May 1
Connect
As I was driving to our cabin on Friday morning, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace. My senses were alive as I glimpsed swans on a pond, saw horses grazing in the pasture, listened to some favorite music and felt the warmth of the sun. I felt SO alive - and so convinced of God’s presence in the world around me. Why hadn’t I sensed this same promise of new life during the preceding days of gloomy rain and chilly wind?
Consider:
- When do you feel most alive?
- In what ways is God present in those moments?
- What signs do you see – or need to see – to believe that Jesus is alive in the world today?
Grow:
How often have we heard and/or said, “seeing is believing!” While Thomas is remembered for being the disciple who doubted Jesus’ resurrection, isn’t it possible (even probable) that the other disciples might have responded similarly had they not been in the room when Jesus appeared?
While we don’t have Jesus in his human form living in our world today, his presence is surely alive in countless other ways. We sense it when we pause to experience the beauty of the earth, the miracle of birth and recovery, the reassurance brought by the gentle word or touch of someone who cares. Yet, the harsh realities of today’s world distract us; war, natural disasters, terminal illness – hey, even the challenges of holding down a job – or not having one – cause us to doubt God’s promise that Jesus came so that we might have life to the fullest.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells Thomas, “…Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Even after all the tangible evidence of God’s love for me, I too, am often a Doubting Thomas when it comes to living life in the way intended by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Read and Listen:
Consider:
- How have you responded when you have been sent by God? With joy? With fear? By turning a blind eye?
- How would others say that you show – and tell – the world that Jesus is alive?
- What events have caused you to believe God’s promise that “by believing you may have life in his name?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus appears where “the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked (for fear of the Jews). “ Jesus show them his hands and his sides and says, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
If John were to pick one sign to convince us, recounting the resurrected Jesus appearing through a locked door seems to be a good one, huh?
This same Gospel ends with “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.”
Sign me up for “believing” and “having life”, but can I pass on the “being sent”?
It is difficult to have life in its fullest sense if we are not in relationship with God. And being in a relationship with God means sharing the good news that God is present and alive. And, like it or not, sharing requires that we show – and tell – others that just as God sent Jesus as a sign of his love for us, Jesus sends us to be disciples of God’s love.
Close
Living God, forgive me my unbelief. Help me walk by faith, not by signs, in your promise of full life and grant me the courage to act as a witness of your love wherever you may send me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
