Doubting Thomas

Today is known as Low Sunday in the Christian calendar. In one sense it could be that after the high of Easter Day it is appropriate that the following Sunday should be Low Sunday. I have heard it suggested that it is so named because preachers cannot match the Resurrection celebration message of Easter Day. Personally I see it as a second Resurrection Day. It is simply impossible to include every story related to the resurrection in a single day's service.

According to the many stories contained in the Gospels it is an incredibly busy day. The women discover the empty tomb and Mary speaks to Jesus in the garden. The disciples hear from the women that Jesus has risen. Jesus visits the disciples and Thomas is missing. Travellers towards Emmaus meet Jesus "twice" and realise who has broken bread with them. That is a great deal to take place in one day and it is breath-taking in pace.

Above all, it is a day of amazing spiritual experiences that changed the world. Looking first at the scene in the garden we have the spiritual experience of Mary who simply recognises Jesus by the way he says her name. The women excitedly go to the disciples with astounding news - "We have seen the Lord!" Like Thomas on the later occasion, they are sceptical and need to go and see for themselves. The empty tomb convinces them and they find themselves on a higher level in spiritual terms. Then Jesus meets the disciples, walking in through a bolted door. What a moment this was for these men. Thomas comes later and hears the news. He is sceptical and wants physical evidence on a one to one basis before he will believe. The moment comes and he is lifted to a height he never imagined he could attain. So too, only when their invited guest breaks bread do the travellers realise who has been talking to them as they walked along the road.

In each case where Jesus appears his is not, at first, recognised. I think the reason for this is that no one thought he could possibly rise from death and so they were blinded to the reality at first. But when the realisation strikes them they have the most wonderful spiritual experience. For Mary it was the sound of that voice that awakened her heart and mind. The voice she knew so well spoke to her and suddenly she knew that her beloved Jesus was back and back for good! The disciples experienced it twice. They were convinced by the empty tomb and then they saw Jesus for themselves. Life would never be the same and it fired them with a passion to go out and tell the world. Thomas was given the evidence he desired and that too sent him forward on a mission to tell everyone. On the way to Emmaus the travellers did not see Jesus in terms of recognition. But immediately he broke the bread they were on fire with a passionate zeal and in no time were on their way to spread the news.

Others must have been soon told this unbelievable news and shot off in their turn to tell out what they had heard. the Resurrection was the biggest item of "breaking news" imaginable. It was from this time that the authorities realised what an enemy Jesus had become to them. Their position was now in jeopardy as the news went round like wild fire. We know from the Acts of the Apostles that they were given a hard time as news came back to them of the exploits of the now fearless apostles.

The fact is that from that time there have been millions who have heard the news and reacted by following Jesus. In his day, John Wesley spoke of having his heart "strangely warmed". This is the sort of feeling we get when we suddenly accept the resurrection as a fact. I remember going to a Billy Graham Crusade at Maine Road Stadium, Manchester in 1960. That night Billy Graham was not present because he was ill. His brother in law, Leighton Ford, preached in his place. Up to that point I had accepted Jesus, but only then did my spiritual experience come!

This is something many Christians have been able to say over the centuries. They have searched and eventually found the truth but there comes that moment when the import of the news hits them. It is not only the moment of truth but the motivation for the future. I think it is also important to hang on to that motivating moment because it is all too easily to lose one's impetus when troubles strike. No matter what happens we can still look back to that remembered moment and say, but that is what tells me that Jesus is alive and is with me always. It is as if we were on the Emmaus road and said like those travelling friends, "Were not our hearts on fire as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?"

Yes, we go back to the points when our hearts were on fire and affirm ourselves again in the faith. To do this is to be certain of moving forward in the name of Jesus who showed us the true nature of God whom we worship and adore.