Readings for Easter 2

Acts: 4:32-35

1 John 1:1-2:2

John 20: 19-31

Passage for meditation:  “Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’” John 20:27

Devotion:  “Doubting Thomas”, right?  He didn’t believe the other disciples words and he gets the bad rep.  But the story isn’t told to focus on Thomas.  Jesus is the center of this story.  It was Jesus who appeared to the disciples behind locked doors before and invited them to see his hands and side.  It is the same Jesus who appears behind locked doors a week later to show himself to Thomas, so that he  too could see, touch and believe that Jesus who was dead is now alive.  He invited Thomas to touch the very place where the nails were placed into his hand and the spear pierced His side to show that the Jesus who was crucified for the sin of the word is the same Jesus who now lives.

We can be tempted to think, “oh, it was easy for the disciples to believe in Jesus- they saw him and touched him.”  While we haven’t yet seen Jesus the same way the disciples did, Jesus still reveals himself to us and engages our senses.  We were touched by Christ in our baptism, as the water and His word connected us to his cross and empty tomb.  We continue to be touched by Christ, as we eat and drink His body and blood in Holy Communion.  We don’t see him as the disciples did, yet.  But we have the hope and the assurance that on the last day we will.

Truly, we who believe but have not yet seen our Risen Lord are blessed that He reveals himself to us by His Word and through the Sacraments.