Low Sunday

One week, it's Easter. The next week we can be staring at the stained glass all by ourselves. The Sunday after Easter is often called Low Sunday - I don't know where it originated but it has always seemed to indicate the attendance one might expect. We humans can quickly forget the power of Easter and get busy doing other stuff.

Easter isn't over. And for some people, Easter hasn't even arrived yet. There are plenty of people waiting for Jesus to come and say "Peace be with you!" There are way too many hungry and homeless waiting to see the marks of salvation and redemption. They can doubt because they have missed so much true connection with generosity and God's love. And it can be hard too for those who follow Christ. Thomas was left out, he had not had the experience of the others. Thomas had not felt the true marks of God's completion of salvation. The world he knew continued to be bleak, even as his friends cautiously rejoiced (in their locked room).

May we have faith this day to see the Thomases among us - those who doubt because their experience lacks the marks of a loving savior. Those who have only experienced lack and abuse, those who have never known love or abundance. Thomases are all around us, even in our faith communities. I pray we have the courage to stay with the doubters, nurture and feed them until their Easter comes.