Good morning Rehoboth,

Our scripture reading for this week picks up right after our Easter story. If you remember Peter and the Beloved disciple left the tomb before seeing getting to see the risen Lord. Today we hear about the other disciples first encounter with Jesus. If you remember from Easter, Mary has announced that she has seen the Lord. After her encounter with Jesus, she does the only logical thing. She runs and tells people. That’s what an encounter with Jesus should do. It should make us want to run and tell people. But on Easter, we are left in the uncertainty of the effect of her witness of the resurrection. Mary is the first Easter preacher. I wish I had the strength and confidence to preach a sermon like she did that first Easter morning. All she does is stand up and say, “I have seen him” and then reads the word of God verbatim to the disciples. That’s her sermon. Short and sweet. I am sure you all would have preferred that to my rambling about how I don’t like the tomb. (To understand that line, please listen to the sermon on youtube, I promise I love Easter). But in our scripture for today the men are still afraid. They have locked themselves in an upper room, and they have remained unchanged. They have heard a proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it appears as if nothing has happened in their lives. I am curious how the disciples reacted to Mary’s sermon that Easter morning. Did they scoff at her? Did they not even bother listening? Or were they all sort of like Thomas, I will believe it when I see it? 

I get confused with why Thomas is singled out as the only person who needs to see Jesus to believe. If my reading is correct, the only disciple that may have believed without seeing was the Beloved Disciple, and even, he got to see the empty tomb. Why do we call Thomas, “doubting Thomas,” and we shy away from calling Mary “doubting Mary,” and Peter “doubting Peter”? This is something I need to ponder on this week. What is the difference between the other disciples and Thomas? Or was the line by Jesus about those who have faith without seeing just foreshadowing how hard the task of witnessing was going to become? Right now it’s easy. Jesus is still there. He is still walking around, but soon he won’t be. There won’t be a physical body to point to, and the question for Thomas maybe how are you going to preach that type of resurrection?  

I am also curious what that week was like for Thomas. All of his friends have seen Jesus. They are rejoicing and full of hope and joy, and Thomas is just waiting to encounter Jesus for himself. I can only imagine how terrible of a week that would have been for him. I am sure he wanted to believe. It would have been easier for him to believe his friends. It would have saved him a lot of fear and trembling. But Thomas couldn’t bring himself to believe unless he saw like everyone else. When are those moments in our lives we have been like Thomas? Wanting to believe with every fiber of our being but just not being able to? Wanting to trust but we just can’t bring ourselves to trust? These are a few questions I am wrestling over this week. I want to understand why Thomas is labeled “doubting,” and no one else is and I want to think about the effectiveness of our Easter messages? Do we keep preaching even if no one listens? I am also going to sit in the idea that despite all the good news around us we still find a way to lock our doors and fear for ourselves knowing that Jesus is walking among us. This is what I am pondering this week, what in this scripture speaks to you? Where is God leading you this week? I would love to hear from you. Thank you for letting me ramble!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Lee