A Gospel Reflection

After all the pathos and drama of the Passion of Our Lord, and the excitement of His Resurrection we have the intimate narrative of Christ’s meeting with the disciples. It’s almost as if the dust was beginning to settle after a period of intense activity, or bits of the jigsaw were starting to fit into place after the jumbled chaos.

As the lockdown changes to greater freedoms so we begin to reconstruct as if building a new jigsaw. Next week sees the recommencement of the 10.30 am. Service in church ( with the same guidelines as previously ). Hopefully we would be more able to begin emerging and reconnecting with life in general.

Today we find the disciples fearfully together behind locked doors. Alone. Confused. Waiting. And the risen Jesus speaks with reassuring words, “Peace be with you.” Their Lord, and ours, breathes the Holy Spirit into them, bringing courage and hope for their futures.

The absent Thomas struggles to grasp what has happened. When Jesus appears for the second time the crucifixion scars convince Thomas, who makes a huge leap of faith declaring, “ My Lord and my God.” He had seen the light. Many of us have spoken about being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccine rolls out and also infections fall. So the risen Christ brings peace to us too as we lean on the knowledge of God’s goodness to His creation, intimately concerned for each and every individual.

John Marsden