How would YOU have reacted to the resurrection?

2nd Sunday in Easter : 3rd April 2005

Acts 2.14a, 22-32  |  1 Peter1.3-9  |  John 20.19-31

Today is known colloquially as “Low Sunday” - often because of the drop in numbers in church following the high of Easter Day, but the gospel set for today is also a refection on the slightly bewildered state of the disciples... Try for a moment to put yourself into the position of the disciples... What a roller coaster of emotions they were going through!

Jesus had made it plain that he would be killed and would come back from the dead - and yet the disciples hadn’t really taken that on - maybe they were angry with themselves for not realising it, or not taking Jesus at his word or by letting events take them by surprise.

Maybe the disciples were angry with Jesus - how could he put them through all this? Maybe too the news of Jesus resurrection wasn’t greeted with great joy at first - a Jesus back from the dead might have some awkward things to say to a fair weather bunch of friends who between themselves denied, betrayed and abandoned their leader...

No recriminations...

So no doubt there was a whole mixed bag of emotions between the women bringing the first news of the resurrection to the disciples, and them actually meeting up with the risen Jesus. But notice Jesus’ first words to the disciples were “Peace be with you” - three times he says this!

Not recriminations: not “And where were you when I needed you?”, not sarcastic reminders of all the promises they made to Jesus before he was arrested... Just like the story of the forgiving father in and his prodigal son - the father doesn’t say “Told you so!” when he had every right to. (Luke 15.11f)

The first words of the risen Christ to his bedraggled and disorientated disciples were about Peace; then the gift of the Holy Spirit, to help the disciples to live for him and to make real the promise about forgiveness.

How many of us have also let Jesus down?

However much we may think that we’ve let Jesus down - by what we’ve said or done, by the way we’ve treated others - by the silences we’ve kept, or by the way we haven’t spoken out for him - we’re in good company. All the disciples knew deep in their hearts that they’d let Jesus down.

The mistake that Thomas made was not in his doubting, but in his withdrawing from the church fellowship - and so not being there when Jesus appeared to them the first time. Thomas might have had a bad press in the past - he has become known as ‘Doubting Thomas’, which is a shame because equally he is ‘Honest Thomas’. He wasn’t going to say that he understood what he didn’t understand; or believe what he didn’t believe. He would never address his doubts by pretending that they didn’t exist. Thomas had to be quite sure before he committed himself.

Jesus’ words to his friends are about a new start, about forgiveness and peace and living a new life for him. If we stand where the disciples stood then, in a greater or lesser sense, here’s a prayer which might echo their feelings:

Forgive what I have been; sanctify what I am; order what I shall be.

Fr Andrew J Perry
Rector, St John the Evangelist, Pevensey Rd, St Leonards on Sea

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