John 20: 19-end
On the evening of the first Easter Sunday, the risen Jesus joined his disciples in the room where they were hiding. They were so excited to see that Jesus was alive. One of the disciples, Thomas, wasn’t with them that evening, and he wouldn’t believe what his friends were saying. “I need to see the injuries made by the nails,“ he said, “and only then will I believe.” The following Sunday, Thomas made sure he was with the disciples. Again, Jesus came into the room, and said to Thomas, “Thomas, it’s me. Come and see the marks of the nails in my hands and feet.” But Thomas could only reply, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus said to him, “You have believed, Thomas, because you have seen. People who have not seen and yet still believe are very blessed.”
Fr Peter writes:
I’m still here! We haven’t left yet, because of the corona virus lockdown. I think these times are very strange, and they must be for all of us. No school, no going to work, only allowed out of the house once a day, and all for something that we can’t see. We have had lovely sunshine, playing outside has never been better, but we have to be careful not to get infected and not to infect others. We have been told that there is a very dangerous virus, and we must preserve our lives and the lives of others by staying at home. We could say that we don’t believe what the doctors and scientists are saying, because we can’t see this virus. But we do believe them, and so we observe the social distancing rules. We can’t see the risen Jesus, but we know that he is alive, and with us now. Let’s be really glad about that, and thank him for loving us so much.
Find the ten words in the word cloud that appear in today’s Bible story.
Read these statements and see if you think they are true or false:
1. A cycle helmet has been inspired by a woodpecker.
2. It would have taken 2.5 million seagulls to lift James’s giant peach (not 501 as in the story).
3. It is easier to pick up wet things with our wrinkled fingers from the bath.
4. 6 x 8 is the multiplication sum most children get wrong.
5. Sniffer rabbits have been used to find people in collapsed buildings.
6. Nervous dogs wag their tails to the left, happy dogs to the right.
7. The average British garden is home to 20,000 slugs.
8. The word ‘clue’ originally meant a ball of thread or yarn.
9. A tyrannosaurus had teeth the size of bananas.
10. Some birds bury their eggs in sand or soil near volcanoes to keep them warm.
They are all true!
1. The Royal College of Art designed a cycle helmet based on the “shock absorber” structure of a woodpecker’s skull.
2. Some university physics students proved that it would take many more seagulls to move a peach the size of a small house.
3. Scientists have stated that we have fingers like wrinkled prunes after a bath for just this purpose!
4. Nobody really knows why but there you are … did you get it right?
5. Unlikely though it may seem … it was reported by the BBC, OK?
6. An Italian university has discovered this – and Father Peter says this is the case with his dog, Cassie – so it must be true!
7. Sinister but true … how do they count them all?
8. Yes, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
9. Scary or what? They had smaller teeth, too, so that’s OK.
10 National Geographic reports that the Maleo bird does this.