Meditation 266
John 20: 19-31
On the day that Jesus appeared to the disciples in the locked house, he was appearing to those who were likely in the depths of despair. These disciples had put their trust in Jesus, they had experienced hope because of him, and now it seemed that Jesus was gone, and all they had were the memories of the things he had said and done, and then, Jesus came and stood among them. Jesus’s first words were “Peace be with you’ and after that he gave them proof of who he was by showing his hands and his side. When the disciples knew that Jesus was there in the house with them, they rejoiced. Jesus again said “Peace be with you”, he then gave them both a gift and a commission. Jesus said ‘as the Father has sent me, so I send you’, he gave the gift of the Holy Spirit and he told the disciples that they had the ability to forgive sins. Jesus, the chosen one, the one who brought the disciples and others gospel truth, was alive and the disciples rejoiced.
When the disciples were focused on their own worry and their inability to make reality better, they were afraid and gathered behind a locked door. When the risen Jesus appeared to them, they rejoiced. This is a huge shift in point of view. They were probably so overcome with grief at the death of Jesus that they were not able to do anything. They were locked away and grieving together. Imagine how you feel at your saddest, that is how the disciples felt, but after the recognized the risen Jesus, they rejoiced. In less time than it takes to say, the disciples went from the depths of despair to the heights of joy. Jesus now stood among them and said words of peace and of commissioning and he gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was probably the most amazing day of their lives. They probably felt remade.
The disciples who had seen Jesus on this occasion were now to go and share the gospel as Jesus had. At first thought we may think that this meant that the disciples were to heal the sick, to preach to the outcast and to stand up for truth to the powers that be, and they did. One of the first ways they showed the love of Jesus was to Thomas who had not been with them when Jesus appeared. Thomas was as devastated as the other disciples but he did not see Jesus as his colleagues had. Thomas told the others that he needed proof to believe what they were telling him. The disciples seem to make a place for Thomas and his questions in the group. It seems that Thomas was with the group when they told him of the appearance of Jesus, and then there was another time (a week later) when Thomas was with the group, and Jesus appeared again. There was a place for Thomas and his questions with those who were confident of the resurrection.
There are many questions that are before the people of God today. We have questions about theology and practice of faith. We have questions about how to care for the earth, how to use language to make people feel included, how to be welcoming of those of all races, how to include those of the LGTBQ community in congregations, and how to continue to be relevant in a rapidly changing world. One lesson we can take from those early disciples is to nurture those with questions, to keep them in the community until they, like Thomas, have their experience of seeing the risen Jesus.