Tag: revenge

12th April 2026

Reflection with readings below

Appreciating and taking on board the novelty of the resurrection takes time. In the writings according to Luke The first disciples needed the full 50 days of realisation, acceptance and internalisation, before they were ready to receive the empowering of the Holy Spirit – the gift that comes through the resurrection. 

It was  – is – a unique event. Everyone will react differently. Indeed that is what we see in the stories from the gospels and from Paul’s own account. Some like the women on Mark’s gospel, are frightened. Some like the two on the road to Emmaus are elated. Some like Peter in Luke’s Gospel are initially doubtful and then – on seeing the discarded shroud – amazed. Some like Mary Magdalene initially suspect grave robbers until Jesus calls her by name. Thomas in today’s gospel is no different. He too has his own way of believing – accepting – the resurrection.

But what is the resurrection? Why is it important?

Earlier this week I was reading a poem called The Resurrection by Joy Cowley in which she says it is not an insurance policy. It is not a get out of jail card, nor is it a magic blanket that protects you from any harm. Rather it is an assertion of an eternal truth –  that God overrules death; that death is never the end but a means of a new beginning. In God death, is an event which does not end but simply changes life. In God, life is eternal. 

The Prologue in John tell us that the Word was from the beginning, was in the beginning when life came into being, and is the light of life that darkness can never overcome. As it so often the case in John’s gospel, this tells us an amazing truth but also a truth that we cannot fully grasp and so also remains a mystery.

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We are always living in the light of the resurrection. For the last 2000 years the fact of the resurrection has been a reality. It didn’t change change events over night: it didn’t transform the the religious life of the Temple, or the authoritarian power of the Romans, it didn’t remove evil, or make poverty history. But it did change the lives of those who engaged with it. Those who made a personal commitment to follow Jesus and opened up to receive the power of the Spirit.

And it is through the lives of such people that we see the power of the resurrection, the ability to change situations, to transform religious organisation and other power structures, to over come evil, to feed the hungry – to bring in the kingdom of God that was – and still is – Jesus’s mission. It is still a work in progress. It is still a mission being pursued by an ever growing number of disciples. It is still a challenge blessed by God. 

I was also struck by a line from a reflection on the Centre for Action and Contemplation web site: “Easter joy is the grace of being able to say: This is hard. I am still waiting. And God is still good.”

In the light of all that is happening around the world at the moment, it is perhaps interesting to note that the gospels do not record any instance of the disciples attacking or calling down abuse on the Romans or the temple officials. There is no record of them speaking ill of those who had called for Jesus’s death. Nor is there  any record of them taking revenge. The resurrection gospel is one of peace and reconciliation.

Acts 2:14a,22-32

Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd, “You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, 

‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; 

therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover my flesh will live in hope. 

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One experience corruption.

You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 

“Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 

‘He was not abandoned to Hades,
nor did his flesh experience corruption.’ 

This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.” 

Psalm 16

1 Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; *
I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord,
my good above all other.”

2 All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, *
upon those who are noble among the people.

3 But those who run after other gods *
shall have their troubles multiplied.

4 Their libations of blood I will not offer, *
nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.

5 O Lord, you are my portion and my cup; *
it is you who uphold my lot.

6 My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; *
indeed, I have a goodly heritage.

7 I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; *
my heart teaches me, night after night.

8 I have set the Lord always before me; *
because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.

9 My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; *
my body also shall rest in hope.

10 For you will not abandon me to the grave, *
nor let your holy one see the Pit.

11 You will show me the path of life; *
in your presence there is fullness of joy,
and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

The Epistle

1 Peter 1:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith– being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire– may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.