In this week’s gospel the risen Christ appears to the disciples and offers them the gift of peace. Thomas is criticized for doubting, but he asks for nothing more than the same experience of the risen Christ the rest of the disciples had. By the grace of God, Jesus returns a second time and offers his body as living proof to Thomas. Thomas’ story is our story, and Jesus comes to us, seeking us out and giving us the gift of faith. Jesus loves Thomas back into a relationship. Even amid doubts and questions, we experience the resurrection in our Sunday gathering around word and meal and in our everyday lives.
Throughout the season of Lent we have reflected on God’s Costly Grace, guided by the work of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who coined the phrases “costly grace” and “cheap grace.” His writings encourage Christians to live lives of costly discipleship in response to the great cost of Christ’s death on Good Friday. “Above all, this grace is costly because it cost God the life of his Son… and it is grace because it gives us the only true life” (Bonhoeffer).
image: The Maesta Altarpiece: The Incredulity of St. Thomas. Duccio di Buoninsegna. In the public domain.