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19 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." 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin ), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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." 26 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." 27 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." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 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." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 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. (John 20:19-31 NRSV)
Happy Easter dear Friend! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!
In a drive I will never forget, we had only sketchy information. My best friend had drowned. We had stopped at the traffic light as we were making our way to his home. I had to ask again, "Is he dead?" To me, could you drown and still be alive? Yes, please?! So, I had to ask my Dad if Rene was indeed dead. It was the stage of denial for me. Though it has been so many years, I now hesitantly accept that yes, he died. I will always remember going day after day to the funeral home where his body lay. I kept thinking it was taking too long for his mom to finally agree to a funeral service, and that each day his body lay in that casket was not good for her or her husband or sisters, or me. Yes, me selfishly, I did not want him to be on display; I wanted him to rest. I cried and cried for him. I looked up to him and his wisdom, laugh, and love.
I can only begin to imagine that times 12 or times 125; but in that room, it was maybe a couple more than 12. I know that denial had set in in the hearts and spirits of those followers of Jesus. And more than denial, there was fear. If it was that easy for the religious leaders to kill Jesus, Who had the respect and following of the people, how much more easier would it be for them to kill us? was the question that led them to lock the doors of that Upper Room. Doom and gloom had been served fresh since Friday, every time they gathered. Is peace the opposite of fear? Or is peace the antidote to fear? Fear and doubt would soon kill the souls of these eleven men and the women with them. And into this setting comes the Risen Lord with the words they needed to hear, "Peace be with you." BOOM! What they lacked, Jesus supplied! His presence, His words, His Spirit broke that doom and gloom. And to add more to the remedy they desperately needed, Jesus showed them His hand and His side; the very wounds that helped kill Him! As they begin to process what they are seeing, joy entered them for they truly saw the Lord. Again, Jesus says, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Marching orders, then marching power; 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." Wow.
They are now realizing they were called not to join a social club - they were called to a mission where they were to have a stated purpose of reaching the world for God. A world where sin would meet its defeat by the sharing of Jesus' words and power. A world to which we are invited and yes, members, when we said yes to Jesus; where we too, are expected to produce results. But what made this story interesting was that one of them was not there. Yes, that friend who is always late or who somehow always finds an excuse or reason not to come. Yes, we all have them! Thomas, the Twin, was somewhere else. When he finally joins them, they tell him the good news, and he's like those friends, "Huh? Uh, sure you did... I won't believe it unless I see it with my own eyes!" But he added, "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." In Spanish we would have remarked with disgust, "¡Sí tú!" ("yeah right").
One week later, guess who bothered to join them? Doubting Thomas. (Hey, it only takes one remark to get a nickname or label!). I can only imagine, yes my snarky self, someone had to have said, "Well, look who bothered to join us!" (You can add your own snide remarks in the Comments section below...). Back to our story: While gathered again in the Upper Room, again behind locked doors, Jesus makes another appearance, and guess what He says? "Peace be with you." They still needed to hear that and this time Thomas is hearing it for the first time. Speaking of Thomas, Jesus says to him, "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 wanted to scream, "Who told??" Jesus knew. Thomas did not need to get a physical touch for he was touched in his heart and soul; this is Jesus and tells Him so, "My Lord and my God!" Boom again. Thomas believes in the whole mission with that declaration. Yet, Jesus has to ask him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not yet seen and yet have come to believe." (That's for you and me!). Then John adds the words to explain the purpose for which he wrote to the book, "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."
Like the disciples, we often face fear and doubt in our lives. We may feel locked behind doors of uncertainty or paralyzed by our lack of faith. My friend Rene's death dealt quite a blow to my life. That year I did not attend our annual youth camp, because the previous year he and I had been roommates at that camp, and I could not imagine camp without him. Yet, Jesus meets us in the midst of our doubts, offering us His peace and presence. He invites us to move beyond our doubts and fears and to trust in Him.
PRAYER: Loving God, thank you for meeting us in our doubts and fears. Thank you for offering us your peace and presence, even when we struggle to believe. Help us to trust in you, even when we cannot see the way forward. Strengthen our faith and empower us to live as your disciples, sharing your love and grace with the world. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! HERE'S YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Let us consider areas in our lives where we are struggling with doubt or fear. Let us bring these concerns to God in prayer, asking for his peace and guidance. And let us seek opportunities to share the love and grace of Christ with others, embodying the message of hope and redemption found in the resurrection.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
