John’s Gospel ends with stories; stories of resurrection:

(i) Mary at the tomb, weeping, mistaking Jesus for a gardener;

(ii) Thomas in the house, in an upstairs room, struggling with belief;

(iii) Peter by the seaside, fishing.

Why did John tell them? Were they just proofs of the resurrection? or, something more? Were they pointers to the experience of the resurrection, and the difference it made to these people; and always, everywhere to everyone-
“these are written that YOU (i.e. the reader) may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20. 31.)

First, they remind us that we may meet Jesus anywhere, anytime.

These stories are not about Jesus in the Temple, Synagogue – in “church” – in holy places, sacred sites; but in a garden, a house, at the seaside.

This is about the presence of Jesus in the mundane – the everyday, workaday, ordinary places of human life. These stories suggest we should find him there, and not be surprised when we do.

He is not confined to cathedrals, churches, chapels, shrines; nor is he restricted to services, meetings, rallies; nor does he keep hours: special days, special times. The message of the resurrection is about life, in its totality, and not just about that part of life that we label “religion”. It is we who are guilty of separating religion from life, the sacred from the secular.

In the diary of Ralph Josselyn, an Elizabethan farmer–parson there is an entry that reads “cow calved; administered sacrament only 14 present.” All in one breath; all part of his one life. That is how it should be.

This is not to say that we should not attend church; it is to say that we should not restrict Jesus to time or place.

Secondly, they remind us how the risen Lord meets real people in their real needs.

Mary was grief-stricken, heart-broken, in the throes of bereavement.
Thomas was struggling with faith and doubt.
Peter was weighed down with failure.

Jesus met them at their point of need.

In fact these three stories focus our thoughts on the three great problems of being human:
death, doubt, despair.

Like Mary we all face the inevitability of death for ourselves and others, and incidentally, sooner or later, bereavement.

Like Thomas we all struggle with faith and doubt, trying to make sense of things.

Like Peter we all have to come to terms with failure; our failure, our mistakes, our faults, our sins: our guilt and shame.

These three great problems – death/bereavement; faith/doubt; sin/guilt upset our composure, shatter our self-confidence. However we may try to protect ourselves against them sooner or later our carefully constructed defences cave in.

Jesus met Mary, Thomas, Peter in these three experiences, and Mary found hope, Thomas faith, and Peter forgiveness.

So may we!

This is the Gospel, good news. Jesus lives and may meet us any place, any time, when it matters most, and where it really hurts; and, through him we, too, may find hope, faith, and forgiveness.

Alan Griggs
 

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