Thoughts for the Day

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Have you noticed that the resurrection stories are about - seeing, hearing, acting, and believing - that Jesus has risen from the dead? Mary Magdalen sees Jesus, but doesn't believe in him until she hears him speak, and then she believes. The two men walking to Emmaus see Jesus, hear his teaching, but don't recognise him until they see him breaking bread again. In today's reading, the disciples see him, hear him, but only believe it's Jesus when he eats something and invites them to to touch him. It takes sight, hearing, and action for those who have known Jesus for years to believe he has risen from the dead and is not a ghost.

Thomas is not the only one who struggles to have faith in the story of the resurrection and to believe that Jesus died for our sins. For centuries people who have not been in the privileged position of these disciples, and who have not been able to see, hear, or watch Jesus' actions, have struggled to believe in him. So how is it that millions of Christians over the centuries have followed him so faithfully?

Well surprisingly they come to faith in a similar way. I became a Christian because of the belief of two faithful women in my life, that is, my mother and my aunt. They taught me bible stories (hearing) often through song and music, and they showed me what it meant to be a Christian through the way they lived (sight and action). They didn't always get it right, none of us do, but it was their loving care and deep faith that meant I was baptised aged 7 years old and that I chose myself to be confirmed, aged 11 years old having come to faith.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank You for those who influenced
our first steps as Christians -
those who prayed for us;
those who taught us;
and especially those who showed us
what living a life of faith really meant.
Keep us true to this faith
and keep us ever ready to pass it on to others.
Amen.