Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
Jesus had told this to Thomas, that he who had seen Jesus had also seen the Father. What John writes follows from this, that everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him, the one in whom the Father's presence is seen and revealed. Yet Thomas was unable to hold to this faith in the face of the trauma of the Passion.
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
All of the disciples were still living in fear when Jesus came in their midst. But it was to their benefit that, even in their grief and lack of understanding, they came together. Jesus had said that wherever two or more where gathered in his name he would be present in the midst of them. Good as his word, he came and stood in their midst. Whatever reason Thomas may have had for not being present was revealed to be a lesser choice. Was he grieving so much that he didn't want to see others? Was he pushing forward with what he imagined were better things to do now that the movement was over? Whatever the reason, the result we see is that he missed the appearance of Jesus. He was not meant to walk the path alone, especially when the path got hard. To their credit, when the other disciples attempted to share this with him when they saw him again.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
They had been empowered by the breath of Jesus to share his mercy with others. They were able to welcome him back into their communion even if they themselves could not fix the hurt in his heart.
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.”
Thomas said this, and yet at least after this he was willing to be with the other disciples. Even they themselves were still in the grip of fear and locked in the upper room. No one was yet perfected. No one had all the answers. But the mercy that the Lord had already shown the other disciples when he breathed on them was now beginning to overflow and prepare the way for more mercy still. We too can share mercy even when we don't have abundant joy or all the answers.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
In the midst of his people Jesus desired to reveal himself so that they could come to believe, and believing, have life in his name. Hiding, locked away, and fearful, they did not yet have the victory over the world that faith was meant to be, that Jesus himself desired them to possess.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
In his mercy, Jesus desired to show them that he was who he said he was, the Son of God. He wanted them to understand that, though divine, he was the very same one who had gone to the cross, who was now raised to life again, standing in their midst.
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.”
Faith is victory over the world for us because it is in the one who came "through water and blood", the one, that is, who himself first conquered the world by the blood of his Cross and who now makes that victory present through the lifegiving water of the Spirit.
In mercy, Jesus makes himself known so that we may believe in who he is and what he has done for us. When we believe this we also embrace by faith the new identities we have been given, that we too are "begotten by God" as John writes. We believe that the power of the Spirit now makes us participate in the victory of the cross itself. When we face temptation, opposition, or hardship, we believe that whatever cross we encounter is now inexorably linked to the victory of the resurrection. We believe in who Jesus is and what he is done, that he has joined us to himself and his victory, and by this belief that we become able to actually live the victory ourselves.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
His commandments are not burdensome if and only if we participate in his victory by faith. Otherwise, they are not only burdensome but finally impossible. But to say that they are not burdensome to those living in victory is an understatement. They are guideposts to the truly abundant life. We see this in the way that the early Church embodied it.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
Our faith may not yet feel victorious. But this morning we can have special confidence of the mercy of the Lord who did not let locked doors keep him out, who was willing to do even whatever Thomas asked to bring him to faith. He will do also for us whatever will bring us into the full victory of faith. What, after all, is Holy Communion if not letting us touch his wounds?
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