Appearance to the Disciples: John 20:19–23
Jesus chooses to reveal his Resurrection to the disciples as a group. We know from next week’s story that Thomas wasn’t there, and Jesus doesn’t show himself to Thomas until he returns to the group. This is significant. When it comes to revelation, the group is where it’s at. We might consider this the next time we’re convinced God is telling us something no one else has figured out yet.
This can feel like bad news to the roughly 50 percent of us who are introverted. Introverts like to process experiences alone, focusing their concentration most effectively in solitude. We’re also territorial, reserved, slow to speak or act until we can reflect, and prefer the rich interior life to the chitchat universe around us.
Maybe that’s why Thomas absented himself from the upper room that night. He couldn’t take one more minute of the sighing, breast-beating, and self-reporting going on around him. He needed to think.
Yet consider this, my fellow introverts: Jesus offers peace and forgiveness to the Church as a community. Together is where the action is.
- Why might public revelations be more helpful than private ones?
- Why is sainthood a job for communities and not individuals?
(Reflection and questions by Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings)
Since the Sunday Gospel is the heart of the Gospel Weeklies, an important part of preparing to share the Gospel with children is to read and reflect on it in advance of your class session. The Gospel at Home and the Gospel for All Ages (see Gathering Rituals/Questions) are resources on our website that can help you do this. While these resources take a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings.
Photo credit: Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing, [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
