Scripture Scribbles: April 16, 2023

the Gospel

John 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,

when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,

for fear of the Jews,

Jesus came and stood in their midst

and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,

and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,

was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

But he said to them,

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands

and put my finger into the nailmarks

and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside

and Thomas was with them.

Jesus came, although the doors were locked,

and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,

and bring your hand and put it into my side,

and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples

that are not written in this book.

But these are written that you may come to believe

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

the devotion

Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday, my friend! 

The mercy of God. 

What a true and miraculous, never-ending, mind-bending gift. 

The incarnation is an incomprehensible act of mercy. Jesus came to us in the flesh to save us, who could not save ourselves. 

Today, we hear the account of one of Jesus’s appearances to the disciples after the resurrection. The resurrected Christ, with His glorified wounds, appears to the disciples when the doors are locked “for fear of the Jews.” 

This in itself is an act of mercy.

So often, it is the places of fear in our hearts and in our lives that the Lord desires to enter. Where are the doors locked in your life right now? Where in your heart, your relationships, your habits, your dreams, or your desires, have you locked the door due to fear? 

Maybe it is fear of what others might think. Maybe it is fear of failing. Maybe it is fear of the unknown. Maybe it is fear of letting others down. Maybe it is fear of not meeting some expectation. Maybe it is fear stemming from a lack of trust in God. 

Whatever the reason, imagine yourself today, in this room, with the doors locked due to fear of the Jews. 

Now, place yourself in the scene as Christ enters the room. 

His merciful heart cannot bear to see you in such fear. For “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Imagine Him coming directly to you and saying, “Peace be with you.” 

As He looks deeply into your eyes, you understand three things at a level you never have before: 

He knows your every fear completely–even better than you understand them yourself. 

He loves you immensely, in spite of them all. 

He is Peace and Mercy itself, come to set you free.

You open your heart in a new way to receive Him fully. You allow Him into the locked places of your heart, your life, your relationships. As He shows you His wounds, you show Him yours. And for the first time, you actually believe that He can redeem them. 

He is the one who will unlock the doors. He has come to set you free. 

“Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My Mercy.” 

—Diary of St. Faustina (300)

Today’s devotion was written by Rachel Smith