SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER C

[cappie]

“ Jesus came and stood among them.”

Anywhere else in the Gospel story and this would not be a strange statement.  Yet this time was different. This time, the presence of Jesus in the midst of his disciples was not only unexpected, but it was seemingly impossible.

 It might be difficult for us to imagine ourselves in the place of the disciples. How many of us have risked our lives for something that we believe in or followed after? To be seriously threatened for our beliefs?  

In the midst of their fear, Jesus came and stood among his disciples.

  Jesus, the one whom they believed was not only their Messiah but their friend, was alive and standing in their midst.   What great reversal, beyond the bounds of possibility, had occurred in the natural order of things?

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.  Their belief was not misplaced. Their hopes had been resurrected with Christ.

  Jesus, again, repeats, “Peace be with you,” and then continuing, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Put plainly, Jesus tells the disciples   His story isn’t over, and because of this, their story wasn’t over yet either. 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.

Thomas often gets a bad rap, but 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, like the other disciples, had carried the weight of fear and doubt that came from having his hopes dashed. He had not seen the resurrected Jesus as the others had and he would not be satisfied until he had seen him with his own eyes. He would take no one’s word for it.

I cannot blame him. Can you? Who among us would not have responded in a similar fashion?

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.”

The Greek word we translate to “doubt” is ἄπιστος (apistos), which means unfaithful, faithless or unbelieving, without trust in God. Jesus is touching on something deeper here than Thomas simply doubting that the person of Jesus was no longer dead and had resurrected. 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 hellbent 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.’

Because what other choice do we have?

We believe not because we have seen his wounds or placed our hands within his side, but because we have seen Christ in the face of another.

 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.