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"Thomas said in response,
'My Lord and my God!'" Jn 20, 28. The Easter Jesus, as
one clever author puts it, reveals Himself as the God of
the Second Chance. On Easter Sunday itself, the Lord
signals the apostles that though they had turned their
back on Him, He Himself would not follow suit. And today
He faxes Thomas the message that He forgives him for his
disbelief in the Resurrection. Tuck these points in the
back of your mental computer. They probably will be the
best news of Easter for every mother's son and daughter
of us. It appears that the followers of Jesus continued
to meet after the Resurrection in that famous Upper
Room. Since it was owned by a friend of the Teacher, the
price was probably right. Check it out that John is very
anxious for us to know that it was the first day of the
week. If you play detective, you will discover that "the
first day of the week" is mentioned in the New Testament
a remarkable seven times. Presumably these early Christ
followers wanted us to understand that Sunday had
already become the Lord's Day. So, our gathering at
Liturgy on Sundays as a Jesus community is no accident.
We have taken our clue from the apostles. The disciples
were sitting about relaxing and exchanging rumors.
Perhaps they had just finished celebrating the
Eucharist. Suddenly the resurrected Lord bursts into
their company. Surely several of them fell off their
chairs. One or two others must have groped for their
nitroglycerine tablets. His "Peace be with you!" had
much more impact than our colorless "Have a nice day." A
free translation would mean, "May God give you every
wonderful good!" When you consider who Jesus is, they
had to feel
good
all over immediately.
Thomas had expected the assassination of Jesus from day
one of their exercise. Recall the time the Christ had
proposed going to Bethany where the cops had a search
warrant for Him. Eleven of the apostles protested that
had to do their laundry down at the stream and asked
politely for a rain check. Thomas shamed them all for
being yellow by saying, "Let us all go that we may die
with Him." Thomas was an early John Wayne, but he also
was a negative guy. The bottom line was always a zero.
His faith told him it would be better to die with Jesus
than live without Him. But his unbelief told him that
once the Teacher died, He would stay stone cold dead in
the market place. For many here this day, Thomas is our
main man. Belief and doubt have the nasty habit of
co-existing very uncomfortably in our honorable selves.
If that be your problem, stay loose. You are in the best
of company. When Jesus made a personal appearance Easter
Sunday, Thomas was AWOL. Perhaps he was out looking for
a job. Or may be he was even tying one on. When his
buddies reported they had seen the risen Lord, he
assumed they had been smoking funny cigarettes. Thomas
did not say he could not believe but rather that he was
not able to believe without some physical proof. So, as
I tell the college students I work with, relax, "You are
not the first to say, 'I believe only what I see. ",
Thomas of record was the last guy on the block to
believe' in the Resurrection. But run up the flags, for
he was the first ofthe Twelve to profess absolute belief
in the divinity of the risen Saviour. The cry that came
out of his gut still reverberates down through the
centuries, "My Lord and my God." It is perhaps the most
famous thirty second bite in history. The Twin began
that second Easter Sunday by touching Jesus as man
and friend. But, when he pulled back his hand, he
realized he was in touch with God Himself. Thomas was
blown away by the experience. He would never be the same
man again. The Master forgave the apostles for turning
tail on Good Friday. And He absolves Thomas for his
disbelief. All of us here have seriously messed up at
one time or another. After studying this Gospel, do you
still believe the Resurrected Jesus will not also give
us a second
chance? |
