John 20

     Took a day off on Monday for some R&$ after a great Resurrection Celebration!

     John 20 is the resurrection story as John Records it. There are several things that jump at me in the story. The first is what Mary Magdalene calls Jesus in the garden. She says "Rabboni" which, as I understand it, is the possessive of the word Teacher. That is to say she calls him "MY Teacher" thereby identifying herself as one of the disciples (something of a 1st century scandal there!). Mary returns to the gathered disciples and becomes the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus.
     The story of Jesus and Thomas (the one we call doubting Thomas) is one of the more familiar stories in the gospel. I like the fact that in Orthodox tradition he is called "believing" Thomas. They call him this because the end result of the story is not that he doubted but that he whole-heartedly believes. Thomas demands proof but the ultimate proof of the resurrection is not physically touching the risen Christ, but in living in relationship with Jesus. This relationship is seen in Thomas' confession: "My Lord, and my God!"(20:28). Jesus then gives the last of the beatitudes: "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.(20:29)"