This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Easter, which means that we engage in the usual “2nd Sunday of Easter” Gospel reading, the story of Thomas needing to see Jesus and put his finger into Jesus’ wounds. It illustrates an important point, even a theological point. No, not that one about doubt vs disbelief or whatever. This is a different point. The point is this: Jesus has nail holes. He has a spear hole. He probably also has little thorn holes in His head. Likely He also has long whip holes on His back.
This means that Jesus is literally shaped by the Cross. As the Father shaped man with clay, the Son was shaped by man with iron. Jesus’ eternal, Resurrected Body bears marks of His time with us. There is reason to believe that these marks are simply a part of Jesus forever and ever into eternity, just as is the fact that He has a human body into eternity.
Likewise we, His Church, the Church of the Holey Wholey Holy One, we are also formed by His Cross. We are formed by His holes, that is to say, that we are formed by the suffering that He took upon Himself for us. We are formed by His wholeness, the Resurrection reality that shows us a strange world in which a man with holes in His hands can be completely whole. We are formed by His holiness, His perfection and perfect righteousness given to us.
Our hopes then, also, are formed by His holes – by His Cross. That is what we’re going to be talking about in our upcoming sermon series, “A Cross Shaped Hope,” as we consider what it means for us to be people who follow the Holey God.