Second Sunday of Easter (Year A, RCL)

When I was in grad school, my family moved into an apartment in South Chicago. When we saw that the door of the apartment had four locks, we wondered why we needed so many. I soon discovered that the benefit was mostly emotional. When we got inside at night, after being worried about whatever, we could shut the door on the world and turn lots of little levers. “Click, click, click.” I think of that door when I’m listening to people describe how they cope with their fears.

The disciples locked in the room need help in practicing resurrection.

Mary can’t experience the resurrected Jesus for the disciples, and the disciples can’t experience Jesus for Thomas.

As a seminarian, I never seemed to be there when Jesus arrived.