Christ Church Daily Devotion May 25 2024

Jesus appears to his disciples after his resurrection, showing them his hands and breathing the Holy Spirit onto them. Thomas doubts until he sees Jesus a week later. The disciples were likely in the same room where they had their last meal with Jesus. Jesus invites everyone to his table and asks us to share this invitation with others. Pray to thank Jesus for the invitation and ask for help in sharing it. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for May 25th, 2024. Today we will be reading from John Chapter 20, Verses 19 through 26. On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. After he said this, he showed them his hands and sighed. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again, Jesus said, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. Now Thomas, also known as Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were and put my hands into his side, I will not believe. A week later, the disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. The room in which the disciples were hiding out on Easter evening was probably the same room where they had shared their last meal with Jesus before he was crucified. I can only imagine the thoughts and images running through their minds on that day. They could still see Jesus breaking the bread and sending both it and the cup around the table. Saying this was his blood in his body, they could also still see the actual body being ripped apart and blood streaming down the cross. Then, according to the gospel, that morning, Peter and another disciple, probably John, had gone out to the tomb to see for themselves that it was empty. Then Mary Magdalene had come running in to tell them she had seen and talked with Jesus. So when Jesus appeared to them, they were most likely in that room, maybe even at that same table where this had all started. I am reminded in this scene that Jesus continues to invite us to return to his table. He regularly invites us to receive his meal of grace as often as possible. But he doesn't just invite us, he invites everyone. All are invited to the table of our Lord and he has given us the mission of sharing that good news with as many people as we can. Your personal worship option today? Offer this prayer or one like it in your own words. Lord Jesus, I thank you for the invitation to dine at your table and receive your meal of grace. Knowing it is your desire, help me share your invitation with anyone and everyone I can. In your name, amen.