Sunday, April 19, 2020

Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:29-42
Psalm 148
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31

Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.’

Many people thought Easter ended on Sunday with the worship and baskets full of chocolate. Lent is over, the fasting to which we committed is finished, but Easter has just begun. This week is what is called the Octave of Easter, eight days of celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a holiday at some times and in some places throughout history. These are the “days of joy and laughter” and are often celebrated with parties and picnics and even practical jokes. The Second Sunday of Easter (the 19th) is often called “Holy Humor Sunday” or “Bright Sunday.” The custom came from the thoughts of early church theologians like Augustine that God played a practical joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead. “Risus paschalis: the Easter laugh,” the early theologians called it.

Easter didn’t end on Sunday. As a matter of fact, it has just begun. It is a season that lasts fifty days. During these days Jesus continued to walk with His disciples, to teach them everything they needed to know to continue the work Jesus began. The teaching continued for forty days, and then Jesus ascended into heaven. The disciples waited ten days until the Day of Pentecost when they received the Holy Spirit. The Gospel lessons for the next seven Sundays will reveal Jesus to us again and again as the Lord of our life, beginning with His appearances to His disciples following His resurrection.

After extremely long Gospel lessons over the past few weeks, the accounting from Matthew in the lectionary is relatively brief. We only heard about the women who went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body; they found the tomb empty and met Jesus on the road. He told them not to be afraid and to go tell the disciples that He would meet them in Galilee. The disciples didn’t believe the women at first.

A few other things happened on that first Resurrection Day. In John’s accounting, Jesus called Mary by name. She told the disciples, but they didn’t know what to believe. Jesus appeared before two disciples on the road to Emmaus; He ate with them and as He broke the bread they recognized Him (next week’s Gospel lesson from Luke). Those disciples quickly returned to Jerusalem to share the Good News, but the disciples still wondered if it were true. Jesus appeared from behind locked doors as they told their story to the other disciples. He breathed the Holy Spirit upon those who were present. Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples so that they would know and believe that it was true. Slowly, but surely, they were really beginning to believe.

Our Gospel lesson begins that first Easter night and ends eight days later. The disciples gathered in the Upper Room had no hope. They had glimmers of possibilities because they had heard the stories of the witnesses, but they found it too hard to believe. Suddenly, out of nowhere, through a locked door, Jesus appeared before them. He was alive, but even then their first reaction was that they were seeing a ghost. Jesus answered their fear with a word of peace. Then He showed them His hands and side, and the disciples knew that they were seeing the risen Lord. Jesus said again, “Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

In this first appearance, Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This was like a down payment of what was to come: the Holy Spirit that would anoint them at Pentecost. In the days between His resurrection and ascension, Jesus taught the disciples everything they needed to know, but it would not be enough. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit could the disciples ever believe and do the work God was calling them to do.

“Receive the Holy Spirit” was a symbolic act that looked forward to Pentecost, but it also looked back to the creation. God breathed His Spirit into a clay form and gave it life. When Jesus breathed on the disciples, He gave them new life. God created, Jesus re-created. God created through His Word and He re-created through His Word. We receive that same Spirit at our baptism when God breathes new life into us. The God who breathed life into Adam, breathes new life into all those who believe in Jesus.

What was God calling them to do?? What is the word they are called to take to the world? It is the word of forgiveness that is found in the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus. Jesus said, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.” Forgiveness is a difficult thing; do any of us really deserve to be forgiven? Even the specially chosen followers of Jesus deserved death. After all, think about the things they did in those last moments of Jesus’ life. They abandoned Him. They denied Him. They were afraid, uncertain, and doubtful despite the words of Jesus. Even more so, I think about my own sin and know that I do not deserve to benefit from what Christ has done.

The disciples were not able to believe in Jesus without the power He gives them to believe. The breath He breaths into all believers is the Holy Spirit, and it is by the power of that Spirit that they have faith. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to deny His power, to reject Him.

The lesson of that first Easter evening is hard for us to grasp, because quite frankly there are folk we would rather not forgive. Here’s the thing: we aren’t called to go out into the world to condemn those who sin, but rather to proclaim the word of forgiveness into their lives. It is not our job to decide who deserves to hear that word and who does not deserve it. We are commissioned to take it to everyone.

