The Peace of the Resurrection Journey

“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.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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.’

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.’ 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.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 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.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 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.” John 21:19-31

The evening of Resurrection Sunday, Jesus appears to his disciples. They are gathered in a room, locked away and hidden from the world. They are probably scared, nervous, and confused. They are in fear of what will happen to them. If they crucified Jesus, the cross is a real possible outcome for them as well. So they have locked themselves in and stay hidden.

Perhaps they are still in mourning. They shouldn't be though. They should be rejoicing, if they believed what Mary had told them earlier in the day. Perhaps they are feeling a little bewildered by all that has taken place. Whatever the case may be, they are hidden behind locked doors when they receive an unexpected visitor.

Suddenly, Jesus appears standing before them saying, “Peace be with you.” It is not a peaceful, easy feeling peace, but a calming peace given in a terrifying resurrection moment. He grants them his peace as he sends them out and lays the Holy Spirit upon them. He shows them his wounds and they believe; but all are not there.

Thomas is not there. He is out, apparently the only brave one, and what he is out doing we are not told. We are just told that he was not among them. When Thomas arrives back, the disciples tell him what they had just experienced and he does not believe them. He refuses to believe they have seen the risen Lord because he too wishes to touch him and experience the resurrection himself. The other 10 disciples do not demand Jesus to show his wounds; he does this voluntarily. He gives them proof of life, if you will, without being asked. The disciples rejoice because they have seen and experienced the risen Lord. Is it wrong then for Thomas to demand to experience the same?

Thomas' demand of the disciples, maybe even of Jesus, is a demand that does not go ignored. Singled out because he was not there the first time, Jesus shows Thomas his wounds. He urges Thomas to place a finger where the nails were. Jesus urges Thomas to reach out his hand and place inside the wound where the spear struck. Thomas is invited in, being given the peace of Christ, to embrace the wounds of the resurrection journey. For Thomas and the disciples, reaching out and touching Jesus is a risky move and it is one that is necessary for their faith development, their growth. Jesus invites them to become active participants in the resurrection and by doing so they are required to take the risk of touching him. They are asked to embrace the wounds of resurrection because they will need the peace of Christ within as they go out into the world. The Spirit that is laid upon them is the Spirit that will strengthen them in those terrifying resurrection moments. It steel them as they are stretched, boiled, beheaded, exiled, and abandoned.

Thomas is encouraged to touch Jesus, to experience the resurrection in the most real sense. Thomas is not denied his encounter with Christ. He is not denied receiving of the Spirit. The faith of Thomas, the faith we see in John 11 when he is the only one to voice, “Let us go so that we may die with him.” is perhaps a reflection of our own faith as participants in the resurrection. His faith and likewise the faith of the disciples and Mary, call upon us to be demanding in our faith. Their faith and the blessing of Jesus, call upon us to be active participants in the resurrection life as they are. It is for us, as it was for them, a moment in which we deepen in our faith.

After Thomas touches Jesus and rejoices in his discovery, Jesus says, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” It is here we find the words of Jesus, the words of the writer of the gospel, blessing those who have come after the resurrection. Our faith is blessed because we have believe not because we have seen but because we have heard. We are blessed because we demanded to hear the resurrection story and thus our faith is one based not on what is seen but what is unseen. We hold to our faith because we are told we are blessed for not having seen the risen Lord. We are blessed because we have not touched the resurrection wounds and still have believed. It is in the unseen that we need to hear Jesus say once again, “Peace be with you.”

We have created a Christian culture in which faith must be proven and dictated. We try to rewrite history so our perception is taught and enforced. We no longer allow our children to be like Thomas and demand to see Jesus for themselves; instead we are yelling at the top of our lungs: “Believe like I did!” We have allowed the church to fall victim to this false theology that through power faith is proven. We forget that in a small crowded apartment, Jesus chose to appear not to a Governor or the Chief Priests but to his friends. We forget that “blessed are those who believe but have not seen” is a blessing like those who mourn. They are not blessed because they mourn but because they will comforted. We are not blessed because we believe. We are blessed because we believe without seeing. We struggle to make room for Christ to appear and say, “Peace be with you.” yet we need him more and more to appear and say, “Peace be with you.”

Our faith journey is one that requires the risk in which the peace of Christ is needed. When we seek to move up the ladder we risk slipping. Each time we seek to grow deeper in our faith we run into moments when there are more questions, less answers, less guarantees and the peace of Christ reminds of this resurrection story. It does not give us a peaceful easy feeling but it brings us closer to Christ and therefore our faith is renewed. The peace of Christ renews our spirits and we are lifted up on the wings of eagles, making it possible to continue each step of this resurrection faith journey. The wounds of Christ remind us that the resurrection journey is not without the valley of the crosses. It is in those wounds though we find the peace of Christ within.

When we look upon the wounds of the resurrection journey, hearing the words, “Peace be with you”, we not only find the strength to continue deepening our faith but we find compassion for our fellow travelers. We do not look upon their scars with judging hearts that say, “You know if they really believed...” instead we look upon their scares with loving hearts that say, “Peace be with you. Place your hands in my scars.” The wounds of the resurrection journey and the peace of Christ reminds us of the need for room in our churches when allow honest questions and allow room for the honest answers.

The blessing of believing remains the unseeing, and the wounds of the resurrection are fill our hearts with the peace of Christ; making it possible to continue this journey together. We find the peace of Christ to steel us as we ask our questions. We find the peace of Christ to steel us as we demand God to show up. We find the peace of Christ to steel us as we seek justice in an unjust world. We find the peace of Christ to steel us when God does show up and we are treated, as Job was, to a parade of creation. We find the peace of Christ steel us when we are at that inevitable faith crossroads to either leave the faith altogether or find strength to keep believing. Such peace gives us the courage to keep such faith because we are blessed because we have not seen yet believe. Such peace is a beautiful thing.