(written for this early Easter season, Seminary Intern, Rebekah Cochrane)
This past Sunday many Christian churches read the story that often gets called "Doubting Thomas". But I think there's something deeper in this story than what that little subtitle can capture. What strikes me again and again in this story are Jesus’ scars. You know, if God had the power to raise Jesus from death, I can’t help but believe that God also had the power to erase his scars, the visible signs of cruelty and trauma. I can’t help but believe that a God that incredible could have wiped away all evidence that anyone had ever laid a finger on Jesus, God could have given him back a body that was perfect. But God didn’t.
When I hear Thomas’ statement of unbelief, I hear the doubt of someone who knows what pain is like. Someone who wears scars of shame on his body and his heart.
So whether your scars are on your skin or on your soul, know that your story is bound up with Jesus’ story. That resurrection is far closer than you ever would have dreamed. Resurrection is as near to you as your own skin, your own soul.
May you touch those scarred places with love and compassion because we have a God who bears those scars too.