Weekly Liturgy : April 6-12
- Matt
- Apr 6
- 3 min read
John 20:19-31
NLV Translation
19-20 It was evening of the first day of the week. The followers had gathered together with the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “May you have peace.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the followers saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.
21-23 Then Jesus said to them again, “May you have peace. As the Father has sent Me, I also am sending you.” When Jesus had said this, He breathed on them. He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you say that people are free of sins, they are free of them. If you say that people are not free of sins, they still have them.”
24-25 Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. He was one of the twelve followers and was called the Twin. The other followers told him, “We have seen the Lord!” He said to them, “I will not believe until I see the marks made by the nails in His hands. I will not believe until I put my finger into the marks of the nails. I will not believe until I put my hand into His side.”
26-31 Eight days later the followers were again inside a house. Thomas was with them. The doors were locked. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “May you have peace!” He said to Thomas, “Put your finger into My hands. Put your hand into My side. Do not doubt, believe!” Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you believe. Those are happy who have never seen Me and yet believe!” Jesus did many other powerful works in front of His followers. They are not written in this book. But these are written so you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. When you put your trust in Him, you will have life that lasts forever through His name.
REFLECTION
from Matt
FOMO is real. It stands for "Fear of Missing Out" — and it's a doozy. We all experience it in one way or another, often multiple times a day.
I feel bad for Thomas. Labelled as a doubter all these centuries. The poor guy just wasn't there the first time Jesus showed up and proactively showed the other disciples his hands and feet. Note: They didn't ask Jesus to do that.
Peace. May you have peace.
Jesus knew what the disciples needed before they asked. Jesus knew Thomas needed to see his wounds, too — just like the others — so he gave Thomas the same opportunity when he showed up the next time. You get to have peace, too, Thomas. I think this tells us more about Jesus than it does about Thomas. The Peace-Giver was right in front of him, and he was good.
Peace. May you have peace, too.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
Oftentimes, we don't know how other people are thinking or feeling. A helpful question might be: "What would you like me to know?"
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week
Like in the story of Jesus and Thomas, we make judgments based on limited information. We only see one aspect and miss the bigger picture. Are you assigning personal failure to someone who is simply doing what's normal and expected?
Pathway Toward Center
Try these questions the next time you're stuck:
4+1 Problem-Solving/Reflective Questions
What have I tried?
What have I learned?
What am I pleased about?
What am I concerned about?
Based on what I know, what should I do next?
Questions for Reflection
In what ways do you need peace in your life? How do you envision Jesus giving you that peace today?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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