When in Doubt
Stop.
Put your hand over your heart. Feel it beat. Feel your chest rise and fall as you breathe. Take a moment to reflect on the mystery and power of our physical bodies as created by God.
Listen.
[Jesus] said to [the disciples], “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” – Luke 24:38-39
Reflect.
In Luke’s gospel, there is no doubting Thomas refusing to believe until he gets to see Jesus just like the rest of the disciples. There’s just the disciples who saw Jesus on the road to Emmaus coming back to Jerusalem, sharing what they saw, and Jesus suddenly appearing among the disciples. It’s not Thomas who doubts in this gospel. Technically, it’s all the disciples who doubt, convinced they’re seeing a ghost and not Jesus himself.
How does Jesus reassure them? He shows them his body. He lets them look at his hands and feet – possibly to confirm the wounds from his crucifixion, but maybe simply because they had seen those same hands and feet out at work during their years of ministry. He then asks them for something to eat and has some fish right there in front of them. Not only is it Jesus himself, but it is Jesus in the flesh, with all its wounds and needs, nourished by a little lunch like anyone else.
It’s always fascinating to me that Jesus comes back not as some kind of spiritual being unaffected by human needs. He’s flesh and bone like everyone else. He may have died and returned, conquered death itself, and demonstrated God’s power over evil, but he still has an actual, physical, human body like anyone else. He returns in that same flesh that has touched lepers, shared meals, and held sacred texts. That body means something.
I keep coming back to the trust it shares: our bodies mean something. Jesus comes to us in human flesh as a baby. He shows concern for people and their physical selves through healing, feeding, and even bringing back to life. When he is resurrected, he doesn’t come back as some new-and-improved non-corporeal deity. He comes back as himself, wounds and all, hungry for a little fish and happy to be with his friends again.
This is good news for us in so many ways, but especially because of how it affirms our own bodies. We don’t need to see them as anything less than the created, affirmed, blessed gift of God that it truly is. We don’t need to think of our bodies as somehow separate from or opposed to our spiritual life. Jesus came in a human body, defeated death in a human body, and ascended into heaven in a human body. If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for you, too.
Pray.
God, thank you for the gift of this body you have given me. Help me to care for it, love it, value it, and use it well as you would have me do. Grant me any healing you see I need so that I can continue to serve you and my neighbor with my whole self. Amen.
Carry On.
Many of our acts of service for others mean valuing their physical selves, like ensuring people are well-fed and safely housed. What’s one way you can care for your neighbor today? How can you show care and respect not only for your physical self, but the lives of others as well?