2nd Sunday of Easter<\/p>\n
Did you have a happy Easter? You may have decorated some eggs and you may have made a rainbow egg for your window. \u00a0Did you spot any in other people\u2019s windows in your street?\u00a0 Have you noticed things coming to life when you have been outside for exercise?<\/p>\n
On Easter Sunday we celebrated Jesus overcoming death and remembered the empty tomb and when Jesus appeared in the garden to Mary Magdalene. Mary was the first person to see him alive and, after Jesus had spoken to her, she ran to tell two of the disciples, Peter and John, the good news.\u00a0 They found it hard to believe.<\/p>\n
Today we are going to think about what happened later and how the remaining eleven disciples, including Peter and John and Thomas, came to know for themselves that Jesus was alive.<\/p>\n
You might remember that these were dangerous times for the friends and followers of Jesus. They risked getting arrested for being friends of Jesus so they were very frightened.\u00a0 What other feelings do you think that Jesus\u2019s friends might have had in those early days?\u00a0 Well, it was also a very sad time for them because they felt that they had lost Jesus when he died on the cross.\u00a0 Apart from Mary, they did not yet understand that Jesus had risen from the dead and was alive.<\/p>\n
Ten of the disciples came together in room and kept the door firmly locked. They were hiding and talking in quiet voices because they were scared of being found by the authorities.\u00a0 Although the room was locked, suddenly Jesus was there with them and he greeted them. He was not a ghost, he was really there, alive, and he put his hands on each one of them and spoke to them, telling them that he wanted them to carry on his work.<\/p>\n
Some while after Jesus had left them Thomas arrived and was let into the room.\u00a0 The other ten told him that they had just seen Jesus. Thomas did not believe them even though he could see that something special must have happened. Thomas said: \u201cI will not believe unless I can put my fingers into the nail holes in his hands and unless I can put my hand into the hole in his side made by the soldier\u2019s spear\u201d.<\/p>\n
A week later, Jesus came again into the locked room when all eleven disciples, including Thomas, were there. This time, after Jesus had greeted them all, he turned to Thomas and said, \u201cPut your fingers into the nail holes, put your hand into my side\u201d. Thomas did so, and knew then that Jesus was real and alive.\u00a0 Thomas said to him, \u201cMy Lord and my God\u201d.\u00a0 Jesus told him, \u201cBlessed are those who have not seen and yet believe\u201d.<\/p>\n
(From John 20:19-29)<\/p>\n
You can watch the video of the story here and there are some questions to think about at the end:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/youtu.be\/z-CEIj9qVro<\/a><\/p>\n Thomas found it so difficult to understand and to believe that Jesus was really alive after having seen him die.\u00a0 In fact, all of the disciples had found it hard to believe but they did come to believe and they came to understand that Jesus was Lord and God.<\/p>\n Sometimes we might also find it hard to believe and trust in Jesus but he does not abandon us, even though we do not see him in front of us.<\/p>\n Possible activities<\/p>\n You might like to take the picture sheet of Jesus and Thomas and colour it in your own way or draw in the other disciples.\u00a0 Or, on another plain piece of paper you might want to draw a pair of hands to represent Jesus\u2019s hands with the marks of the nails drawn on them: you could draw around your own hands. You could draw a picture of Thomas (or Thomas\u2019s face when he recognised Jesus) on the same piece of paper.\u00a0 There is an example of this attached but you can be as creative as you like.<\/p>\n
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