Adult & All Age
Ideas for sermon preparation on John 20.19-31
- The Red Queen tells Alice (in Wonderland) that she should practise believing impossible things. Faith is not just a package that we receive. It requires effort for it to develop. Through Thomas’ questioning he comes to believe, and through belief, to have faith.
- On two out of the four occasions that Thomas is named by John, he is seeking further information. In John 14.5 he asks about the way to the Father’s house; here he asks for evidence of the resurrection. Through Thomas’ questioning, Jesus is able to reveal deeper truths. Jesus does not rebuke Thomas but rather offers him peace. Through Thomas’ encounter with Jesus, he realises that he has no need of physical proof of the resurrection.
- Excluded from the experience of the others, Thomas does not believe that they have seen Jesus. The Lancashire comedian, Peter Kay, has a sketch about a fizzy drink, ‘Rola Cola’, bought by mothers who think their family will believe that it is CocaCola™. Children, Kay suggests, are not fooled. When Jesus appears to Thomas, it makes possible a great leap of faith. The encounter enables him to believe in Jesus: ‘My Lord and my God.’ ?
- There are echoes in this resurrection story of the encounter with the blind man in John 9. Seeing and believing subtly link and interplay. Seeing may be believing, but believing can also be seeing.
- John does not record how the disciples recognised Jesus, nor does he clearly describe Jesus’ resurrection body. Jesus seems to be able to enter through a closed door, yet the fact that he invites Thomas to touch him in such a graphic way seems to indicate a physical presence. This is a paradox that it is difficult to explain away, but if we are able to believe that a man can rise from death, can we not also believe in a form that does not fit into our experience or understanding?
- Thomas’ use of the personal pronoun indicates a personal relationship. He does more than believe; he has faith, evidenced in that personal relationship, and offers a submission to Jesus by accepting his lordship. ?
- Jesus begins each encounter with the words, ‘Peace be with you.’ More than a simple greeting, this is an offer of something very special. The fearful disciples receive their peace in recognising that Jesus has risen, when they receive his Spirit, and when he is acknowledged as Lord.
Activities based on John 20.19-21, including A simple worship activity for all ages
Believe without seeing
It is not always necessary to see something to believe in it. Sometimes we can see the effect of something rather than the thing itself.
Divide into groups to identify four ‘things’ people believe in without being able to see them. Is the ‘thing’ tangible in any way or is it an idea? Can we see its effects? Is it important who tells us about it? We can observe things blown by the wind; some bacteria make us ill, and though we can’t see them, we believe the scientists who tell us about them – because they have seen them; we trust doctors who have conducted tests. What and how we believe depends on many different factors. Belief and faith in the resurrection is complex.
Peace be with you
Hide 14 paper doves, each with one letter of the phrase ‘Peace be with you’ on it. Search for them and construct the phrase, using clues if necessary. The disciples were lost, hiding behind the locked door; Jesus found them and offered peace.
What do we see?
What we see is affected by circumstances. Find some optical illusions to display by googling ‘one picture two images’. Project some of these images and invite people to share what they can see. Discuss the way that perspective affects perception.
A simple worship activity for all ages
Display a large cross, decorated for Easter (it could be the one created in last week’s activity, Jesus rose for me!, see p.37) and place beside it a basket full of fabric strips of different colours. Jesus invited Thomas to come and touch. Invite people to select a strip of fabric in a colour that represents how they are feeling, and to touch the cross before placing the strip on the floor, letting it radiate out from the base of the cross.
At times in this psalm there seem to be echoes of Psalm 23: refuge, portion and cup, good counsel, hope and joy – the same themes of confidence and trust are here.
It’s an intimate psalm, a prayer from an individual to God who is good above all other. The promise in verse 4 to refuse to worship other gods comes from a society with a whole panoply of their own deities to worship, but for us these lines can also be a reminder to keep focused on God, and not allow the pressures of life and possessions crowd him out of our lives.
Singing together
How to use the psalms in worship.
Response line: O Lord, you are my portion and my cup.
O Lord,
2 index fingers point upwards.
you are my portion
Top of bent right hand strokes under chin twice (= enough).
and my cup.
Right hand in cup shape rests on left hand palm up.
Versions of Psalm 16 include:
‘O Lord, you are the centre of my life’ (CFE, LAU, SG)
‘O Lord, you are my portion’ (PAME).
Discussion between James and Thomas, based on John 20.19-31
(Thomas and James are sitting centrally)
James: (in great excitement) I’ve got to you tell you Thomas it was absolutely amazing. I can hardly believe it even now, but he was there I tell you. He really was. He stood there right in the middle of us. I was so scared and amazed and excited and...well it was wonderful.
Thomas: Yeah...great...just great.
James: Look – why can’t you just be happy for us?
Thomas: I’ll tell you why I can’t be happy for you James – it’s because I don’t believe any of this actually happened.
James: You can’t be serious...we were all there.
Thomas: Actually – no – we weren’t all there. If you’ll remember I was somewhere else.
James: So this is all sour grapes is it? This is you being cross that you missed out.
Thomas: How can I be cross if I didn’t miss out on anything?
James: Oh this is going to be good...so what do you think happened then?
Thomas: You know what? I don’t know what happened. What I do know is that we’ve all been under the most unbelievable stress over the past few days. What we’ve seen – what we’ve experienced – it would stretch the strongest person to breaking point.
James: So this was all some kind of mass hallucination then?
Thomas: Your words...not mine.
James: Oh you are unbelievable.
Thomas: Are you listening to yourself? I’m unbelievable? I’m not the one who is claiming that a man we all saw die isn’t dead. We watched it James...or have you forgotten? We watched him hanging on that cross as the life drained from him. We saw the nails in his hands and feet. We saw the spear in his side. We saw that. It was right in front of us. What part of that don’t you understand?
James: (quietly) Look Thomas...I don’t want to fall out with you. After what we’ve been through...well we don’t need any more pain. But I cannot tell myself that I did not see what I’ve seen. I don’t know how I can tell you in a way that you will believe – but Jesus is alive. And no – I don’t know how it’s possible. But I am not going to tell you I didn’t see it just to make you feel better. I just hope – I really do hope that you get to see him for yourself.
Thomas: Well so do I James. So do I. Because I have to tell you until I see him; until I see the marks of the nails in his hands – and...put my finger on those wounds; until I see the spear gash in his side; until I see all those things for myself I cannot – I will not believe it... that’s not asking too much is it?
(Thomas exits)