Doubting Thomas Sees and Believes

The Gospel of John offers us the only account of Jesus' appearance to Thomas.  Known previously as the "doubter" among the disciples, Thomas' encounter with the risen Lord brings him to faith.


Many questions linger about Thomas and his whereabouts that first Easter when Jesus appeared to the other ten disciples.  Speculation is all that we have.  Could he have been in Bethany with Mary, Martha and Lazarus?  Or perhaps he had scurried over the Mount of Olives and hid in the Wilderness.


My sense is that Thomas remained nearby since he kept abreast of the news.  Therefore, when he began to hear the rumors and news of the risen Jesus, he belatedly rejoined the other disciples.


I have often wondered if his hiding place was that of the other disciples after the crucifixion.  Did the many cemeteries around Jerusalem offer the disciples refuge?  Certainly, those in authority would not have defiled themselves before fully observing the Sabbath and Passover.  Jesus may not have been the only one to emerge from the cemetery that first Easter.

Tourism at an All-Time High in January-March

The Central Bureau of Statistics released its report on tourism in Israel thus far in 2012, and the news cheers the hearts of all. The number of tourists for the first quarter of the year was determined to be 752,000. This constitutes a new record for the quarter. The old record was set in 2010. The decline in 2011 was attributed to the unrest created by "the Arab spring."

Certainly, this news is gratifying for those of us who not only love the land and its people but seek to bring people to the land for pilgrimage and travel-study. May the trend continue, and may all God's children benefit!

The First One Ever

Linda Egan has written a beautiful hymn, "The First One Ever." The lyrics praise God and celebrate the role of women in the Bible. Stanza one recalls Mary's response to the annunciation of Gabriel, while the second stanza speaks to the faith of the Samaritan woman. But it is the third stanza that proclaims the Easter faith. It remembers the first to bear witness to the resurrection.

While the Synoptic Gospels tell of three women who come to the tomb, John's Gospel speaks only of Mary Magdalene. In the words of the hymn, "the first one ever, oh, ever to know" the joy of the Risen Lord.

My favorite chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after Calvary and the Tomb is the Chapel of Mary. It stands near the Tomb and has a marvelous bronze molding of the first encounter between Mary Magdalene and Jesus following the resurrection. Standing here, the words repeat: "the first one ever, oh, ever to know."

Every Day to Us Is Easter

Glorious Easter continues! While some traditions approach the observance of Easter over fifty days, many Christians consider every Sunday to be a "little Easter." The events of Easter define Christian faith and practice.

With this in mind, let's meet through this blog in the coming days and revisit the places and events of that first Easter. Today let's simply celebrate that we are an "Easter people."

One of my favorite hymns is Easter People, Raise Your Voices. Join me in singing the third stanza:

Every day to us is Easter, with its resurrection song

When in trouble move the faster to our God who rights the wrong.

Alleluia! Alleluia! See the power of heavenly throngs.

The Lord Is Risen!

He is risen indeed! Thus Christians have greeted one another on Easter across the ages.

Today, another Easter Day has dawned. Christians will gather all around the world to share in worship and praise of our Living Lord.

Worship will take many forms. One of the most exciting is the ceremony of the Holy Fire which begins early in the rotunda of Holy Sepulchre Church. Orthodox Christians from around the world will gather and anxiously await the miracle of fire to emerge from the tomb of Jesus. For more information on this ancient service, click on http://www.holyfire.org/eng/.

May your Easter worship wherever you are be filled with His glorious presence! May the Easter faith be rekindled in our hearts!

Holy Saturday 2012

I had never given much thought to the events of the Saturday of that first "Holy Week" until recently. My initial understanding was that there were none. After the burial of Jesus, there was nothing recorded by the gospel writers until "the morning of the third day."

Then it occurred to me that Saturday was the Sabbath. The writers had no need to describe the events. It was Sabbath. What more do you need to say! The day was given to sabbath-keeping in Jerusalem. All observances were enriched by the understanding of Passover.

As for the disciples, my sense is now that they were in hiding. Later, we hear that they were locked behind close doors. Could the room that was locked down have been the place of the Last Supper?

Where were they? Were they hiding in the tombs around Jerusalem. The observant Jewish leaders would never have come for them there. Such an intrusion on the unclean would have defiled them for the observance of Passover.

Wherever they were, I can almost be certain as to what was on their minds that first Holy Saturday. How could they crucify Him? Could we? Didn't we deny him and flee? Crushed in spirit, they bitterly sighed "but we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel."

The Place of the Last Supper

In preparing for the Passover meal, Jesus instructed the disciples to "go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him" (Mark 14:13). Does this bit of detail provide us with the location for Jesus' final meal with His disciples?

Scholars, like Bargil Pixner, think so. In his research and excavating on Mount Zion, Pixner thought that he had found evidence of an Essene monastery in Jerusalem. If so, this is the monastery built by Herod the Great for the monastic community. Furthermore, Pixner believed that this specific instruction by Jesus pointed to the monastery as the site of the supper. Among men in the first century, only unmarried priests would carry water. In such a case, the priest would have been an Essene. Therefore, this clue strongly points to the upper room of the monastery as the place of the Last Supper.

While we can't say for sure, this interpretation is intriguing. The traditional site of the Upper Room stands in close proximity to the Essene Quarter of old Jerusalem. As a pilgrim once said to me while standing near the Essene Gate, the supper must have taken place somewhere within a stone's throw.