Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.
Luke 24: 36-42 ‘Jesus Appears to His Disciples’
36 Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
In many images of Jesus and the disciples – whether Jesus is teaching, preaching, eating with them or post-resurrection, it’s very difficult to distinguish one disciple from another. How would we tell which is which, without any real information to go on? In this image, which of these disciples is Thomas?
It seems to me that all of the disciples displayed incredulity! And well they might, because resurrection is just about the most incredible aspect of the Christian faith. Anyone who has seen or touched dead body will tell you that – and when Paul went to Athens and preached on the subject of resurrection, his educated listeners laughed at him.
But the Risen Christ was no ethereal spirit, no ghost, for he was a physical reality; nor was he a resuscitated corpse (like Lazarus, who of course, would have to die again), but one whom God had raised to new life. The disciples (including Thomas) were able to understand that resurrection is about ‘life after life’, and that their Master would be a companion who would live with and within them – the very source of their new life.
Prayer:
Loving God,
we thank you that we can share
in the joy of your triumph of love over death.We thank you of the reality of the resurrection
and that lives can be transformed by the power of your love.We pray for new life for our world that, ultimately,
good may come out of the suffering that people currently endure.We pray too, that we may experience a foretaste of the eternal life
that you have prepared for us in our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN.
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Reflection & Prayer © 2020 Barrie Tabraham.
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