Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev. Pam Reed, Registrar and Student Support Tutor, for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
John 20: 19-31 (NRSVUE)
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin) one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So 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.”
26 A 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.” 27 Then 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Devotional
Jesus with us – Showy Entrance or Quiet Presence?
Imagine if Hollywood directors encountered a script about an amazing hero who defies death at the hands 0f his enemies and returns to his demoralised followers. It would no doubt seem fitting to have a dramatic entrance, with the hero bursting through the doors, larger than life, proclaiming loudly “I’M BACK!”
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is no less dramatic – and yet his coming to his disciples in this passage is quiet, unassuming, peaceful. Twice we have the words:
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” (19, 26).
Yes, on both occasions it seems Jesus enters the room in a miraculous way, but John doesn’t dwell on the details – the important thing is that Jesus is with them, not how he makes his entrance.
This hero, Jesus, is not like Hollywood heroes – Jesus is the one who wants to spend time with his disciples, reassuring them about who he is and the meaning of the events of the past couple of weeks. He’s the one who doesn’t rebuke someone who finds it difficult to believe that Jesus is alive. He’s the one who gives second chances to those who have failed him. And he’s the one who offers peace, and who promises the gift of the Holy Spirit to all believers.
Sometimes we can be like Hollywood directors – we want to see dramatic actions from our God, and we forget that our God is also present in the quiet, in the everyday, and in the unexplainable peace that can happen. As we reflect on what our Saviour has done for us, let us also reflect on what it means for Jesus to stand among us in our everyday lives.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you that you choose to stand among us, and promise to never leave us. Help us to recognise your voice in the quiet aspects of our lives, and not just in the dramatic, showy events and happenings. May this passage be a reminder of your presence with us today and always. Amen.
Blessings,
Pam Reed (Registrar and Student Support Tutor)