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
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AboutPastor Emily Johnson preaches weekly at Christ Lutheran. These are manuscripts of her sermons given at Christ Lutheran. Feel free to engage with them in the comments section of the blog. Archives
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