While the Easter season continues right up until the Day of Pentecost, following the big celebrations of Resurrection Sunday, I find myself asking, "What now?" I'm preparing my spirit for the "After Easter Let-Down" on Sunday and just saw the attached picture at textweek.com. My eye was first drawn to the finger of Thomas actually inserted into the wound in the side of Jesus. My first reaction was disgust.

What now? What now that Jesus is alive? What now that death has been conquered? What now? Well, what happens now is a lot of doubt. What happens now is a whole lot of questions. What now? - is a whole lot of us Thomas-like folk saying, "I'll believe it when I see it for myself."

And, here is the thing with that. After I realized that I was disgusted by the picture, I suddenly felt myself drawn upward. First, to Jesus' eyes as he gazes gently down at Thomas and then to his hand that is actually guiding Thomas' own hand as he searches for the answers to his questions in the very body of the risen Christ.

What now? What happens after all the fanfare is over? What happens after all the eggs have been accounted for? What happens when the flowers on the crosses fade away? Doubt and questions happen. And, when those questions arise as if out of a dark tomb, Jesus is there gently guiding us further and further into his risen self.

What now? Yes, we must keep asking, "What now?"
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Image: Caravaggio at Hermanoleon