Thomas was not with them on that first Easter night. We don’t know where he was; perhaps he scattered much further than the others and had not yet managed to return to the place where they were meeting. Perhaps he was more frightened than the others. Yet, he returned to their company and was there a week later when Jesus appeared a second time. He was skeptical about what they had told him. “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe,” he said. This statement is why we call him “Doubting Thomas.”

Yet, that negative identification is not entirely fair. How is Thomas any different than the other disciples? They doubted, too. They questioned the word of the women. They didn’t know what to think about the report from the two disciple who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. They were afraid when Jesus entered a week earlier, thinking that He was a ghost. Jesus showed them His hands and His side. Didn’t Thomas deserve the same proof that they were given? They believed when Jesus breathed upon them, how can we expect any more from Thomas until he has the same benefit?

We live a long way from the resurrection, not only in distance but in time. The eyewitnesses are long gone, only their stories remain. It is easy for us to assume that there is exaggeration in the records, that it couldn’t possibly be real. It is easier to doubt than it is to believe. So, is it any wonder that Thomas was uncertain? I don’t think Thomas’s doubt suggests a lack of trust or love for his fellow disciples, but the story they told is incredible. Jesus came, walked through a locked door, and stood among them. I know it is true and I wonder.

Thomas needed to see to believe. Imagine how the other disciples must have felt. Thomas was like a brother, having traveled with them for nearly three years. He heard the same stories, he learned the same lessons. He was given the same prophecies and promises. If he did not believe them, who would? How could they possibly share their message with outsiders? I imagine they were hurt; there may have even been discord among the disciples. When Jesus appeared the second time, He spoke the words of peace again. “Peace be to you.”

We celebrate the resurrection during the Octave of Easter with parties and jokes, but I imagine the atmosphere was much different during that first Octave. They were still uncertain, confused, frightened. The disciples needed peace amongst themselves to do the work they were called to do. How could they take the message of the Gospel out into a world if there is no reconciliation between brothers? Whatever was going on behind those closed doors during the week between the first and second appearance, Jesus pointed them in a new direction. Once Thomas was given the same experience, there was nothing to keep the disciples divided.

Jesus brought peace, and He said it twice in today’s lesson. In last week’s Gospel the women were twice told to have no fear. One word is never enough for certainty, especially if we are experiencing overwhelming emotions like grief, fear and doubt. Jesus knew that of all things, peace was the most important at this point. In peace, they could face whatever it was that waited for them outside the door to their room. They would not find peace out there, since the Jews and the Romans would eventually respond to the Christian story with violence and oppression. They needed a different kind of peace.

Real peace is not the absence of conflict but an unassailable trust in God. The world outside our door is not conducive to that feeling of peace that we long for today. As a matter of fact, we face grief, fear and doubt every day. But Christ comes to us and says, “Peace be with you.” He is saying, “Trust in me and trust in my Father. His promises are true and He is faithful. Whatever you face, do so with faith, knowing that everything is already taken care of for you and for the world. Live in the forgiveness I have obtained for you and take it out the door into the world for others.”

Peace leads to the manifestation of peace: forgiveness. Or perhaps peace is the manifestation of forgiveness. They are inseparable. We can’t have peace if we are holding a grudge against someone. We can’t have peace if another is holding a grudge against us. But we can face the sin of our world with forgiveness, at peace with the reality of our brokenness and God’s forgiveness. As we dwell in His grace, we share that grace with others and we experience real peace.

Jesus wanted the disciples to see one another through the eyes of grace. Thomas may not have believed their word, but he really isn’t “Doubting Thomas”; he is “Confessing Thomas.” When Jesus appeared amongst them the second time, He showed Thomas His hands and side. Jesus said, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.” John does not tell us that Thomas touched Jesus; on seeing Jesus and hearing His voice, Thomas immediately proclaimed “My Lord and my God.” He witnessed the living Christ and believed.

Jesus then said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.” This reprimand was given to all the disciples, not just Thomas. They had an advantage: they saw the Risen Lord. They lived with Him and learned from Him for another miraculous forty days. But the Church would grow out of faith in the word heard, not in the flesh seen. The blessed ones are those who believe when they heard their testimony.

