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Gospel: John 20: 19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Niagara Falls is one of the great natural wonders of America. Part of its beauty comes from the sheer force of water that spills over its edges – more than 75,000 gallons per second!
Over the centuries, people have attempted to “conquer” the falls through death-defying stunts like going over the edge locked inside a wheelbarrow.
One person even tried – unsuccessfully – to swim across.
Then there was the daredevil known as the “Great Blondin,” who crossed Niagara Falls on a highwire several times. In one attempt, he planned on pushing a wheelbarrow across while balancing on a wire only a few inches thick.
Before attempting his death-defying stunt, an onlooker shouted out from the crowd, “You’ll never make it across! Goodbye!”
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But the Great Blondin slowly pushed his wheelbarrow from one side of the falls to the other, then came all the way back. Shouting to the skeptic below, he said:
“Now do you believe I can do it?”
The onlooker said, “Yes, a hundred times.”
“Well, if you really believe,” he said, “then get into the wheelbarrow!”
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How many of us would’ve gotten into that wheelbarrow?
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This must’ve been how the Apostle Thomas felt about placing his trust in the Apostles’ account of seeing the Risen Lord.
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe,” Thomas says.
Because of his skepticism, Thomas is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.”
But that nickname seems a bit unfair to me. It’s not that Thomas is unwilling to believe; he wants to believe. But he reminds us just how hard it can be to accept the mind-blowing truth of the resurrection.
Thomas knew how grim Christ’s death was. He knew Jesus was placed inside a rock-hewn tomb. He knew a giant boulder was rolled across.
Having the disciples tell him that Jesus was somehow alive again sounded like a cruel joke, as if Thomas was supposed to toss out the grief of Good Friday in his heart and instantly replace it with Easter joy.
Such a startling proposal demanded more proof.
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A week later, Jesus appears to Thomas, but only after he rejoins the Apostolic community, teaching the Apostles an important lesson. If they want to see Jesus, then they must seek him together.
“Wherever two or three are gathered in my name,” he tells them, “there I am in the midst of them.”
It’s partly why we gather together each week – to encounter the Lord together, to find him in this community and to receive him in this Eucharist.
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We all want to experience the Lord… as if it were always so easy.
But, on occasion, doesn’t “Doubting Thomas” show up within some of us?
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It’s that skeptical, unbelieving voice within that pokes at the soft spots in our faith.
“Thomas” shows up when our children or grandchildren ask us questions about God and we don’t know how to answer them.
“Thomas” shows up when we see the unnecessary suffering in our world, when someone we love is sick, when an important prayer request goes unanswered, or when we stand at the graveside weeping.
This must’ve been why John includes the story of Thomas at the conclusion of his Gospel, immediately after the resurrection appearances – to give us all permission to be Thomas.
To doubt. To ponder. To question.
It’s also why the Church gives us seven weeks – nearly fifty days – to celebrate the Easter season. What happened to Jesus is real.
The tomb was empty. It matters!
But the resurrection challenges every fiber of our being, not only to believe it, but also to be changed by it.
In this Easter season, Jesus invites us to make that giant leap of faith from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, from doubt to faith, a leap we may have to make more than once in life.
You might say, we’re being invited to get into the wheelbarrow.
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May we do just that – place our hearts into Christ’s hands, trusting that he will lead us safely across the “rushing, sometimes dangerous waters” of life into his eternal kingdom.
For he is Risen! Alleluia!
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Image credits: (1) The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio (2) Look and Learn, stock (3) Saint Thomas, Caravaggio