April 28, 2019

Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31

Alleluia Christ is Risen!
Christ is risen indeed alleluia!
 
Christ is risen,
 the tomb is empty
 the messengers from God have appeared,
 Mary has proclaimed to the disciples
 that she has seen the Lord,
 
the disciples don’t really believe her
 but it is an explanation for everything else that happened
 and Jesus did say something about coming back
 now that they think of it
so okay,
Christ is risen, now what?
 
It’s a question both for the disciples and us.
 
The disciples are still unsure
of what exactly is going on
except that three days ago
they witnessed the brutal execution of their leader
 
 so they decide the best course of action
 is to lay low for awhile
 and so that Sunday evening
 finds them gathered together in fear and uncertainty
behind locked doors.
 
And into the midst of their fear and uncertainty,
Jesus appears
saying peace to the startled disciples
 
 I imagine them all sitting there in shock,
 the doors are still locked after all,
 and while they might have a guess
 they’re still not sure who it is
 until Jesus shows them his hands and his side,
 marked with scars from being nailed to the cross
and pierced with a sword.
And then the disciples rejoice,
Jesus is among them!
But the question still hovers,
 now what?
 
now that the disciples recognize him
 Jesus is able to answer that question,
he gives them the gift of peace,
says “As the Father has sent me so I send you”
and breathing on them,
just as God breathed into Adam at creation,
Jesus gives them the Holy Spirit
and tells them that they are to continue his work,
 bearing witness to the possible relationship between humans and God,
 a relationship Jesus showed them with his life,
a relationship they are to show others with their lives.
 
So now the disciples know what they are supposed to do next
and it’s not too long before they get to try out their new role of bearing witness.
 
It turns out that Thomas,
 one of their own
was not with them when Jesus came to them,
but he was a follower of Jesus
 he should be an easy sell right?
 
So echoing Mary that first morning
 they proclaim to him
“We have seen the Lord”
 
 and Thomas, echoing their own words to Mary
 responds “unless I see the marks in his hand for myself, I will not believe”
 
 Now we don’t get the disciples’ reaction to this pronouncement
but I’ve got to think that it dampened their enthusiasm some
 for the mission that Jesus had given them
because the next time we see the disciples
where are they?
Out the in the world continuing Jesus’ work?
 
No, a week later
they are in that same house
 in the same room
with the doors shut.
 
 The only difference is that Thomas is with them this time
and once again Jesus appears among
 them greeting them with peace.
 
Then he turns and offers himself to Thomas,
 saying “put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side, do not be unbelieving but believing.”
 
When we hear these words
we sometimes add a mocking tone to them,
indeed we’ve added the epithet Doubting to Thomas’ name,
but there is no reason to interpret Jesus’ words and actions
as anything but filled with grace.
Jesus is offering Thomas what he needs,
 encouraging him farther down the path of faith.
 
And having been given what he needs
Thomas believes,
 he proclaims “My Lord and my God.”
 and with that goes a step further
than the rest of the disciples in his belief,
 
 he grasps the nature of the special relationship between Jesus and his abba
the relationship that John the author of the gospel
has been conveying from the very beginning with the words:
 In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God and the word was God.
 
Thomas gets it.
 “Have you believed because you have seen me?” Jesus asks,
knowing full well that it was what Thomas requested,
 but then goes on,
turning it seems to us
saying “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
 
Again I don’t think there is judgment in those words,
 Thomas is blessed with his faith through sight
and those who believe without seeing Jesus are also blessed,
we are blessed by our belief
not how we came to it,
 there is no greater blessing than being in relationship with Jesus, with God
 
And having recorded Jesus’ benediction,
John turns once again to us,
 the readers throughout the ages
 and says: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
 
And once again the ball is back in our court,
 the tomb is empty,
 Mary has delivered her message to the skeptical disciples,
Jesus has appeared to the disciples through locked doors,
given them the gift of the holy spirit and ascended to his abba.
 Alleluia, Christ is Risen,
now what?
 
The end of Jesus’ story
is just the beginning of ours,
 like the disciples we have been given the gift of the holy spirit,
 in commissioning the disciples
Jesus has commissioned us
to continue his work in the world,
 living our relationship with God openly
 in witness to the life-giving nature of relationship with God,
all while walking our own path from unbelief to belief.
Simple enough right?
 
Hardly,
 because no sooner than we’ve excitedly proclaimed
 we’ve seen the lord!
We will meet a Thomas,
who demands proof that we ourselves cannot offer
and before we know it we’re back in that room
 with the others who are just like us,
with the doors shut
 wondering what to do.
 
And that’s when Jesus comes to us in grace
offering himself to us once again,
 
and gathered with fellow disciples
 we listen to the stories of the signs that Jesus did
stories that point to a truth greater than the stories themselves,
 a truth greater than us.
 
 
And Gathered together at the table
 we reach out and place our hands on Jesus’ body
given for us,
 
and in our fellowship we share our own experiences with the risen lord,
in Sunday school opening each week
we take time to share our God Sightings,
 those places we’ve seen God at work in our lives during the week,
this time lets us hear others’ experience of God
 and reminds us to watch for God throughout the week.
 
So while we may doubt or encounter a Thomas or two
Jesus comes to us
 as we share our lives with each other
and maybe just maybe we move farther along the path
from unbelief to belief,
 
it is a path we walk our whole lives
and often takes some odd turns along the way
doubling back or twisting around,
 
 sometimes we have to travel awhile
 before Jesus comes to us in the way that we need or notice
 but he will,
and when he does,
with Thomas we will exclaim “My Lord and my God” Amen