19 It was late that Sunday evening, and the
disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid
of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with
you,” he said.
20 After saying this, he showed them his hands and
his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As
the Father sent me, so I send you.”
22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the
Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive people's sins, they are forgiven;
if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (called the
Twin), was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen
the Lord!”
Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails
in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will
not believe.”
26 A week later the disciples were together again
indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and
stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here,
and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your
doubting, and believe!”
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because you
see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!”
30 In his disciples' presence Jesus performed many
other miracles which are not written down in this book.
31 But these have been written in order that you may
believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith
in him you may have life.
Reflection:
Thomas
didn’t believe until the time he saw and touched Jesus. Many of us are like
Thomas. Many of us will not believe unless it doesn’t really happen. We believe
in a popular saying, “To see is to believe.” But as we take the journey as part
of Christian community, reading the divine word of God and by the miracles He
has done, I can say that our faith teaches the other way by saying. “Believe and
you will see”. Meaning that in order to witness God’s mercy, faith must come
first. It is like trusting yourself to find an Oasis in the middle of the
dessert, without the assurance to survive. Do you ever asked yourself or wonder if Jesus
Christ truly existed? Do you used to question your faith? It is normal to
doubt. It means that you are taking your faith seriously. ”How happy are those
who believe without seeing me!” says the Lord.
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