say that he is present in the sacraments; Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation show that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live in us. So perhaps we just need to believe in order to see him. Mother Teresa could do it. She said she was amazed at the love she felt when she saw Jesus in the poor and the dying people of Calcutta. Maybe we need to grow in faith so that we can see Jesus in the poor, the dying, the people who annoy us, even our enemies.
Tom Schmidt, Diocesan Publications