Saturday April 6, 2024
Theme: “Meeting the Risen One”
Text: John 20:24-29
24. Thomas, called Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25. Then the other disciples said to 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 put my hand in his side, I will not believe. 26. Eight days later the disciples of Jesus were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being closed, and stood among them, and said, Peace be unto you; 27. Then he said to Thomas: Put forth your finger here, and look at my hands; put forth your hand also, and put it in my side; and do not be unbelieving, but believe. 28. Thomas answered him: My Lord and my God! Jesus said to him: 29. Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and believed!
Let's remember:
The encounter with the risen destroys doubt and dispels hesitations of faith. It is during the encounter with the resurrected one that we leave the bad old nature of unbelieving Christians to take the step of stable faith. The Lord did not want Thomas to stray into lack of faith. He hurried to raise him up and strengthen him so that he could regain the whole team of disciples to walk towards the new horizons. Thomas was the only one absent during Jesus' first visit and Jesus comes to put him on an equal footing with the rest of the disciples. It also conveys the message of blind faith; she who does not seek to see before believing; but who believes without seeing the proof. The resurrected Jesus does not need to enter the door to visit his team. Since that time, Jesus has visited us without passing through the doors of our homes. He even prefers to live in us by means of his Spirit, so as to no longer go back and forth. For our era, Jesus had instituted moving everywhere without being visible to physical eyes. It is no longer visible except through the eyes of faith, those that Thomas had not yet integrated into his way of understanding the new situation printed by the Lord Jesus. Even today, many have not been able to meet the resurrected one and wait to see him before believing. Let us learn to believe without seeing because the Spirit of God now lives in us. Excellent week-end. Amen
Alain Louz.-