Today’s Gospel is a familiar one. The doors were locked. The apostles still feared the authorities in spite of spending the last three years walking “confidently” with Jesus. So, when Jesus appeared to them, He offered proof by showing them the wounds in His hands and in His side. Peace be with you. Reassuring words! He calmed their fears and brought them peace and we hear that phrase repeated three times in today’s Gospel. Then Jesus did something which only love and trust can do. He commissioned His weak and timid apostles to preach the Gospel and make disciples. This sending out of the disciples parallels Jesus being sent by His Father. Jesus fulfilled His mission through love and obedience and He called His disciples and us to do the same. Just as He gave His first disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit, so He gives us that same Spirit who equips us with power, grace, and strength.
Jesus revealed His resurrection to His disciples gradually and over a period of time. Even after the apostles saw the empty tomb and heard the reports of Jesus’ appearance to the women, they were still weak in faith and fearful of being arrested by the Jewish authorities. But Thomas wasn’t there. Even though the others told
him of Jesus’ resurrection and His appearing to them, he didn’t believe. The last apostle to meet the resurrected Lord was the first to go with him to Jerusalem at Passover time. While Thomas deeply loved Jesus, he lacked the courage to stand with Jesus in His passion and crucifixion.
After Jesus’ death, Thomas made the mistake of withdrawing from the other apostles. He sought loneliness rather than fellowship in his time of adversity. He doubted the women who saw the resurrected Jesus and he doubted his own fellow apostles. When Thomas finally had the courage to rejoin the other apostles, Jesus made his presence known to him and reassured him that he had indeed overcome death and risen again.
Thomas recognized his Master, he believed and he exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and truly God! Through the gift of faith we, too, proclaim that Jesus is our Lord and God. He died and rose that we, too, might have new life in him—that we might “rise from the ashes” and into the light. Yet, like Thomas, we find ourselves doubting. We couldn’t possibly “preach the Gospel” and make “disciples” of others. We doubt our abilities and we feel the job of discipleship should be left to someone else.
Think about it. Jesus laid down His life for us. Is spreading His word too much to ask? We’re not asked to stand on a street corner. We’re asked to lead a life that reflects Christ in us so others may see that light and find hope and consolation in the Resurrected Lord.