Unless I touch His flesh I cannot believe
10 Minute Daily Retreat - Read the Word of God with a prayerful heart.By Susanne Timpani (No.248)
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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.”
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.
”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.”Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jn. 20:24-27
We all deal with fear and grief in our own way. Thomas needed to be alone. He separated himself from the small group of followers who continued to meet after Jesus' death. Consequently, he missed that beautiful, significant and precious encounter the other disciples had with the risen Lord.
How could he possibly believe them? He had seen Jesus' broken, deceased body with his own eyes. He had wept on his own until he had no tears left. Drained, he returned to his friends. How could they make a mockery of the disaster by this ridiculous story?
His words of doubt have been well quoted down through the generations. We have even nicknamed him as the Doubting Thomas.
We don't really know the motivation behind his challenge. Was it flippancy, or even anger, ridiculing his friends for their crazy announcement? Or was it a genuine prayer, hoping Jesus would appear to him as he seemed to have done to the others?
Jesus knows the questions, motivations and emotions that we carry inside us as we walk our earthly journey. Sometimes He comes to us, quietly in our personal prayer. Why didn’t He appear to Thomas as he wept and suffered? Why do we sometimes leave our prayer time as desolate as we entered?
We return to the first scene of the story:
'In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them.'
Christians are not meant to be alone. We each have a personal calling, but we combine that calling with others who share the same mission. There are some experiences Jesus allows us to have only when we meet in prayer and fellowship.
It seems that Thomas re-joined the other disciples after that. He was certainly there a week later when Jesus reappeared. And after that, you couldn’t find a more faithful, 100 percent committed, follower than he.
If we have kept ourselves away from our faith community, or have allowed doubt to overcome our faith, let us return to Jesus and like Thomas, cry out,
'My L ord and my God!'
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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.”
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.
”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.”Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jn. 20:24-27
We all deal with fear and grief in our own way. Thomas needed to be alone. He separated himself from the small group of followers who continued to meet after Jesus' death. Consequently, he missed that beautiful, significant and precious encounter the other disciples had with the risen Lord.
How could he possibly believe them? He had seen Jesus' broken, deceased body with his own eyes. He had wept on his own until he had no tears left. Drained, he returned to his friends. How could they make a mockery of the disaster by this ridiculous story?
His words of doubt have been well quoted down through the generations. We have even nicknamed him as the Doubting Thomas.
We don't really know the motivation behind his challenge. Was it flippancy, or even anger, ridiculing his friends for their crazy announcement? Or was it a genuine prayer, hoping Jesus would appear to him as he seemed to have done to the others?
Jesus knows the questions, motivations and emotions that we carry inside us as we walk our earthly journey. Sometimes He comes to us, quietly in our personal prayer. Why didn’t He appear to Thomas as he wept and suffered? Why do we sometimes leave our prayer time as desolate as we entered?
We return to the first scene of the story:
'In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them.'
Christians are not meant to be alone. We each have a personal calling, but we combine that calling with others who share the same mission. There are some experiences Jesus allows us to have only when we meet in prayer and fellowship.
It seems that Thomas re-joined the other disciples after that. He was certainly there a week later when Jesus reappeared. And after that, you couldn’t find a more faithful, 100 percent committed, follower than he.
If we have kept ourselves away from our faith community, or have allowed doubt to overcome our faith, let us return to Jesus and like Thomas, cry out,
'My L ord and my God!'
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