19 When it was evening on that day,the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were,for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be withyou.” 20 After he said this, he showed them hishands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesussaid to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I sendyou.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on themand said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Ifyou forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins ofany, they are retained.”

 24 ButThomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them whenJesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “Wehave seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nailsin his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in hisside, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples wereagain 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 Thenhe said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your handand put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomasanswered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus saidto him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who havenot seen and yet have come to believe.”

30 Now Jesus did many other signs inthe presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 Butthese are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is theMessiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life inhis name.

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Note: As this reading is the Revised Common Lectionary pick for all three cycles, I am reposting the piece posted in 2023. 

                Earlierin the morning Mary Magdalene had gone to the tomb only to discover the tombempty. Peter and the Beloved Disciple then went to check things out afterhearing Mary’s report. After the two male disciples returned home, Jesusappeared to Mary, revealing himself to her as risen from the dead. Later thatevening, everyone gathered behind closed doors out of fear. For our purposes,we’ll assume that Mary had reported to the community that Jesus had appeared toher. Whether they believed her message, we’re not told. What we know is thatthe community gathered behind closed doors Jesus suddenly appeared to them. Hedoesn’t knock on the door, he just appears. When he appears to them, he showsthem his hands and side. That is, he showed them his wounds so they would knowthat it was really him.

                Accordingto verse 18 of John 20, Mary Magdalene had announced to the disciples that shehad seen the Lord and reported what Jesus had told her. Whether they believedher report is unknown. Of course, Peter and the Beloved Disciple had seen theempty tomb, though they hadn’t seen the risen Jesus. We can’t be sure what theyreported to their companions, but it’s likely the community had been ponderingthese reports, trying to make sense of them. Could Mary be correct when shereports encountering the risen Christ? If only Peter and the Beloved Disciplehad had the same encounter. That would have given them greater assurance.Whatever their disposition was that evening, they might be frightened of theirneighbors, but they don’t seem to be frightened of Jesus’ sudden appearance.When Jesus appears he gently greets them with the words: “Peace be with you.” Thenhe shows them his wounds. After this, the gathered disciples rejoice at seeinghim alive. So perhaps they were ready for what occurred amongst them.

                InJohn’s Gospel, after greeting the disciples, Jesus gets right to business.Having revealed himself to the disciples (and in my mind that includes morethan the twelve). Whereas in Matthew and Acts the commissioning of thedisciples comes on the day of his Ascension (Mt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8), here itcomes on day one of the new resurrection era. According to John, Jesus tellsthe disciples “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then, echoing thebreath of life given to the first human (Gen. 2:7), Jesus breathed on them,imparting to them the Holy Spirit. Then he tells them that even as they receivethe Holy Spirit, Jesus empowers them to forgive and retain sins (Jn. 20:21-23).Marianne Meye Thompson suggests that “even as the Father sent Jesus into theworld to bring life to the world (3: 16; 5: 26) and gave him the Spirit (1: 33;3: 34), so now the glorified (i.e., crucified and risen) Jesus (7: 37– 39)breathes out the life-giving Holy Spirit and commissions the disciples toextend his life-giving work in the world through the forgiveness of sins (cf.8: 21; 16: 8– 11; 14: 12)” [Thompson, John: A Commentary (NTL) (Kindle,p. 420)]. In other words, in this new era, they are being empowered to serve asGod’s agents in the world, engaging in life-giving ministry, even as Jesus hadpreviously served in that role.

                On thatfirst evening on that day of Jesus’ resurrection, one person was conspicuouslyabsent. That person was named Thomas. He’s often called “Doubting Thomas,” butwe might want to put ourselves in his place. The others had seen Jesus beforethey believed, why should he be any different? Why he was absent is unknown,but when he later rejoins the group, he hears about their encounter but he’sskeptical. Like many of us, Thomas has questions that need to be answered. Heseems to be something of an empiricist, wanting proof. You know, seeing isbelieving. It’s important to remember that while Thomas had questions aboutthese reports, it’s not as if he was a perennial doubter. He had committedhimself to be a follower of Jesus. Even though he was absent that firstevening, he had returned to the community. Thus, like many of us, he’s abeliever with questions. He wants to see and touch what the others have seen andtouched. While Thomas gets a bad rap for his doubts, we should be grateful thatthis group has within it a person who is willing to ask hard questions. AsJaime Clark-Soles writes, “Thomas is a straight shooter, a practical guy. Hemay not have much imagination or a sense of mystery, but he does have aninquiring mind. Thomas asks the tough questions that others are scared orembarrassed to ask” [Reading John for Dear Life, p. 143].

