Second Sunday of Easter
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Scripture |
John 20:19-3119 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin ), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. |
Devotional |
Easter is past. The resurrection is behind us. The logical question for me is, “Where do we go for here?” Always looking for the next mountain to climb before reaching the top of the present one, this is not unusual. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a book by this title: Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or community ? “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.” 1 In some way, we are all confronted with the question, “Where do we go from here?” The disciples seem to have the same question. They are waiting behind locked doors because of fear of the Jews. Jesus appears to commissions them with the presence of the Holy Spirit. But a week later, they remain in the same place. The only difference is that Thomas is present with the group when Jesus appears the second time. Had they been waiting on Thomas before they could act? What keeps us waiting in the room? Martin Luther King is writing about the path of the civil rights movement. Their accomplishments acknowledged and the difficulties facing them are unknown. What lies ahead may be unknown but we know we cannot remain in a locked room. “Procrastination is still the thief of time.” 2Whether we are waiting for another person or out of fear, we find that it is time to move ahead. Where do we go from here? The path may not be clearly marked but I know it is on the other side of the locked door. One sure thing is that procrastination is not in the plan. In discerning where we go from here, we face these questions: What is God doing? How is God active here and now? What is my place in God’s activity? What action is God calling me to take today? One thing for sure, God is not calling us to remain behind locked doors. “Tomorrow is today.” Prayer: Lord, give us courage to leave the house with the locked doors. Help us to discern were we go from here. 1 Martin Luther King Jr. Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? in A Testament of Hope, ed. James M. Washington. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1986. p. 633.
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