April 23, 2023 St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
First Lesson: 1 Peter 1:3-9
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Second Lesson: John 20:19-31
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But 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.
Let’s set the scene. Mary Magdalene visited the tomb, met Jesus thinking he was the gardener, before seeing him as Teacher. Believing what she sees, she tells the disciples “I have seen the Lord,” bearing witness to the resurrection! Our passage it takes place a week after the resurrection and is usually read the week following Easter. But as you know we celebrated Holy Humor Sunday last week. Yet this account is pivotal in understanding the depth, confusion, fear and belief of the early disciples. Imagine how you would feel, respond to the news Jesus is alive after seeing him be crucified? How you might struggle to believe, to get your bearings, to not lose hope. The disciples were hold up in room for fear of the Jews, trapped in the darkness of Jesus’ death, until Jesus meets them where they are. Listen now for God’s Word. John 20: 19-31
The goal of this passage is for you to have life in Christ, life in his name, faith in our resurrected Lord. Jesus the Messia, the Son of God. There are three Greek words used for life; psyche, bios and zoe. The first two refer to the life of a living creature. Humans and animals have such a life merely by being born. Zoe, the word used in “life in his name” is different. This is eternal life, literally “life of the age.” One commentator writes, Zoe is ”life given to those who believe; life given to those who are born of God; life that, in John, transforms us from merely existing to living in the abundance and eternity of God. This life was present from the beginning and lies at the core of creation (”in him was life (zoe ), and the life (zoe) was the light of all people” (Jn. 1 :4) (Working Preacher, Frank Crouch).
Yet Jesus knows the disciples are not there yet, he sees their fear and offers them Peace, he addresses personal doubts with facts and then encourages believing without seeing. So let us look at this passage the same way.
Imagine you are afraid. What happens? Instinctively you gear up for fight or flight. Your mind races, your heart pounds, and you seek safety. Your judgment gets clouded. The same thing happened with the disciples huddled in the room with the doors locked fearing for their lives. Jesus responds with peace. He knows that nothing happens when we are trapped in fear and darkness. So, three times Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” Peace, peace of mind, peace from fear, peace away from that fight or flight state of being. It is like when a friend comes over when you are beside yourself and simply their presence calms you down. Only l 0 times better, because you are in Jesus’ presence! You abide in peace, you are blessed with calm, a glimmer of hope begins to dawn. Mary’s words were true, the resurrection happened, Jesus is right in front of you offering you peace. Jesus then sends them out with a mission to share the good news of the resurrection. But he does not send them alone- He breathes the Holy Spirit upon them, to equip them, to empower them, to give them the tools they need for their mission. He gives us the Holy Spirit too. We are promised that the Holy Spirit is with us, bringing peace, guidance, and presence.
Peace addresses fear and opens up the space to think differently, to take action, to dwell in the Holy Spirit. Of course, doubt is often a bedfellow of fear. So when Thomas misses out on seeing the marks in Jesus’ hands and sides, he is doubtful. I have to say Thomas has gotten a bad rap, going down in history as Doubting Thomas. I think he should be named “Honest Thomas.” He is saying what all of us are wondering, is the resurrection true? How can this be? One commentator writes, “When we hear again (Thomas’) demand for physical proof: we are of two minds, I think. Our proper, church-going, religious selves wag a knowing finger at Thomas. ‘Shame on you! And you call yourself an apostle!’ But another part of us thrills at the words of our champion: ”Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Yes! Yes, and why not? If if’s true – and we’re not saying it’s not true-but if it is true, why can’t we have proof? We want to see. We want to touch. We want to be there” (Working Preacher, Lance Pape). Honest Thomas. Thomas is our eyes and hands so that we know that Jesus is risen.
Yet after showing Thomas his bands and side Jesus says, “Do not doubt, but believe.”· And he does. Thomas has the proof, and he believes. But what about the rest of us who would like to touch Jesus’ side and be in his presence? Who wonders why we can’t have proof. Jesus then speaks to us saying, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet they have come to believe.” Believing without seeing. That’s the definition of Faith.
This week I presented photos from my trip to Palestine, Israel and Jordan to the PEO group. The lost city of Petra was one of the places I visited and talked about. Of course, that means it has been found. This is the place where Indiana Jones goes to find the Holy Grail in the Last Crusades movie, the one with Sean Connery. The carved sandstone tomb they enter is called the Treasury and is in Petra. In the movie they are searching for the holy grail to keep it out of the hands of the Nazis. But then Indi’s dad gets injured, and Indi must work through the maze of traps. Now his incentive is to save his father’s life, not just find some artifact. Do you remember the last obstacle before Indi arrives in the grail room? There is a deep ravine that Indi must cross. Jagged rocks on all sides, it seems impassable. There is no bridge, and it is too large to jump across. Indi calls it a leap of faith. His dad, Sean Connery, cries out in pain. Then whispers a word of guidance, almost praying inspiration to Indi, “You must believe, boy.” Indi then breathes in deeply, stands up straighter, raises his foot and steps forward. You think he will fall to his death, but he doesn’t. We then see what was not visible before. His leap of faith is met with a camouflaged stone bridge. His foot lands hard, because it is unexpected, but that is the nature of faith. That is stepping out in one’s beliefs and trusting in the things of faith that are unseen. Jesus asks us to do that, as he has asked every Christian who has come before. Believe without seeing. The author of 1 Peter writes, “Although you have not seen him you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice” (1 :8). That is the Easter promise and message. We do not see Jesus in the flesh or get to touch his side like Thomas does. But we get to believe without seeing. We get to trust in our companion the Holy Spirit. We lean into the hope of Jesus being with us when we feel lost in fear and doubt. As Easter people we get to say to everyone who will listen, the same words honest Thomas did, “My Lord and my God!” Then we will have Zoe- eternal life! We will be blessed in our imperfect believing! One commentator writes, “Blessed are they who can’t be absolutely sure. Blessed are they who believe the hearsay. Blessed are the eyes of faith that continue in hope despite the frustrations and ambiguities. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29). (Working Preacher, Lance Pape)
As we seek to believe more fully, even without proof, consider our closing hymn. Thomas used his bands and eyes to see the proof of the risen Lord. But when it comes to believing, when it comes to faith in our risen Lord, it is not our hands and eyes we need to trust, it is the eyes of our heart that need to open. Faith is an act of love, faith is a knowing in one’s heart Jesus is our Savior and Lord. Faith is trusting God’s promise of the Holy Spirit to show us the way of Zoe – life eternal, life of the ages. Let us open the eyes of our hearts! Amen.
