Palpate

Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.” – John 20:27 (NRSVUE) 

Ew. Did Jesus really need to force Thomas to do that? I know Thomas said he wouldn’t believe unless he stuck his fingers in Jesus’ various wounds, but even two thousand years later it’s pretty obvious that was, like, a figure of speech. 

Then Jesus comes along and actually makes Thomas slide his fingers into the hand holes, forces him to squelch his hand into Jesus’ side? Yikes. It’s like some mean dad who catches his 14-year-old smoking in a bad sitcom. “You want to smoke? Fine! Then you’re going to smoke this whole pack and we’ll see how you feel then!” “You want to stick your fingers in my side? Fine! Then do it! Do it!” 

Meanwhile Thomas turns green and tries not to throw up. Just a glimpse of the Savior’s wounds would have sufficed to break his heart. An internal palpation doesn’t seem really necessary; no need to take obvious hyperbole so literally. 

But.  

Maybe if you want to get on board with God’s future, you have to look—hard—at what humans have done in the past. Maybe if you want to help create the hope God longs for, you have to get clear about what’s making the people despair. Even if it’s brutal enough to make you sick, maybe if you want to make things better, you have to get up close and personal with how bad things have been. 

Jesus didn’t have the luxury of not being intimately acquainted with the damage the world can do. Why should those who want to believe in him? 

Prayer
Don’t let me look away, God. Amen.

About the Author
Quinn G. Caldwell is Chaplain of the Protestant Cooperative Ministry at Cornell University. His most recent book is a series of daily reflections for Advent and Christmas called All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas. Learn more about it and find him on Facebook at Quinn G. Caldwell.