From the Sunday Note, with additional thoughts–
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
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.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to 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 into the nail marks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
–from Sunday’s Gospel, John 20:19-31
Poor old Thomas, so often called “Doubting.” Not only does he insist on personally examining this body of Jesus his friends claim to have seen, he appears to have been criticized by Jesus for insisting on this—“Have you come to believe because you have seen me?”
But that overlooks something quite important. First, a small thing: since New Testament era Greek did not use punctuation marks, we have imported our question mark into the text. It can be read just as legitimately as a straightforward statement: “You have come to believe because you have seen me.” That true statement is followed by Jesus’ blessing on people who come to belief without personally seeing him.
Jesus’ blessing stands for all subsequent generations of believers—but not for Thomas, who is exactly like the other Apostles: they all had to see Jesus alive before they believed. And rightfully so: the whole point of the original group of Apostles was not that they came to faith by grasping what someone else told them, but that they saw him for themselves. They had to be eye witnesses, so they could stand up in a court of law, their lives on the line, and testify, truly, that they had seen our Lord, not as one who survived crucifixion, but as one gloriously Resurrected from the dead!
Of course, only actual witnesses could do that. That is why, years later, Paul had to have the same kind of encounter to be considered an “Apostle” in the highest possible sense of the word. Christians trust their lives to the truth of the Apostles’ testimony, so that testimony must be as firmly established as it can possibly be.
Every generation of Christians after that is built on the rock of the Apostolic testimony—what they saw, experienced, testified to, and finally died for. They are the foundation stones of the great new City of God. Blessed are we who have not seen and have believed.
For further reflection:
Notice, the first thing Jesus says to his Apostles is “Peace” –“shalom”– the ultimate peace of complete harmony, joy, and fulfillment between God and this motley crew. He repeats it and then replicates his own being sent by his Father by sending Apostles to all of us. The first gift he gave them, the first thing they are to share with us, is his own power to forgive our sins. That power carries the core mission of Church–to bridge the gap between God and us. Jesus’ forgiveness can bridge any gap, overcome any lack, any evil or damage, anything thought, said, done, or left undone that separates us from the Father who loves us.
Our task is to realize and acknowledge that gap, of whatever kind, and to turn to our Lord in hope, asking for what we most need. That is what a repentant heart is. John the Baptist grasped this. That is why he so strongly emphasized repentance. He knew: repentance is the royal gateway to “Peace.”
Your thoughts, comments, questions are welcomed. Leave a “reply” or email me direct (see ABOUT) above).