Unlocked doors
The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” — John 20:26b-27
Eight days lapse between Jesus’ first and second visits to His disciples. Eight days is a significant amount of time, especially when death is sudden, frightening, and as awful as it was for those experienced Jesus’ crucifixion.
There are so many things we don’t know about Thomas (just as there are so many things we don’t know about the other disciples), but we do know this: those called by Jesus to be a part of His closest entourage three years earlier were significantly shattered by Jesus’ death.
Maybe Thomas intentionally opted out of meeting with the other disciples in the upper room on the evening of the Sunday we call the first Easter Sunday. Then again, maybe there was no intention in his absence. Maybe Thomas just couldn’t make it.
There are times we don’t make it to Jesus. There’s the Sunday (or Sundays) we don’t go to church and could have. There’s that opportunity to act like Jesus and connect charitably to someone in need and don’t.
Regardless of where we have (or have not) been, Jesus gets it. Specifically, Jesus gets us.
The doors were locked both times the disciples gathered. Our doors are metaphorically locked, too–even if it’s only for a moment. Still, Jesus comes to us with peace, a peace that passes our misunderstanding, our misinformation, our missed steps and our missed opportunities to be with the One who will never, never, never stop loving us and meeting us where we are.
PRAYER: Jesus, stand among us. In our sudden, frightening, or awful wounds (and in all places in between our joy and our sorrow), speak to us. Touch us. Amen.
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