The Introduction
Thomas missed it. The Lord came into their midst, tangibly and audibly. But Thomas wasn’t there. Even after the most tumultuous week of their lives, Thomas was not about to sit and reflect. He had places to go, people to see. In my secret biblical dating service, I think Thomas would make a good husband for Martha. He was practical, a man of action, a good model of service. He may have been out verifying the account of the women from the morning, or getting supplies for the group, or checking out the streets to hear if there was talk of lynching the whole bunch of them. It was certainly a dangerous time to go out for a mere stroll. Thomas had reasons not to be among them. But like Martha, his good intentions got in the way of the one thing that mattered. The only detail that escaped Thomas’ attention that day was Jesus.
How does activity keep you from prayer, contemplation, and the quiet? How can you accommodate room in your day to “see” the Lord?
Look for the Lord in the faces of others, those who are dear and especially those who are less so. Seek the Lord in beauty, in stillness, and behind locked doors most of all.
These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.
The Scripture (John 20:29-31)
Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing”. Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
The Story – A Mercy Divine
The Christian quality of mercy shows in how the apostles healed the sick and suffering who came to them. Christian disciples ever since have carried on that mission, and it’s going on right now in places like Nogales, Mexico. There the border with the United States is only a few paces – and also a security apparatus of fences, cameras, and guards – away. Also there: a small building where Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist welcome and feed thousands of migrants deported from the United States each year. Some of those arrive with injuries from nights crossing the Sonoran Desert. Others have been forcibly removed from life in the United States, without money, a phone, or a full set of clothing. Their ticket of admission is their documented record of rejection. “No one can be admitted without their deportation paper,” Sister Alma Delia said to the crowd.
Their work offers a lesson: “I believe the church is living a moment of crisis,” Sister Rosalba Avos Ramos told Kevin Douglas Grant in the GlobalPost. “The church needs to be transformed and live out a more radical commitment to the most needy. If we’re really trying to follow the way of Jesus, there’s a lot of his path that we need to pick up again and start living”. There’s an old pop standard that begins, “I’ll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places”. It’s a classic song because it evokes the many layers of meaning of the phrase “I’ll be seeing you”. And as the Easter season plays out, we observe that the disciples see Jesus in all the old familiar places – when they gather together, when they break bread, when they preach the Good News, and when they heal the sick. And that’s where we will see Jesus, too – in all the old familiar places that God reaches out to us.
The Reflection
Peace is not something which is offered to us when everything is sorted out and life is calm. It comes as a surprising gift into the heart of our challenging times – it is not easy to describe it. Often we find that we can, at last, open the doors of our lives and step out into life, not because everything is solved, but because the presence of the Christ is with us and will walk with us transforming each tough moment because we shared it with him. This is why we can carry grace and mercy with us as we go because that is what we have received.
The Commissioning
Doubts cannot hold us. Fear cannot bind us.
Apathy cannot subdue us. Death cannot defeat us.
Love cannot reject us. Time cannot capture us.
Christ is for us. God will eternally secure us. Amen.
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