We speak of the apostle Thomas as "the doubting Thomas".  We usually mean he was not up to the standard of the other disciples.  Thomas was not supposed to doubt or question what the others were saying about their experience of Jesus as risen.  The better thing would have been for Thomas to simply swallow whole what they were saying.  I think we have given Thomas a bum rap.  And I think we have misunderstood what John is trying to tell us in this gospel scene.  John is trying to show us through Thomas how we become believers - how we come to faith - come to know and experience the risen Lord Jesus.  Let's look again at what happens in this appearance scene.  We have much to learn.

The disciples are huddled in fear.  Jesus comes in their midst.  "Peace be with you."  "I send you."  "Receive Holy Spirit."  "Forgive."  We have many images of what it might mean to really encounter the Risen Lord. Perhaps these images have been fed by religious art or by Hollywood movies.  Here we need to listen more closely to what the gospels are actually saying.

In the appearances of the Risen Jesus told us in the gospels there are three basic experiences the disciples undergo.  The first experience is they experience a presence other than themselves.  It's an experience of true personal otherness; it's not made up, not concocted by them or their circumstances.  It is a presence they find - not invent.  And though the presence is identified with Jesus, it is a presence unlike any they have encountered.  It is unpredictable, uncontrollable, difficult at times to recognize.  It shows up suddenly and goes away just as suddenly.

The second experience the disciples undergo is that this personal presence of Jesus wants for them peace, fullness, goodness.  Jesus wants "Shalom" for them.  Jesus wants "Shalom" for the disciples who had deserted and denied him.  For the disciples this is the experience of a Jesus who does not count or hold onto their sins.  He wishes them peace.  It is the experience of forgiveness.

Then their third experience.  Jesus breathes into them his own Spirit - his own Spirit of Shalom - his own Spirit of love that forgives and does not count the sins of others.  And then he sends them to live out of this Spirit.  He sends them to live "spiritual" lives - lives that are shaped by forgiving love - lives that cause wonder and confusion as good is returned for evil; enemies are loved and cheeks are turned.

The disciples have become the Church.  Quite simply, that means they have become the community of sinners who are forgiven and learning to forgive.  It was in this community that Thomas finds himself.  He has not shared their experience of being forgiven by the Lord - and he says so.  He's honest about his experience.  But there's something else about Thomas.  His honest disagreement with members of the community doesn't cause him to bolt the community.  He sticks around.

Thomas is surrounded by men and women - much like ourselves - who have experienced the forgiveness of their sins.  For them it's so real, so true: Jesus, the Lamb of God, has taken away their sins.  Empowered by that, they are learning to forgive one another.  They are learning to take away one another's sins, no longer holding on to each other's sins.  And Thomas, continuing to be honest to his experience, begins to recognize in this behavior the living presence of the Lord.  It is the Spirit - capital S - that Thomas begins to recognize.  It is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus - the Spirit of self-giving love he had seen in the life and in the death of Jesus.  It is that same Spirit Thomas now recognizes at work in the disciples.

When Thomas says "My Lord and my God", he is saying yes with his whole heart and life to the Spirit of Jesus.  He is handing himself over to the Spirit of Jesus - God's own Spirit - to be shaped, transformed into new life - into Jesus' life - for others.  Jesus' words are becoming ever more true:  "I am in you and you are in me."

Resurrection is something we participate in from within - not something we merely observe from without.  We shall spend a lifetime learning to recognize the Risen Lord within us and among us - learning to recognize the depth of our own forgiveness and the extent to which we are called and empowered to bring forgiveness to others.

And so it is in profound hope we pray the ancient prayer of our Church:  "Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!"