SECOND SUNDAYOF EASTER C

[cappie]

 Jesus came and stood among his disciples.

How astonished they must have been! Jesus, the one whom they believed was not only their Messiah but their friend, was alive and standing in their midst. How could it be?  Jesus must have sensed their bewilderment. The first words he spoke to his friends were “Peace be with you,” reassuring them that his presence in their midst was not an illusion or hallucination.  They must have wondered what exactly this would mean for them. Jesus, again, responds to their innermost concerns by repeating, “Peace be with you,” and then continuing,  ‘As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’

Jesus tells the disciples that they cannot remain in the safety of the home in which they had gathered.  This was always the plan, and the next step would require them to go out into the world and share the good news of the Resurrection with everyone.

 While disbelief had to have been at least one of the expected outcomes, they probably didn’t expect it to be the response of one of their own. Yet the next line in our passage reveals that Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, had not been present with the others when Jesus came and stood in their midst. While the other disciples had witnessed and come to believe in the resurrected Jesus, Thomas could not bring himself to believe without also seeing Jesus for himself.

We, who have the benefit of reading this story with a fuller knowledge of what would occur, often dismiss Thomas’ unbelief, assuming that we would have been less hesitant to believe or more faithful in our resistance of reasonable doubt.  But is doubt a weakness? Or is it simply a space, a possible fertile ground in which faith might grow and ultimately blossom?

I am reminded of the words of Francis Bacon, the English philosopher, who stated in The Advancement of Learning, “If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.”

Perhaps Thomas understood this when he said, “Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.” Thomas knew what had happened to his friend and Messiah.  He would take no one’s word for it.

A week later, the disciples were gathered together again in the same house only this time, Thomas was with them.  

Once again, Jesus came and stood in the midst of his disciples. He greeted them again, saying, “Peace be with you,” before turning and addressing Thomas directly. He said, “ Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.”  Jesus is touching on something deeper here, Jesus was touching on Thomas’ belief or lack of belief in the God who had sent Jesus into the world and who was capable of resurrecting not only Jesus, but the entire creation.

Jesus’ words, “Doubt no longer but believe,” are aimed not only at Thomas, but also at all those who encounter this passage, and are struggling to believe that God is able to do the thing which God has promised—call our world into new and unending, resurrected life.

Thomas responds, saying, “My Lord and my God!” This too should be our response, as we so often find ourselves in Thomas’ shoes, struggling to believe and remain faithful when the world around us often seems bent on its own destruction rather than resurrection and new life.

Jesus responds with all future generations, including us, in mind, saying, “ You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe...”

 We believe not because we have seen  but because we have seen Christ in the face of another, who lives their life in such a way that Christ has been made present in our midst.

We, just like the first disciples, seek safety and too often let fear paralyse us, but it is in gathering together that Christ is made known. Jesus continues to stand among his disciples, beckoning us to believe not only in his resurrection but also in our own and in the resurrection of the whole world.

Behold, all things are made new.