12 April – The Second Sunday of Easter, John 20.19
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.’ 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If 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. 25So 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.’ 27Then 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.’ 28Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29Jesus 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. 31But 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.
Things to think about with the child at the centre:
Activities
Draw round your hand and cut out the shape. Spend some time looking at your real hand, and all the marks and lines (and any scars on it). Finger and palm prints are unique. Can you copy the marks onto your cut-out hand?
Response
Doubting Thomas might get a bit a bad press sometimes, but I think I understand where he’s coming from! I’m not sure I would believe it if my friends insisted they’d seen someone I loved who had just died. Like many people, Thomas needs cold hard proof that Jesus is resurrected.
And it is Jesus’ scars that are the evidence that he needs. Thomas knows Jesus because he knows the knocks he’s taken, and can see the aftermath of them.
We too, are formed in part by the challenges, pain and difficulties we’ve experienced in our past. It can be all too easy to want to cover those up, hide them away and not share them with other people, even those closest to us. Sometimes we even hide them from God.
Jesus reveals his scars to Thomas, and encourages us to share the scars we have with Him. When we do that, Jesus can help us “rise up” from them, not removing them, but taking away the pain and leaving us newly formed.
Prayer
Using your cut out hands, write on each finger a word or prayer:
Index (pointy) Finger – pray for those who lead us (point the way)
Tall Finger – pray for those in authority, like politicians and bishops
Ring Finger – pray for those you are close to and love
Little Finger – pray for those who are oppressed, overlooked, weak or sick
Thumb – pray for yourself
Easter to Pentecost lectionary reflections from David Sherwin
Over the next few weeks, beginning with Easter Sunday, we are looking at the stories within the narrative of the lectionary Bible readings leading up to Pentecost. As we do this, may it help us consider where we fit into the story, how our encounter of faith, our meeting Jesus in our lives, has affected us and changed us? What would we write down as our story? Perhaps over the next few weeks, we might write down our journey of faith, our encounter with Jesus, and how our Lord impacts our lives day by day. We can also consider how we might share the Gospel story, the story of Jesus, with those around us and how it might impact their lives. Each week, we consider the principal readings for the day and what they might be saying to us. Allow the reading to speak to you throughout the week and let the story open up before you.
There are two readings for each day. If you only want to concentrate on one reading, that’s fine; maybe one reading speaks to you more than the other, that’s okay, let it do so.
Easter 2, 12th April Acts 2:14a &22-32,
Read the account and think about what stands out to you before reading on.
Peter and the disciples have a story to tell. The one whom they had followed had been crucified, died, and buried, but they had all seen the risen Christ stand before them and commission them to tell others that he is alive. Firstly, they are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and then they go out before the crowd to tell the story, which amazes their listeners, and many respond to their call to follow Jesus for themselves.
Peter addresses the crowd and tells his story; Peter and the disciples are witnesses of the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus has fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the coming of a special person called the Messiah. It is a fulfillment of a long story that they are called to share, that this Jesus, who was dead and buried, is now alive and risen from the dead, that’s surely worth sharing.
What do we know of the Big Story? For those who want a post-modern phrase, the meta-narrative of the Christian story, what do we know? Do we see how Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT story too? You could write down or draw as pictures the key moments of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
John 20:19-31
Read the account and think about what stands out to you before reading on.
Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room and to Thomas. A story we may be familiar with, Doubting Thomas, as he is often called. Yet through his doubts, his faith grew. Yes, he was told ‘blessed are those who believe without seeing’, but he was still blessed by the Lord. We haven’t seen Jesus physically, and we believe and receive the blessing of being one who believes without seeing. Tell the Lord about your doubts and fears, and allow the presence of the risen Lord to dispel fear and doubt.
Are we fearful of being the storytellers? The witnesses? Do we have doubts like Thomas? How do we address those doubts? Do we bring them to the Lord?
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