The resurrection stories are fast-paced and frenzied with feelings of loss, emptiness and confusion. The empty tomb means different things to different people. Where is Jesus? Is He risen? The disciples on several occasions fail to recognize Jesus in their midst, until some clue tips them off…the breaking of the bread, breakfast prepared for them on the beach after they tried to return to their lives as fishermen, shared scripture stories by a stranger walking with them outside of Jerusalem. I can imagine there was a sense of failed expectations that the disciples felt, and this probably led to some in-fighting and bickering. So, this is Easter…so this is New Life…trying to figure it out – sounds very familiar these days.
It has something to do with faith as we hear in today’s Gospel, (Jn 20:19-31), but I wonder if it is more than what seems to appear on the surface. Thomas is missing when Jesus appears to the rest of disciples, and then, when told that Jesus has risen and been in their presence, Thomas seems to refuse to believe and boldly states that he will not believe until he can place his hands in the very wounds of Christ.
I have always felt that Thomas as the doubter has gotten a bad rap. I guess it’s more than partially because I share the name. In the Gospel, story, once Jesus does appear to the disciples again and Thomas is able to see him and place his hands into Jesus’ wounds, Thomas believes. The traditional understanding of this story has been that those who have not seen and yet believe are the blessed ones – almost a blind faith in a way. Although I find this a reassuring interpretation of the story, I have wondered also about what this story could also be saying in terms of engagement. On a personal level, it speaks to me of just what the Risen Christ may require of me.
I know that I must see in order to appreciate the Risen Christ. But what does it mean to really see? Again, like so many of the Easter stories, it’s about recognition. I admit that I clumsily fail to recognize the Risen Christ on a daily and even a momentary basis. I know I do. Strangely enough, the words to an early 70’s song by Melanie, Candles in the Rain (Lay Down) seem to speak to me of what discovering the Risen Christ can mean for me. It’ s jolting and visceral, but all the same, it is very real for me, and also relevant for our current situation in the Coronavirus pandemic…
“We were so close, there was no room
We bled inside each others wounds
We all had caught the same disease
And we all sang the songs of peace
Some came to sing, some came to pray
Some came to keep the dark away”
It’s the human vulnerability that we all share, but so many times fail to realize, recognize and respond. Jesus invites Thomas, invites me…you…all of us to not hesitate but to place our hands inside His wounds. In a world of social distancing this placing of our hands inside Christs wounds has been brought to a new level that requires creative yet perhaps even deeper gestures of compassion and healing. The wounds of the world are large and everywhere. The cry out for compassion and healing is intimate and demanding.
This virus that has come into our lives can be seen as a real sign of how we must ‘bleed inside each other’s wounds,’ or put another way, touch each other in the solidarity of healing that we all need, in so many ways. That may sound terrifying, but it seems a very real message in the Easter Life. It is a dis-ease that we are called to…to be uncomfortable, or at least challenged to step outside of our everyday mindsets and into the seemingly empty spaces of suffering and pain, woundedness.
We are invited to reach inside each other’s wounds, because wounds have to be touched and cared for in order to heal – sickness, grief, poverty, isolation, depression, all the –isms of our world. Jesus is asking Thomas to see the wounds and to not remain in un-belief, but to engage in the fullness that comes from shared weakness and vulnerability. It’s so counter-everything… even today, but it is the Gospel story! I pray for the openness to see the wounds of our shared dis-ease and do whatever small part I can to heal and be healed by the great Easter Love that moves our beautiful Universe! We heal each other, i.e., we transform each other, in and through the wounds of Christ all about us! It’s happening right now!
‘Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ‘
Peace
Thomas
(written April 3, 2016)