The second Sunday of Easter is traditionally called ‘Low’ Sunday, in contrast to the ‘high’ festival of Easter Sunday. It marks the end of the Octave (8 days) of Easter, but is important in its own right, according to a story recorded in St John’s gospel.

St John tells us that, 8 days after Easter, the disciples gathered together again, only this time, unlike when the women came with news of the empty tomb, St Thomas - also known as Doubting Thomas - was with them. They gathered behind closed doors, and all of a sudden Jesus was there among them, saying "Peace be with you."

Jesus clearly understood Thomas’ doubts, and invited Thomas to put his finger in the nail holes in his hands and put his hand in Jesus’ side, where the sword had pieced him. Then Thomas believed.

Doubt for a Christian is normal and valid, as doubt and faith are 2 sides of the same coin. We are not required to be certain, only to believe. The doubters among us are often those who want to reflect more deeply on what faith means and demands.

Faith doesn’t have the luxury of total proof, but it looks like that was what Thomas was after. Thomas’ problem was that he was looking for certainty, when all he needed was faith. Rather, says Christ, we should aim to be like those who have not seen and still believe, whom we are told are the more blessed.

The picture is part of a stained glass window in St Teresa’s Church, Beaconsfield in the UK, a memorial to an RAF airman named Thomas who died during WW2. For more information see https://loandbeholdbible.com/2023/08/08/st-thomas-doubts-christ-john-2019-29/

Every Tuesday morning at 10am

Simply tune in on Zoom and enjoy a few moments of quiet, prayerful reflection as the week unfolds. It will last no longer than 10 minutes.

Meeting ID: 892 2955 4820 Passcode: 836488

A time to pause, pray, reflect and reconnect.

No preparation needed.

Time for conversation for those who can stay.

“….Waiting on God, learning to be passive in a way creative for your inner life, is not a question of thinking about God, but of growing in stillness. It has to do with prayer, and with music or from the simple contemplation of the world about you.” (Michael Mayne, ‘A Year Lost and Found’)

John Wesley was an 18th century Anglican cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was the principal leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism, which continues to this day.

He was ordained priest in 1728, but after an unsuccessful two-year ministry in Savannah, Georgia, he returned to London and joined a religious society led by Moravian Christians. On 24 May 1738, he experienced a form of evangelical conversion, and, as a result, left the Moravians and began his own ministry.

Wesley travelled widely, often preaching outdoors, and set up small Christian groups that developed intensive and personal accountability, discipleship, and religious instruction, and appointed itinerant, unordained evangelists - both women and men - to care for these groups of people.

Under Wesley, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including the abolition of slavery and support for women preachers.

His younger brother, Charles Wesley, also an Anglican priest and leader of the Methodist movement, was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime, including some well known to this day, such as "And Can It Be", "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing", "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing".

Despite their closeness, Charles and John did not always agree on questions relating to their beliefs. In particular, Charles was strongly opposed to the idea of a breach with the Church of England in which they had both been ordained.