Have you ever been asked to do something that you felt eminently unqualified to do? Maybe a step up in a job or a massive project upon which hangs a huge amount of prestige?

Imagine how the disciples felt when Jesus visited with them that first Easter evening. They were essentially hiding from the Judeans, in a locked room. Jesus came and stood among them – speaking peace into a troubled situation. The disciples are then tasked, by Jesus, to go spread the Word, to forgive sins (by the power of the Holy Spirit). Yes, Jesus had sent them out before but this time it was different And note that Jesus was not asking if they wouldn’t mind doing all this…He’s telling them to do so.

They can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit – Jesus’ breath, God’s breath enabling them to accomplish an otherwise impossible task. Jesus breathed on them saying ‘Receive the Holy Spirit…’

God breathed life into Adam (gen 2:7) and man came alive.

Now, at the beginning of the new creation, God’s restorative breath is breathed onto the disciples ‘making new people of them and through them, offering this new life to the world’.

As Christians we are to continue the work that Jesus began and that can often be very exhausting. We should ask God regularly for a filling of the Holy Spirit to empower us to fulfil our calling. The Holy Spirit is a beautiful and powerful part of who God is. We need Him in our lives as a conduit to become who God created us to be. Without Him, we are powerless. So it was with the disciples.

But while all this is happening in that locked room, there is someone missing – Thomas is not with the rest of the disciples when Jesus first appears to them. Tom Wright describes Thomas’ absence thus: ‘the dour, dogged disciple who suggested that the disciples might as well go with Jesus, if only to die with Him (Jn 11:16), who complained that Jesus hadn’t made things anything like clear enough (Jn 14:5) just happened to be somewhere else on that first Easter day.’ We are not told where……

So, when the other disciples excitedly told him what had happened, I wonder what went through his mind……

When Thomas finally does see Jesus, and Jesus speaks to him, was he, Jesus, really rebuking him or not? There are differing schools of thought about this. That Jesus is being rather gentle with Thomas almost in a kindly father chastising an stroppy son type of way. Or that He is actually really rather disappointed in Thomas and his doubting. And that doubting is actually shameful, unwanted in this world (David Helm in ‘A Conversation with

Jesus on Doubt). Personally, I much prefer the notion that Jesus is not rebuking Thomas. It is suggested that some people do, actually, need doubt before they can believe. Doubt can lead to questions, which in turn lead to answers, which if accepted means that doubt has done good work. But when doubt becomes stubbornness which then becomes prideful lifestyle – then doubt has harmed faith. If, or when, we doubt – let’s let our doubt deepen our faith as we continue searching for the answers.

Thomas is invited to put his fingers in the nail holes in Jesus’ hands and to put his hand into the wound in Jesus’ side, just as Thomas himself had said he needs to do before he believes. But as soon as he sees and hears Jesus, this need to actually feel the wounds is gone and he openly accepts that this is indeed the risen Christ – ‘My Lord and my God’ – acknowledging the fully human and fully divine Jesus.

The link between Thomas’ seeing and our believing is John’s writing, as he explains at the end of today’s reading. If we trust in the veracity of what he has written in this pretty epic gospel we have belief based on eyewitness testimony – actual written testimony. Tom Wright writes ‘the paradox of faith – touching is possible, seeing is enough but believing is best of all.’

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ, it is hard sometimes to believe. In the face of frustrated hopes and broken dreams, of sorrow, suffering and death, we too, like Thomas, can find ourselves doubting. Help us then, even when faith is hard, even when it’s a struggle to hold on, to put our trust in You, knowing that You will not fail us. Amen.