Creative Resources for Worship:
John 2 0:1 9 3 1
“Doubting Thomas”
If your congregation is following the Revised Common Lectionary, the suggested scripture passages for the second Sunday of Easter (Easter 2A) include a reading from the gospel of John:1 9 3 1 . It’s the story of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples in the locked upper room, and how they then unsuccessfully try to convince Thomas (who wasn’t around at the time) that Jesus really is alive.
If you’re planning on using this passage of scripture in worship, here’s a creative monologue you might want to consider. (See below for more suggestions and links).
(John 2 0:1 9 2 9 )
It was late that Sunday evening
when I returned to my brothers,
thinking to find them still grieving
as I was.
They greeted me
in excitement
and great joy.
"We have seen the Lord!"
they said.
Had grief brought them to this—
that they would not accept
that he was gone from us for ever?
Again and again they insisted:
"We have seen the Lord!
He was here among us!"
"I don't believe it,”
I said.
"Unless I see the scars
of the nails in his hands
and put my finger on those scars
and my hand in his side,
I will not believe."
The days passed.
We were together
behind locked doors
when he came again.
There could be no doubt -
Jesus stood among us, saying,
"Peace be with you!”
Then he looked at me
a little sadly.
"Put your finger here,”
he said,
"and look at my hands;
then stretch out your hand
and put it in my side.
Stop your doubting,
and believe!"
I stared, transfixed,
unable to move or to speak.
At last I found my voice
and whispered,
"My Lord and my God!"
— from Easter Reflections by Pat Baker
Here are some other creative ways in which you might approach the “Doubting Thomas” (John 2 0:1 9 3 1 ) text:
Monologues/Readers’ Theatre
Description: A reader's theater dramatizing Thomas's confession. $1 0
Dramatic monologue: Best are They by Darryl McCollum
Description: Doubting Thomas tells his own story in this short monologue.
The Voice of Thomas, by Theresa Coleman.
Description: A first-person re-telling of the story of Thomas’s encounter with the risen Christ.
Description: A dramatic re-telling of the reaction of the disciples to the news of Christ’s resurrection, from the book A Certain Jesus, Vol. 3 , chapter 1 2 8
Short Dramatic Sketches
Description: Prisca has a problem. Already she is having to defend her Grampa Thomas against the accusations of others. Already he has been labeled "Doubting Thomas". But her Gramma Sarah, wife of the late apostle, knows that Jesus called human beings for disciples—not mindless puppets. Jesus wanted followers who were real. And He still does.
Description: Jesus said, "Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." On the road out of Jerusalem
Other suggestions? Leave a comment.
(For more creative worship resources for the Sunday after Easter, click on "Easter 2" on the "Labels" list at the right.)
(For more creative worship resources for the Sunday after Easter, click on "Easter 2" on the "Labels" list at the right.)
