Would you believe it?

Sunday 7th April 2024 is the “Second Sunday of Easter”. Church traditions/ denominations refer to it by various names including “Divine Mercy Sunday”, the “Octave Day of Easter”, “Bright Sunday”, “Low Sunday”, “New Sunday” (or “Renewal Sunday”) and “Quasimodo Sunday”. The latter arises from a Gregorian chant of this day's Latin introit, based on 1 Peter 2:2:
‘Quasi modo géniti infántes, allelúia: rationábile, sine dolo lac concupíscite, allelúia, allelúia, allelúia.
As newborn babes, alleluia: desire the rational milk without guile, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
 
Quasimodo, the fictional protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1831 French novel Notre Dame de Paris (or The Hunchback of Notre Dame), was found abandoned on the doorsteps of Notre Dame Cathedral on the Sunday after Easter. In the words of the story: "He baptised his adopted child and called him Quasimodo, either because he wanted to indicate thereby the day on which he had found him, or because he wanted the name to typify just how incomplete and half-finished the poor little creature was."
 
This Sunday is also known as “Thomas Sunday”. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (b.1571 d.1610) painted “The Incredulity of Saint Thomas” (circa 1601) referring to John’s Gospel account of the Apostle Thomas’ response to the resurrected Christ. He depicts the doubting disciple as a peasant, dressed in a robe torn at the shoulder and with dirt under his fingernails, putting his finger into Christ's side wound, Christ guiding his hand from doubt into faith.
 
Apostle John writes, “A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” (John 20:26-27).
 
What led to Christ’s special reach out to Thomas? We read, in verses earlier how Thomas “… was not with the disciples when Jesus came. [That first Easter Sunday] So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (v24-25)
 
I am thankful for the inclusive love of the resurrected Christ. He is indeed “merciful to those who doubt” (Jude 22). Jesus took Thomas at his word and did a re-run: same house, still the same locked doors, same standing among them, same greeting “Peace be with you!” But this time, straight to Thomas – wanting him, in particular, to physically reach out to Him, to carefully look at Him - the disciple’s finger examining his Teacher’s nail-pierced hands, the doubter’s hand put into his Friend’s spear-pierced side - a close-up, hands-on, forensic, physical, visceral examination by a (formerly) sceptical eye-witness to the resurrection, able now to give account of what he saw and felt, for us also to believe.
And with a clear instruction, encouragement, command: “Stop doubting and believe.” (v27) In this moment, Thomas was face to face with … well, he puts it this way: “My Lord and my God!” (v28) Not a dead Lord. Not a dead God. But the Living Lord God. Thomas saw Him, touched Him, vouched for Him. And Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (v29)
 
How incomplete and half-finished a poor little creature Thomas was on that Quasimodo Sunday. Perhaps we all, torn and dirty, recognise that we must come to Christ for mercy and help. Believing Thomas’ examination and declaration – his feeling and seeing his way through doubt and so growing in faith - gives us hope.
Laying aside all guile, spiritual newborns are to grow up in their salvation, having tasted (and examined) that the Lord is good. We come to Christ, the LIVING Stone, rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him and precious to those who believe, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:2-7)
Revd Michael Hogg