The Way to Life – Easter Study 2009 3
Thomas Appearance at Galilee Christ Commissions Peter
Text Notes
7 Thomas – John 20:26-30
A
week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God.” Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
After the horror of the cross, Thomas simply refused to go along with others in the group who said that they had seen the Lord. He is like those people who refuse to believe in a good God, because they cannot accept the terrible suffering that disfigures our world. There is an honesty in this and an integrity.
In our icon, Thomas stoops to examine closely the wounds in the side of Christ. He is determined to weigh up the evidence. You almost expect him to have a magnifying glass in his hand.
Thomas is like us in so many ways. We want proof. We may truly believe, and yet still experience doubts. Such doubts do not disqualify us as Christians. We need sometimes to stay with the questions, so that we arrive at a deeper understanding.
When we touch his wounds, we touch the wounds of the world. That is God’s answer to human suffering. It had to be this way if he was to be Emmanuel, God with us.
We adore you and praise you, O Risen Lord
Because by your death and resurrection you give life to the world.
Christ our brother,
you entered into suffering
when you entered into our world.
Give us courage to touch your wounds,
and to find there the answer to our doubts.
Give us insight to see in your wounds
the wounds of the world
and send us out
to bind the broken-hearted in your name.
8 Appearance at Galilee – John 21:4-9, 12-14
J
ust after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off...
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Peter and John returned to their old jobs of fishing on the Sea of Galilee. In such circumstances there can be a healing power in the familiar, for it distracts the mind from grief.
Jesus appears on the shore as they are fishing in that calm early light of dawn. In our icon we see the hands of Jesus stretched out, almost as if imploring. We see the net stretched over the side of the boat, full of fat fish, stretching under their weight. From early days the Church has seen this as a reference to itself, a pointer to its growth and expansion across the face of the earth. John, on the left, lifts his hand in recognition and wonderment. The face of Peter, on the right, shows a wonderful dawning awareness of who this mysterious person on the shore is.
We adore you and praise you, O Risen Lord
Because by your death and resurrection you give life to the world.
Sometimes, Lord,
we would like to immerse ourselves in work,
and in the demands of the moment.
And yet you await t us even there,
asking our response.
You, the human face of God,
invite us to work with you
and to complete the mission which you began.
You continue to work through all who believe in you.
Give us the courage to answer your call.
9 Christ Commissions Peter – John 21:15 17
W
hen they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time...”Do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Our previous icon showed how Peter and the others found Jesus in the dawn twilight. He hails them from the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Coming ashore they find a small fire, with bread and fish cooking over it, as our picture shows.
Christ is quietly majestic. The blue and gold of his robe symbolize eternity and majesty. He sits astride his rock as if it were a throne. But this risen Christ has prepared breakfast for them. The risen Lord, for all his glory, is the same Jesus who knelt and washed their feet.
Peter is given this special commission, but at the same time he is quietly assured of Christ’s forgiveness. Three times Peter had denied knowing Jesus; three times, Jesus calls forth expressions of Peter’s love, and charges him with looking after the flock. The betrayal is wiped away, and Peter is entrusted with this new task. No wonder Peter in our icon looks so full of emotion.
Sometimes our sins need to be named in the presence of God, so that we can assimilate that forgiveness, let the knowledge of it penetrate deep into our soul and set us free. Sometimes, too, being given responsibility and rising to the challenge can complete the healing.
We adore you and praise you, O Risen Lord
Because by your death and resurrect ion you give life to the world.
You call us to feed others, Lord.
Yet we know our own hunger
and our spiritual poverty.
Feed us, O Christ,
as you fed those disciples by the shore of Galilee.
Instill within us your spirit of caring,
affirm us through your forgiveness,
challenge us with your word of commission,
that we may go forth and by your power be fruitful.
9