Thomas Meets the Risen Lord

John 20: 19-32 

John Foulds

Last Sunday was a real blessing here at MCCM.  We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with great joy at our church service and were so very pleased to welcome several new members to our church community as well. The numbers at worship were the biggest we have ever had here and I am sure we are all excited to be part of a growing church.  Today is a good day too because we continue to celebrate the Easter Season this afternoon and to reflect on the glorious victory of our Saviour Jesus over the bonds of sin and death. The supermarkets may indeed have knocked the chocolate bunnies and eggs down to half price, but here in church we have the privilege of continuing the Easter celebration for many weeks to come.

Now we all come from very differing traditions and probably relate to the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus from the burial tomb in diverse ways.  What we share, however, is that through our faith in Jesus we are touched by the power of that resurrection. Jesus rose from the dead for you and me and that impacts on each one of us massively. Jesus rose to newl life and invites us daily to enjoy that new life with him.

But, you may say, ‘my life is not enjoyable’ or ‘what I’m going through right now is just unbearable’. Perhaps you feel gloomy all the time or really bad about yourself in some way.  Maybe these feelings are really overwhelming you right now.  Well...it really does help to remember that Jesus is alive. Very early in the morning on that first Easter Day he rose again. Before the dawn, whilst it was still dark, God’s resurrection power was at work bringing forth the light of new life for all to share in.  In our darkest moments we must try to imagine the dismal gloom of Jesus’ tomb. We need to remember that Jesus was not overwhelmed by this place nor even by his own dying. He truly rose again and he longs for us to rise up out of all the darkness of bad experiences from the past and any fear we may have in the present or for the future.  He will never abandon us so we need to be aware that he is present throughout the journey of life. As we recalled his suffering on Good Friday and his joy on Easter Day so he is with us in all our sorrows and in all our happiness.  We may forget to be aware that Jesus is with us but he never forgets us.

Thomas...doubting Thomas who we heard about in our Gospel reading...may have felt forgotten or left out when he heard the disciples talking about meeting the Risen Jesus. I think we can probably all relate to Thomas’s feelings pretty well. It’s never much fun to feel we’ve missed out on something that everyone else seems to have experienced. He can’t believe the fantastic news that the others relay to him and insists that he will need proof. For Thomas to believe that it really is Jesus alive again he says he must both see and feel for himself the very wounds inflicted upon Jesus during the torture of his crucifixion.  As we heard, Jesus does appear to Thomas and he is able to do this as he exclaims in joyful wonder, ‘my Lord and my God.’

Thomas is so very human in his desire for proof. We would probably have been exactly the same in his situation. Proof and evidence are important to us in all sorts of ways and Thomas was no different. Thomas had this amazing encounter with the Risen Jesus which removed all doubt from his mind about what the other disciples and the women who had first discovered that the tomb was empty, had been saying.  Meeting Jesus again moved Thomas from doubt to faith in the power of the resurrection.

So what about our faith in Jesus? Are we allowed to doubt sometimes or should our faith be unquestioning? Well, God gave us brains and expects us to use them. So, we will reflect and question...and yes have some doubts from time to time.  I like to think of doubting as having dialogue with God. We may not feel we have worked out our faith completely but the channels of communication are definitely open.

We read in the Bible that Thomas and the disciples met the risen Jesus. I am sure we would all have loved to be there too but of course we have to live out our faith many centuries after the first Easter.  And yet we do all meet Jesus. We encounter him in Scripture. We meet him in bread and wine. We find him in one another here at Church.   We remember him when we pass a street preacher in the city centre. We think of him when we see someone take out their Bible on the tram.  We recall his compassion as we encounter people struggling with their addictions.  We weep with him in sorrow. We cry out with him when it all seems to have gone so terribly wrong. We laugh with him in the company of our friends. When alone, we take a moment to be still and just let him come to us.

The power of the resurrection of Jesus was joy beyond words for the disciples, including Thomas.  We have not been left out or forgotten either. The risen Jesus is here for us too and is present to us in all our emotions and experiences.  Let us open ourselves anew to the power of his resurrection and the deep love we find in his presence.

Amen

(John Foulds)