2nd Sunday of Easter
John 20:19–31
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.”
Name: Good morning, everyone. Happy Easter! I wonder if Robbie can help us with the gospel this morning? Let’s call them. 1, 2, 3…Robbie!
Robbie: <Name>, can we tell a story together?
Name: That’s perfect for our Theme Conversation, Robbie. Do you want to start?
Robbie: All right. This is a story about a man named Thomas: “Don’t ask so many questions, Thomas.” That’s what Thomas’ teachers said in school.
Name: Teachers, eh? I bet Thomas’ parents said that at home as well.
Robbie: That’s what Thomas’ friends said too!
Name: But Thomas couldn’t help it. When the teacher told them things in school, Thomas often asked, “How do you know?”
Robbie: Sometimes that frustrated the teacher. “I know just because I know. It’s true because I say so,” said the teacher.
Name: Thomas sounds like a dragon I know… But Thomas couldn’t stop asking questions. When Thomas grew older, he became one of Jesus’ special friends. He became a disciple. Thomas liked Jesus, because Jesus never told him to stop asking questions.
One day Jesus was trying to explain what was going to happen. “I am going away,” said Jesus. “I am going to get a place ready for you. God’s house has room for you and for everyone else. You know the way to God’s house.”
Robbie: “No, we don’t,” said Thomas. “What is the way?”
Name: “That’s a good question, Thomas,” said Jesus. “I am the way. If you really love me and love each other, then you know the way.”
Robbie: I still don’t understand all of it.
Name: Is that you, Robbie or Thomas speaking?
Robbie: Uh… Both, actually!
Name: “That’s okay,” said Jesus. “Just keep asking questions.”
Name: Not long after that, Jesus died. He was killed by people who didn’t like the way he said that God loved everyone. Thomas was very sad when Jesus was killed, so when some of the other disciples said Jesus was alive again Thomas really wanted to believe them.
Robbie: But he just couldn’t. His mind kept asking questions: “How can somebody be dead and then be alive again?” <Name>, I’m with Thomas. I is pretty hard to believe!
Thomas asked, “How can you be sure it was Jesus? How do you know it wasn’t somebody else?”
Name: “But we saw him with our own eyes,” said the disciples.
Robbie: “Maybe,” said Thomas. “But I have to see for myself. I have to see the places in Jesus’ hands where they put the nails. Otherwise I won’t believe it.”
Name: A few days later, Thomas and his friends were together. All the doors were closed, but suddenly, there was Jesus in the room with them. He smiled at Thomas. “Come here, my friend. Touch the places where they put the nails. It really is me.”
Robbie: Thomas did what Jesus said and was so happy to see Jesus. “Oh, yes, it is you Jesus. I am so glad. Now I know that you are alive again. I won’t ask any more questions.”
Name: “Oh, don’t stop asking questions, Thomas,” said Jesus. “I am glad you are able to see me so you can be sure. Then you can believe. But there will be lots of people who won’t be able to see me. They will ask questions, too. It will be hard for them to believe, just as it was hard for you to believe. I will need you to help tell them my story.”
Robbie: “You mean, you’re not angry because I didn’t believe right away that you were alive again?” Thomas asked.
Name: “No, I’m not angry at all,” said Jesus. “I like it when people ask hard questions. But you won’t understand everything, Thomas. You will never find answers to all your questions. Just remember that I love you and that God loves you. Nobody can prove that part, but it is the part that is the most true.”
Robbie: Mmm. Most true! Amen to that.
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