Second Sunday of Easter, April 27, 2025: Acts 5:27-32; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20:19-31; Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150
It’s been quite a few days for the followers of Jesus. The passover seder, where Jesus washed their feet; a trip to the garden, where he prayed. Then the arrest and trial, and finally his crucifixion. The man they had loved, for whom they had left their homes and their work, was dead. Fortunately, one of them had received permission to bury Jesus. But then that morning, the women had gone to the tomb to anoint the body, as was expected, and came back telling them that the body was not there, and an angel had told them he had risen. Mary Magdalen had returned and told them that she had seen Jesus.
The disciples were scared. John tells us that they had returned to the house where they had had the passover, and that the doors of the house were locked. After all, Jesus had been crucified, and his body had disappeared. What would happen next? Were they vulnerable to arrest because they were Jesus’ followers? You can’t blame them.
And then Jesus appears. The doors are locked, and Jesus appears. You can almost hear them thinking, “Wait, what???” And Jesus says to them, “Peace be with you”. He says it twice, so it’s important. And he breathes the holy spirit on them, and gives them the power to forgive sins.
Poor Thomas. He’s not there. And he doesn’t believe them. To be fair to him, the disciples were not sure they believed that Mary Magdalen had seen Jesus. They had seen him crucified. So Thomas channels all of us rational types and announces that he needs to feel the holes in Jesus body to believe it’s Jesus.
What I love most about this account in John’s gospel — one so important we read it every year on the second Sunday of Easter — is that no one shames Thomas for his doubt. That Thomas does not believe his fellows is not a problem; he is still one of them.When Jesus shows up the next week, he again says to his disciples, “Peace be with you”. Then he invites Thomas to feel the holes in his body. “Do not doubt but believe.” There’s a little needle when Jesus says, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Yet Jesus accepts Thomas as he is.
There are few Christians who have not at some point or other been with Thomas, asking for proof of Jesus’ identity. This is not a mark of failure, but is part of the spiritual life. There was great discussion some years ago when it was revealed that Mother Teresa spent almost 50 years of her ministry consumed with doubt, with no sense of the presence of Jesus. The gospel we read today reminds us that such doubts have a long history.
Jesus welcomes Thomas’s faith. Thomas is not excluded because he has doubted, but always part of the community. As we reflect on the message of Easter, we must include the gift of love and inclusion shown to Thomas not just by Jesus, but by his fellow disciples. Our lives in faith are not linear, where doubt is conquered by faith. Instead, doubt creeps in at odd moments as we live in faithfulness to Jesus.
“Peace be with you” is Jesus’ greeting. As we move through the week ahead, may we honor our doubt, and that of those around us, as a normal dimension of our lives following Jesus.
Peace be with you.
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