Easter Reflection

As I prepare for my service at Ordnance Road this Sunday, I am reflecting on the story of Thomas.  The disciple who doubted the other disciples when they told him they had seen the risen Lord.  For Thomas at that time, resurrection just seemed a pipe dream.  He'd seen Jesus, beaten almost beyond recognition, nailed to a cross and die in agony.  He'd seen his broken body laid in a tomb, and the tomb sealed with a large stone, and now the other disciples were telling him that they'd seen the Lord.  Maybe his grief was such that he was unable to process the information, maybe it was all just too painful and he couldn't bear to contemplate what might come next.  Whatever his reasons, he responds by saying that unless he sees the marks of the nails and plunges his hand into Jesus' side, he would not believe.  Thomas wanted real evidence, the testimony of his fellow disciples and of Mary were insufficient.

Jesus appears to Thomas, and Thomas realises that the testimony he has heard is true - you know, we're in a similar boat to Thomas in many ways.  We haven't seen Jesus, we just have the testimony of generations of Christians and the biblical accounts of his life to rely on.  We believe without seeing Jesus for ourselves.  We experience Jesus, not by a physical encounter, but through inner workings of the Holy Spirit.

We must accept the testimony of generations of believers who have experienced the change that comes when we accept Jesus as our personal Saviour and friend.  We must accept the promise given to us that when we take that vital step, that we are brought back into a relationship with God, that he remembers our sin no more and we are adopted into his family.

Peter in his first Epistle, chapter 1 verses 8-9 say this:

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an expressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (NIV, 2011)

When I think of Jesus' resurrection appearances, I think of the two who met Jesus on the Emmaus Road, who only recognised Jesus when he broke bread with him.  When I partake of Holy Communion, I think of the joy of the disciples when they realised Jesus was in their midst, when their eyes were opened and they could return to their fellow disciples and tell them what had happened, and in that moment, I pray that through partaking of the bread and wine, that I too will have an encounter with the risen Lord.