                 When we come to verse 26, it’s a week afterJesus’ first appearance to the community. It is, liturgically, the secondSunday of Easter. In many churches, the lilies are gone, and folks are ready toget ready for the next holiday (Mother’s Day?). While we might be ready to moveon liturgically, the Easter season is just getting started. There’s still timeto sing a few more of the great Easter hymns. If you didn’t sing Thine isthe Glory on Easter Sunday, there’s still time. The same goes for Upfrom the Grave He Arose (one of my favorites). Whatever yourdisposition, it’s a week after Easter Sunday. In the Gospel of John, thecommunity has gathered together once again. This time Thomas is present, likelywith all his questions still at the top of his mind. I think he wants tobelieve, but he wants to be sure the reports are true.

                Nowthat the community is together in the room, with the doors shut as before,Jesus once again appears suddenly. As far as we can tell from John’s narrative,Jesus doesn’t knock or even open the door. He just appears in the room. Onceagain, he gives the standard greeting: “Peace be with you.” Then, havinggreeted the community, Jesus turns to Thomas and invites him to see and touchhis hands. He even invites Thomas to put his hand in the wound in his side(whether Thomas did this, John doesn’t say, though it would seem that seeingwas believing). He doesn’t criticize Thomas. Instead, Jesus gives Thomas whatThomas needs.  Thomas responds to thisinvitation by falling on his knees and declaring “My Lord and My God.”

                Thomas’confession of faith— “My Lord and My God” —should catch our attention. Whatdoes Thomas (and John) mean here? We know that John’s Gospel begins with theconfession that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, andthe Word was God,” as well as that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”(John 1:1, 14). This confession would seem to bookend John’s narrative, withThomas seemingly confessing the message of the prologue to the Gospel. MarianneMeye Thompson, who seeks to define the Gospel of John in theocentric terms,notes that this is the only time in the Gospel that anyone directly confessesJesus to be God, and Thomas does so in very personal terms, suggesting worship.She writes further:

That the evangelist sees nocontradiction between confession of Jesus as "my God" and as"Son of God" reveals the basic contours of his Christology and shedssome light on the question of what it might mean to worship the risen Jesus. sus.Specifically, it cannot mean to worship a figure alongside of God, or inaddition to God, but to acknowledge the propriety of speaking of the one who isthe Son of God, the incarnation of the Word of God, as "my God." ForJohn, the incarnation is nothing other than God's self-manifestation. Theincarnate Son is neither an exalted agent figure nor a second deity but thevery embodiment of the Word of God and, therefore, merits address as "myGod." [Thompson, The God of the Gospel of John (KindleLocations 2749-2753).

After Thomas makes this confession of faith, he sees (andtouches) and now believes. His questions have been answered. While Jesus givesThomas what he needs, which elicits his confession, Jesus also acknowledgesthat not everyone will have this kind of opportunity. With that in mind, Jesuscommends those who believe without seeing. That is, those who like us, mustbelieve sight unseen. We must trust the testimony passed on to us by those whofirst encountered the risen Christ and confessed him as Lord and Son of God.

                Theclosing verses of chapter 20 follow up on Jesus’ commendation of those whobelieve without seeing for themselves. While Jesus did many other signs—rememberthat in the Gospel of John, we hear of signs, not miracles—that haven’t beenincluded in the book. In John’s view, what we have in the Gospel is sufficientfor our purposes. Thus, the signs and testimony that we find in the Gospel, “arewritten so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is theMessiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life inhis name” (Jn 20:30-31). As it stands, if we are to believe (put our trust inthe risen Christ) we must do so based on a testimony that can’t be testedscientifically. We can try to do it historically, but even this won’t be conclusive.We must simply believe without seeing. To do so is to be blessed by God. As wereceive this message we can confess with Thomas concerning Jesus: “My Lord andMy God.” As we do this, we can continue to celebrate the good news that inChrist life conquers death! 

                So, letus sing with St. John of Damascus:

Now let the heavens be joyful!
Let Earth the song begin!
Let the round world keep triumph,
and all that is therein!
Let all things seen and unseen
their notes in gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord hath risen,
our joy that hath no end. 

                (“The Dayof Resurrection!” —vs. 3)