Thomas

Of course it would be him. Who else could it have been? The rest of them were stuck in a daze of fear driven sleeplessness, blank expressions, dull eyes. Understandable, really – given all they had been through over the past few days. To have fallen from such a height of hopeful expectation, encouraged by the roar of the crowds just a week ago – crashing on the rocks of hopeless despair on Friday afternoon – watching hope bleed out, only the women – and John –seemed not to be aware of the risk of such close association. The rest in ones and twos shuffling in horror, in disbelief around the edges of the crowd – lost in the throng heading towards the city for the festival. You could hardly blame them – stuck in the bleakness. Not yet considering what might be next. But that was what he did. Maybe that is why Jesus kept him around – to keep the rest of them grounded in reality, no matter how hard it was. He wasn’t caught up in it all – at least not in the same way the rest of them seemed to be. He was, if nothing else, a realist. And now, look where that had gotten him.

He had snuck out early – wakened by the women heading toward the tomb to whatever it was that women did at tombs. He followed them just long enough to make sure they got where they were going safely – you never knew what or who they might run into. As for him, he had no business at the tomb – he knew how it worked. The grip of the tomb – of death – was unbreakable. So… no point standing around, wringing his hands in despair. It is what it is – nothing more to be done about it. Dead is dead. No, he had things to do. Apparently none of the rest of them had thought too much about next. Of course, that had been his job – as painful as it had been – keeping it real. So, he was out in the city trying to determine next.

Avoiding the early patrols, getting lost in the crowds arriving for early prayers, listening in on conversations for any hint of Friday’s disaster… all that meant he arrived back a bit later than he’d hoped – but at least he had a pretty good plan for getting them all out of the city safely. Nothing could have prepared him for the craziness that greeted him. People running in and out, laughing, crying, embracing one another, shouting, dancing – tables and chairs knocked over in celebration! Not what he had expected at all! When he finally got a couple of them to settle down for a moment all he could get out of them was, “He’s ALIVE!” before they collapsed into laughter or tears or both. “He’s alive!”

Who’s alive?!

Jesus! Jesus is alive! We saw Him! We ate with Him! He was here!

That was too much for him. This was going to get them all killed! He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he knew for sure it could not have been what they said had happened. He knew dead. And dead is dead. Nothing more to be said about it. “Unless I put my finger through the hole in his hand – my hand in the wound in his side, I will not believe.”

Later in the day two arrived just after sunset with a story of a familiar stranger who had joined them as they made their way home to Emmaus. Having been intrigued – excited even – with what He was saying, they invited Him to share a meal. But when He broke the bread in a way they had come to know – they recognized Him as Jesus! But then, laughter ringing in their ears, He had just disappeared! Despite the lateness of the hour, they set out and made it back to Jerusalem just before the city shut down for the night.

Their story was the proof he needed; he knew they were all deluded. There was no way Jesus could have been with this lot when they said He was – and be with these two when they said He was. No way! Not possible! That is not how things worked. He was not sure exactly what had happened – but he knew for sure what didn’t happen!!

To his credit, he didn’t abandon them to their crazed fate. To their credit, they didn’t out him for not believing what they believed.

So it was that they were together again on the eighth day. The significance of the eighth day, reflecting the second creation account, did not occur to him until later. In the moment, standing back to the room, he felt a sudden shift – enough to cause him to look up from what he was doing. It was as if the air had suddenly become thicker, more… alive somehow. The overheard conversation suddenly stopped, replaced with gasps, the air too dense to breathe. Slowly turning around to see what had happened, his eyes widened in shock and surprise to see Jesus standing there, arms outstretched, hands wide open, a smile on his face, laughter in His eyes.

He heard his angry words, flung into this very room in fear and frustration, apparently heard by One present but not seen, come echoing back to him, laughter bubbling up through the challenge… “Reach here with your finger – see, my hands! Reach here with your hand – put it in my side!” Like so many times over the past three years, Jesus was playing – teasing His realistic friend – challenging him to a deeper reality. And Thomas rose to the challenge – going further than had anyone in the room with his worshipful declaration, “My Lord and My God!!” Aware, in a moment, of reality deeper than what can be seen. Apparently, in this deeper knowing, this deeper thicker reality, dead is not dead after all – it is the door to new life – an eighth day new creation.