The disciples had locked themselves in. They were afraid.

Jesus was suddenly there, with them. “Shalom”, he said, the familiar word of greeting meaning ‘Peace be with you’. I hope he smiled. They were overjoyed to see him. He said again ‘Peace be with you.’ This was significant. He knew their fear. God’s peace quells fear. Fear can make us run away or hide, rather than stand firm and serve God boldly.

Thomas wouldn’t believe their word that Jesus was risen and alive. He wanted to touch and see the resurrected Christ for himself. Many sceptics today say the same thing. One of the familiar challenges on line is ‘prove it!’ - meaning to produce physical evidence sufficient to convince them. But Jesus said, “Have you believed because you’ve seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” If God appeared in a form by which we had no choice but to believe, our relationship with God wouldn’t be by mutual assent, it would be by coercion. God wants us to willingly draw near to him. We can refuse the invitation.

I don’t blame Thomas for wanting to see for himself, however. We must find out for ourselves, rather than to take other people’s word for it. We need to make up our own minds about God. We are open to more than what is physically present. We can and do, as Christian reminded us last week, have evidence from our own experience. ‘When we pray to Jesus, he gives us new life here and now, and spiritual strength to confront all the challenges in our lives. That wouldn’t happen if he were stone dead. The real evidence for the resurrection is the changed lives of those who pray to him.’ Jesus is with us.

Thomas was already a disciple, a follower of Jesus. The significance of Jesus’s presence wasn’t lost on him. “My Lord and my God” he said. I wonder whether it was such a profound experience that his knees trembled, so that he said the words while kneeling at Jesus’s wounded feet. Moments such as this become markers on our path of faith, to look back upon and recall during dry or dark times, and at the end of our days.

There was a change in the disciples. They came out of their locked room and testified to the resurrection with great power. They went on to stand firm and to serve God boldly. God’s grace was with them. They were of one heart and soul, sharing their possessions so that nobody went without. Some find this difficult, especially those for whom possessions have become the purpose of life rather than God. If we are able to humbly hand over our wealth to God, we are free to serve without it becoming a barrier which holds us back. This doesn’t mean to give it all away so that we will be reliant on others to provide for us. God’s peace, which passes all understanding, will be with us, and in us.

Our relationship with God, who alone is our judge, is the most important one to consider as we live day by day. As we mark the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, this week we might pray that he will rest in the peace and joy of God’s eternal kingdom of love. Amen.

Julie Rubidge

Lay Minister