John 20:19-31 (NRSV)
Read John 20:19-31 on biblegateway.com
Verse 19When 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." Verse 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Verse 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Verse 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Verse 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Verse 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. Verse 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."
Verse 26A 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." Verse 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." Verse 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Verse 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." Verse 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. Verse 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.
Devotion
Much like Jesus came among his fearful disciples after his resurrection, Father David Smith, a good friend—described in his obituary as “a mellow, spirit-filled man with an unbending moral compass for social justice”—came most unlikely when I was afraid, in a parking lot as I was walking to my car after an event. When we stopped to chat, I asked him to pray for my continued recovery from cancer. I expected he would include me in his private daily prayers, but at that very moment, he stopped, put his hand on my head and prayed. Perhaps the disciples were as surprised with Jesus’ appearance in their locked room as I was with Father David’s parking lot appearance.
Jesus is indeed among us in the surprising people he puts in our lives at the times when we need his life giving word. Father David’s journey on earth is now complete, but the words of his prayer live on for me and give me hope in times of fear.
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Prayer
Loving God, be with us in times of fear. Grant us hope as you come among us, sometimes in the most surprising ways, through the people in our lives. Amen.