We Have Seen You

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
--John 20:19-31

You bless the ones who have not seen,
who missed the spear’s edge cutting clean
between the ribs, nor heard the keen
of women at your cross,
but who believe you even so
and blindly follow where you go,
who were not there and cannot know
or reckon up the loss.

But we have seen you, risen Lord,
have seen the one we most adored
led out to slaughter, riven, gored
upon the gallows-tree,
and, oh, we see you suffer still
as Cain picks up a stone to kill
and Isaac lies upon a hill
nowhere near Calvary.

Poor Abel dies afresh each day,
and wolves rise up, the lambs to slay.
Have mercy on us, Lord, we pray
who see and so believe:
The world does what it always does, 
and you will daily suffer thus.
What blessing can there be for us
who see, and seeing, grieve?

Oh, let there be some mercy left
for those who see your body cleft
as we are hanging here for theft—
O Savior, hear our prayer!
Show us your wounded hands and side
and offer us a place to hide.
The narrow doorway open wide
and let us shelter there! Amen.

Plaque with Doubting Thomas, German (MET, 41.100.202) This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60896646