Thomas: You mean you didn’t know who it was?
Mary: No, I didn’t, which I agree was a bit odd, but then I realized it must be him, the Master, I mean. Who else could it have been?
Thomas: Well, if it was anyone at all, I’d have thought it more likely it was the gardener than a body back from the dead.
Mary: I suppose, but it just felt like the Master to me. I so wanted to see him again.
Thomas: Did he have holes in his hands and a wound in his side (John 20.27)? Surely that would’ve told you it was him.
Mary: I can’t recall now. But anyway, it was him.
Thomas: How’d you know?
Mary: ‘Cos’ he spoke to me. He said, ‘Keep your hands off me, woman, because I’ve not yet… ascended’ (John 20.17, 20).
Thomas: What did that mean? If he was back like you said then how come you couldn’t touch him?
Mary: Well, I don’t know, you’d have to ask him.
Thomas: And how we gonna do that, him being dead and all?
Mary: He’s not dead, I tell you, and you’re all just jealous ‘cos I did better than all of you. I saw him in person and he talked to me!
Peter: All of you, just stop a minute and listen. Can you hear it?
Thomas: No.
Peter: Can you feel it?
Mary: Yes, I can. I can sense his presence (Luke 24.36-37).
John: He’s here with us. He’s back. Hallelujah!
Mary: It’s as if he’s standing right in front of us, talking to us.
John: Yes, that’s exactly what it’s like. He’s here with us. I can feel him. He’s back from the dead, I’m sure of it (John 20.19).
Peter: Let’s tell people we’ve seen him. They’re bound to believe us. I mean, we don’t live in a superstitious first-century backwater village for nothing.
Thomas: Jesus Christ! Next you’ll be trying to convince everyone that this story is actually true.
