“When it was evening of the Day of
Resurrection, 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'.”
So begins this gospel story that we
hear every year on the Second Sunday of Easter. It begins on the
evening of the Day of Resurrection with Jesus appearing in the midst
of the disciples, and it ends a week later, today, with yet another
appearance and a proclamation of faith. And because we hear this
same passage every year on this Sunday, and because Thomas is a key
player, this passage developed the unfortunate subtitle of “The
Story of Doubting Thomas.” But, like Mary Magdalene was not a
prostitute, it's time to put that moniker to rest. Because this is
not a story of doubt, it's a story of faith.
The passage today begins on the evening
of the Day of Resurrection where the disciples had met behind locked
doors out of fear. Let's go back to the morning of that first day.
Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb early
in the morning only to find it open and empty. She runs back to tell
Peter and John. They run to the tomb where they also see it open and
empty. One believes, but, in an odd turn of phrasing, neither
understood. Peter and John return to their homes leaving Mary once
again alone, where follows her own experience of Jesus. She then
goes to tell the disciples that she has seen the risen Lord.
You need to piece together the story at
this point by looking at the other three gospels, but what follows is
a story of dismissal, doubt, and belief. And nowhere do we have a
version of a disciple moving to immediate belief on that momentous
day.
Now, here we are, on the evening of the
first day and the disciples have locked themselves away out of fear.
Many times in scripture are the people of God admonished to be not
afraid. Several times in the life of Jesus he has told the disciples
to have no fear. Yet here they are, hiding behind locked doors out
of fear.
But not all of the disciples are there.
Thomas is missing. Why? Where was he? My hypothesis is that at
the death of Judas, their treasurer, Thomas offered to take on that
role. I'm betting that he was down at the bank updating the
signature card. And if you've ever had to do this, you know it
always takes longer than planned. But whatever it was, he was
otherwise detained.
Back to that locked house. Jesus
simply arrives in their midst and says, “Peace be with you,” once
again trying to relieve their fears. And in what looks like an
attempt to prove that he is not an apparition or someone other than
Jesus, he shows them his hands and his side. Then he gives them a
mission – As I was sent, so are you sent. He gives them the gift
of the Holy Spirit and lays upon them the responsibility since
entrusted to the Church through today – forgiving and retaining
sins.
This event seems to remove their sense
of fear because a week later, today, they are once again in the
house, but the doors are not locked. This time, though, Thomas is
with them. And once again Jesus appears to them inside the house.
Jesus turns to Thomas and offers his hands and side with a request to
not doubt but to believe. Hundreds of years of artwork aside, the
gospel never actually records that Thomas did in fact place his hands
in Christ's wounds. Thomas sees and believes.
We then get Jesus' statement, “Have
you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have come to believe.” This statement has often
been taken as a condemnation of Thomas' demand to see Jesus before
believing. But this isn't a condemnation – it is a future
reassurance. It is a recognition that Jesus' work, or I should say,
the work of the disciples and of the Church, is not finished. The
disciples' work, the church's work, our work, continues on into the
future, and Jesus is reassuring those future generations that they
will be just as blessed as Thomas was. He is reassuring future
generations that belief, faith, and blessings are not predicated on
actually seeing the risen Christ.
Except that they are.
Faith doesn't come from evidence. A
one-time event, such as the Resurrection or seeing the wounds in
Christ's hands and side, or some other “mountain top experience,”
may begin the process of faith, but faith and belief don't spring up
fully formed at that time. Faith is a journey. Faith is, like Paul
attested to, not a sprint but a marathon. And as we move through our
life of faith, as we come to believe without seeing, we are able to
see where we once couldn't. Like Mary at the tomb, we are able to
have our eyes opened. As we journey through faith, we (hopefully)
begin to seek and serve Christ in all persons.
Today we are gathered together in one
place like the disciples were gathered together in one place. Are we
gathered in fear, afraid to tell people on the outside about the
Resurrection? Or are we gathered in preparation to be sent out with
the power of the Holy Spirit?
If it's the latter, are we ready to
both be Christ and see Christ? It is in our being Christ that we
reach out our hands in love inviting people to be a part of this
faith journey. And it is in the seeing Christ in others that we
might look upon those wounded by the world and offer a place of
healing.
If anything, today's gospel should
remind us that everyone is on a journey, and everyone falls somewhere
between Mary Magdalene and Thomas.
Amen
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