Gentle reader,
Today’s post is adapted from my short book Pandemic Prayers: Devotions and Prayers for a Crisis.
Thinking of upgrading to a paid subscription? Here’s a special discount—good only through Monday 4/24— in honor of 3 months of Church Blogmatics at substack.
Though Jesus is risen from the dead, Thomas has not seen him.
Though Jesus is risen from the dead, Thomas does not yet believe.
But then his Lord appears before him in the flesh, and he greets him: “Peace be with you.”
Jesus shows Thomas the marks of crucifixion still visible on his hands. Then, Jesus invites Thomas,
“Reach out your hand and put it in my side” (Jn 20:27).
Thomas knows Jesus by his wounds. Thomas acknowledges Jesus, crying out,
“My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28).
public domain
The image above is Caravaggio’s famous, “The Incredulity of Saint Thomas.” The painting emphasizes the physicality of Jesus’s resurrection. There are no halos here. The figures are portrayed in natural style.
Jesus guides Thomas’s hand into the gaping hole in his side.
When it was painted at the beginning of the seventeenth century, Caravaggio’s painting evoked controversy. Some found it too brutal. Too physical. They wanted idealism, not yawning wounds.
But the stark materialism of Caravaggio’s work coheres with a key theological point. It fits with the doctrine of the incarnation and the truth of Christ as God made flesh. It fits with the bodiliness of the resurrection.
And it fits with the way God chooses to meet our needs. We, who are groaning, body and soul, are invited to come in to the body of Christ, to come near to Jesus himself, to be united with him, body and soul, and to be comforted, body and soul.
Brutal materialism is good Christology.
It fits with the truth that the resurrected Jesus is with us and for us.
…
During the pandemic, two of my children seemed to need extra snuggling. They didn’t use words to describe what the crisis was doing to them, but I knew their need. I knew their need because they keep coming to my side, pressing against me, leaning their heads on my body.
It’s no wonder that we need comfort, body and soul, for that is the way God made us, and it is where God meets us.
We’re invited to come to Jesus’s side.
As we continue to face uncertainty,
Jesus invites us to his side.
As we suffer grief and loss,
Jesus would have us find comfort in him.
As we feel the magnitude of hurt and pain,
Jesus waits for us with open arms and open side.
Jesus would draw us to his very body.
Would have us,
“Reach out your hand and put it in my side” (Jn 20:27).
...
Some see Jesus’s next words to Thomas as a rebuke, but they can better be read as a warm promise. Jesus promises to bring us in even as he has invited Thomas in.
He is still here for us, body and soul.
“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn 29:20).
Along with the rest of the signs recorded in his gospel, John tell us that this account of the risen Lord, has been “written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:38).
In his side, we can find abundance in the midst of scarcity,
comfort in the midst of fear,
and life in the midst of death.
I’m praying today that we may know that his body is open for us and that he tenderly invites us to come in.
Lord God,
We give you praise as the one who did not withhold your only Son but sent him into the world to take on all that is groaning under the weight of sin. Remind us of Jesus’s wounded side and of his desire that we might be joined to him.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
Excerpted from Pandemic Prayers: Devotions and Prayers for a Crisis (Cascade Books, 2021), ©Beth Felker Jones, all rights reserved.
Grace & peace,
BFJ
If this piece has treated you well, I’m always grateful if you share, forward, and comment.
Love audiobooks? Try Audible plus.
This post contains associate links.
Love audio books? Try Audible plus.
Amazon Fresh offers grocery delivery on tens of thousands of products – from a complete grocery selection to everyday essentials, toys, gifts and more. Try it now.
Get a 6 month trial of Amazon Prime for students.
From the Church Blogmatics archive: