As the Guardian’s mother has still needed support this week, today’s reflection has been written by Christopher Belk, a local worship leader. Thanks go to him for it.
Reading 1 Acts 5; 27-32
Reading 2 John 20; 19-31
Those 2 readings are of course in the wrong chronological order. In John 20 we find the apostles having witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus but still locking their doors at their Sunday meetings for fear of the Jews. In Acts 5 we find them not in the least afraid, having just been out on the streets preaching and healing. What has happened meanwhile?
It seems they had suddenly found a new spiritual dimension, though not initially. The belief they had reached as a result of seeing Jesus after his resurrection, shared rather late by poor old Thomas, does not seem to have immediately resulted in any notable witness to those outside their circle, despite at their first meeting Jesus breathing on them and saying “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Jesus last words to them before his ascension were “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses”. After Pentecost they were filled by the Holy Spirit to such an extent that they couldn’t help talking about Jesus in public, even in other people’s languages. It seems that even Jesus’ preparatory breath was not enough without the rushing mighty wind of Pentecost
Poor old Thomas. Apart from being listed with the others, his only other mentions (both in John’s gospels) come from the days leading up to Good Friday. First when the disciples couldn’t understand why Jesus should want to go up to Jerusalem knowing the authorities wanted to kill him, gloomy Thomas said come on then we’d better go with him and die with him. Then at the last supper it was confused Thomas who said “Lord we don’t know where you are going so how can we know the way?” Then imagine him in the garden of Gethsemane, in the background, not chosen to witness Jesus agony close up, probably asleep or confusedly dozing, suddenly roused by the arrest which certainly didn’t seem to him to have been planned by Jesus, running off into the night not knowing what was going on. We don’t know if Thomas witnessed the crucifixion, probably not, though couldn’t help hearing about it. So far as we know only John was actually there. Thomas was too miserable even to turn up for their first meeting.
So when the others told him they had seen Jesus alive it’s not surprising he needed more to get him out of his gloom. It must have been like that first week at a new school when everyone else seems to know the ropes but all you want to do is hide in a corner till Mummy comes to collect you. You would think that the others, inspired by Jesus’ breath, should have had no trouble witnessing to Thomas, but no, even they were not yet completely filled.
Here is a bit of rubber. If I drop it it falls immediately. If I tell you that some breath in it will make it fall slower you might not believe me unless you had seen it happen before. If I tell you that filling it with helium will make it hit the ceiling you are even less likely to believe me, especially as I don’t have any helium with me at the moment. You need to have seen it happen, and then you need a supply of helium.
It’s as though the first sight and breath of risen Jesus was like a good puff into the deflated balloon, and in Thomas’ case it was Jesus’ individual care for him and his deepest worries which transformed his belief. So they all then believed Jesus was alive, and that anything was possible for him, but they still had to wait for the helium before they acted on that.
So it seems believing the good news is more than just believing the facts of Jesus life, death and resurrection. Most people in the world don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead at all, or don’t think about it; the balloon just stays a bit of rubber, maybe gathering dust in the attic. Many, including many who call themselves Christians, do believe that intellectually, and have seen even that much belief can make a difference; their balloons do have some buoyancy to varying degrees. But many have not yet discovered very much power just in that stage of belief, and a church will not produce credible witness without the helium of the Holy Spirit.
How do we get that helium? Jesus said just ask, our loving Father longs to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. The rushing wind and fire of Pentecost was to give the disciples and us the visible evidence of what that can mean: until then they probably didn’t know exactly what Jesus meant when he breathed the Holy Spirit on them. We may not all need the Pentecost drama, but we do need the results, and need both to believe and to dare to ask..
Blessed, said Jesus, are those who have not seen and yet believe.