Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!
The Sunday after Pascha is referred to as the Sunday of St. Thomas, it is also referred to as Antipascha. The Gospel reading is from John chapter 20:19-29.
There are 3 themes that are emphasized on this Sunday including, that of peace, mission and faith and doubt.
It is important to note that the first words that Jesus says to the disciples is, “Peace be with you!” As you remember just before His crucifixion, Jesus says, “peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give to you. I do not give it as the world does” (John 14:27) You see, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
From what we know of the story as told in the Gospel, Thomas’s doubt becomes a confession of His faith, and turns him into a great missionary of the Christian Faith throughout the East, traveling even to India where to this day, there is great Veneration of his memory among the people of Malabar. As we are in the afterglow of His glorious Resurrection, let us likewise draw near in faith and love and become communicants of life eternal.
May the joy of Easter be with you and all your families as we proclaim, “Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”
