Our Gospel reading this coming Sunday is John 20:19-31 in which we encounter the apostle with the embarrassing nickname, "Doubting Thomas." No one saw Jesus rise from the dead. The only evidence our faith has is the empty tomb and the stories of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances. I got to thinking that the COVID-19 pandemic has left us in circumstances that have some similarities to the earliest disciples' plight right after the resurrection. They had no idea what was going to happen next. Everything that they had known and taken for granted was taken away from them when Jesus was executed. And now, his body was missing. Some of their number claim to have seen the risen Lord but for most, there was only uncertainty and doubt. The fear of the unknown and the very real threat of life and death left them hiding behind locked doors. We too, are behind locked doors wondering what is going to happen next. Any trip outside our locked rooms has a risk of infection. Anyone coming to our door could bring the infection to us. So we stay locked and hidden. So, too, the disciples. Suddenly, Jesus is in the room with them despite the locked doors. Everyone was there except for Thomas (Dydamus to his friends for that was his nickname then. It means "twin"). Jesus has a message and brings wonder and comfort to all who see him. When Thomas is told what had happened in his absence, he exclaims that he will not believe until he sees it for himself and "puts my finger into the nail marks, and my hand into his side." So the next week, Thomas is present when Jesus appears to them again. "Thomas," Jesus says, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving but believe." That must have been such a shock to poor Thomas! Not only to see Jesus himself but for Jesus to have known what he was thinking and what he had said. All he could do is humbly exclaim: "My Lord and my God." As this incredible period of human history unfolds around us, perhaps this is a good place for us to start. Like Thomas, we may have been busy with life and full of doubt. We haven't been that interested in Church and faith was not much on our minds. I hope that the time hidden behind doors in fear gives us a new perspective and makes faith something so much more worth our time and effort. And when we can go to church, what a fantastic celebration it will be. And we, too, can humbly exclaim: "My Lord and my God."
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