Easter Sunday – A Spiritual Body… No Need to Touch
John 20 & I Corinthians 15
Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!
It is fitting that Thomas, “the twin,” would have 2 very different responses of faith to the report of Christ’s resurrection, and then to the in-person appearance of Jesus to him a week after the resurrection. We want to think “evil twin” vs. “good twin.” But we have in Thomas the day of Easter, and a week later the same man, Thomas the doubter and Thomas the confessor.
John’s Gospel records both accounts. On Easter eve, Thomas missed the appearance of Christ to all the 12, except Judas, who was out spending his betrayal cash to buy his and others’ cemetery plots, (so to speak… so much for the short-term benefits of materialism). Later, when the other disciples reported the visit of the very alive Jesus, Thomas proclaimed the materialist’s creed: “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)
A week and a day later, Thomas joined the still afraid disciples behind locked doors. Jesus quotes Thomas’ own doubting creed of the previous Sunday, and says: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (John 20:27) Next, we hear the doubter’s doubt erased in the confession that would take him all the way to India: “My Lord and my God!”
Did Thomas really need to touch Jesus to believe? It’s doubtful. J We have no record or indication that he did touch – or need to touch – Jesus’ side to believe. Thomas apparently doubted even the strength of his own God-given faith! The requirement he placed on his future genuine faith… was actually more proof than Thomas really needed. No touching necessary!
When Adam was created, the Lord began with the material, and added soul and spirit. But when St. Paul was inspired to describe Jesus’ (and our) future resurrected being, he would say it would be “a spiritual body.” (I Cor. 14:44) Spirit – first… then “body.” Priority does not necessarily mean primacy. But speaking of our resurrected nature as a “spiritual body” seems to prioritize the spirit. Yet especially because of Jesus’ own words, our raised bodies will indeed be true “bodies”: “For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (Luke 24:39b) Maybe it’s just a matter of “Easter eyes.” In our resurrection, we will think of, and be aware of, spirit first, then body.
But even with our present body/spirit 1.0 – we seem to doubt the potency of the Spirit of God working within a regenerated soul. We don’t need all of the proof we think we need that Jesus is the Christ. And yet Jesus has given us so much material proof: prophecy as well as archeology (consider His tomb now recently removed from the materialist’s “doubtful list” to “validated”), geography, astronomy, history, physiology. But none of those “proofs” following “prophecy” bring us to the believing creed of Thomas: “My Lord and my God!” It is a “broken and contrite heart” – given hope by the Voice of our Living Lord in Scripture: “Peace be with you… Do not disbelieve, but believe.” We don’t need to touch Jesus, but rather be touched by His Living word of hope and peace, mercy, life, and joy. We need not to resist.
Prayer: : Hallelujah! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! My Lord and My God! Amen.
