Today’s Gospel reading contains two stories: in the first, Jesus appears to his disciples and in the second, Jesus appears to Thomas. Several noticeable – even provocative – statements form the scaffolding of these stories, and indicate some important points.
20:19: …for fear of the Jews…. This is an uncomfortable phrase, to the extent that when Scripture is read publicly, “the authorities” are sometimes substituted for “the Jews” to indicate specifically who the disciples were afraid of and why they were afraid of them. The people gathered in the locked house were reeling from Jesus’ arrest and execution and did not want the same thing to happen to them. The author of John’s Gospel, however, is drawing a parallel between those disciples and the community to which he writes. This was a Jewish community increasingly in conflict with mainstream Jewish institutions and Roman authorities in their time. The important thing to note is not who the disciples were afraid of, but that they were afraid.
20:19: … ‘Peace be with you.’ This was a conventional Roman greeting, but Jesus’ use of it here and in verse 21 is different. The second time he says it, the disciples have just recognized him as “Lord.” The peace which he brings, therefore, is more than conventional. It is God’s peace, which Jesus had promised to give to all who follow him. Only God’s peace can drive out the disciples’ fear.
20:27: ‘Do not doubt, but believe.’ Jesus’ exchange with Thomas is popularly interpreted as a story about doubt and belief. Another way of looking at it is as a story about how we believe. New Testament scholar Gail R. O’Day notes that the fearful disciples gathered in the locked house were no heroes of faith: they didn’t believe the women’s report about the resurrection, or else they would have been out looking for Jesus! Instead, he came to them and showed them his physical body. Thomas missed out on this, and was asking for the same thing that the other disciples had received. Jesus didn’t chastise him, but offered himself again. His statement, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe,’ is a nod to the generations of believers reading the Gospel who were not able, like Thomas, to touch Jesus’ resurrected body.
20:31: But these are written so you may come to believe …. For the author of John’s Gospel, the written accounts of Jesus’ resurrection function for us (generations of successive believers) in the way that Jesus’ physical presence functioned for the disciples. Like Jesus’ body, the Scriptures acknowledge our need for substance, for tangibles to ground and support our faith. One issue that John’s author was keen to address was Docetism, the belief that Jesus was human only in appearance, and not in reality. William Temple underlines the importance of John’s overall theme, the Word became flesh, in light of this concern.[1] Jesus is really present – embodied – in Scripture, in sacraments, and in one another, and these are not crutches that artificially support belief, but are the real substance of faith.
(Danielle Thompson)