Perhaps this Octave of Easter is not so joyous as it should be as we are uncertain, confused, and frightened like the disciples. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been in those first few days after the crucifixion and resurrection? But Jesus came to them in the midst of their difficulty to give them peace. We can experience the same peace if we keep our hearts and minds firm in the promises of God. He calls us to obedience. As followers of God saved by Jesus, we are called to love God so much that we trust Him completely.

The book of Acts records the early experiences of the Church. The text preceeding today’s lesson records the Apostles doing great works; they were performing signs and wonders. Demons were cast out and the sick were healed, sometimes by just their shadow as they passed by. Many people were drawn to them. The Jewish leaders were filled with jealousy and they arrested the apostles and put them into jail. During the night, however, an angel of the Lord set them free so they could return to the Temple to preach. The Jewish leaders were shocked they were there. “Didn’t we tell you never to teach in Jesus’ name? Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

The temple leaders persecuted the disciples, but God was with them, giving them strength, peace and hope in the midst of their troubles. God sent angels to help them and opportunities to share the Gospel through their persecution. Nothing was going to stop them because they loved their Lord with their whole being and they were willing the stand for Him no matter what happened. The leaders met to discuss the problem.

The disciples didn’t mince words when facing the Sanhedrin. They said, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed, hanging him on a tree. God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. We are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” This made them extremely angry, and they wanted to kill them.

But there was one man, a Pharisee, who brought calm to the situation. He told his fellow councilmen to be patient and let God take care of the situation. “Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!” This was wise advice, although I’m certain the council was hoping everything would turn out much differently.

Gamaliel, however, may have had a concealed motive for speaking such wise words. We know that this Pharisee was a Jewish scholar and teacher of the Law. His most famous student was Saul of Tarsus, otherwise known as Paul. Tradition holds that Simeon, the old man in the Temple who recognized Baby Jesus as the Messiah, was Gamaliel’s father. If this is true, he most likely told his son about Jesus. Did Gamaliel know that the men standing before the Sanhedrin were followers of that baby in the Temple? It is believed that Gamaliel did become a Christian and was baptized by Peter and John, but that he kept his Christianity a secret until his death so that he could remain in the Sanhedrin to offer aid to the Christians who were being persecuted. The Jewish account of his life maintains that he remained a Pharisee until he died. But his speech at the trial of the apostles gives some credence to the possibility that he had faith. His council saved their lives so they could continue to share the Gospel.

Peter later wrote, “Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved in various trials, that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ - whom, not having known, you love. In him, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Thomas may have had the opportunity to see and touch Jesus, but most Christians for the last two thousand years have not, including us. We were given the story by those who were there, through the scriptures and the Church. We may not have seen Jesus, but we believed the words spoken about Him and thus we have received the forgiveness which He gives.

Peter talks about the hope we have in Christ. Our faith is built on a rock and our rock is Jesus Christ, who lived and died and rose again for our sake. The promise of eternal life is not dependent on anything human or created; it is founded in God’s grace and love for His people. We have been given the eternal kingdom by resting on the True rock of our faith. The promise is real and the King is faithful. We may experience hardship and trials, but through those difficulties our faith will grow and mature. Our hope rests in the promise that God has assured our salvation and that we’ll share in His glory.

Peter talks about joy. We rejoice even in our trials because by faith we know that God does what He has promised and that we have been recreated by His breath and given a new life that is eternal. And now we live in hope, not for something that cannot be, but something that is assured. We are certain, not because we have experienced it for ourselves, but because God is faithful.

We don’t have to do it alone. Thomas continued to grieve, fear and doubt because he had left the company of the other disciples. He missed what they had experienced together. Yet, when he returned to the gathering place, he joined their joy and peace. He joined them in praising God. We can experience the same peace and joy if we keep our hearts and minds firm in the promises of God.

Our worries and our fears are really insignificant when we consider the amazing things God has done. He has created the entire world and everything in it. He has redeemed all of mankind by the blood of Christ. He has brought salvation to our lives, ordained His people to service and promised to do even greater things through His Church. We might suffer for a moment. We might have difficult work to do in this world. But no matter what we face, we believe in the God of the heavens and the earth. Let us join with all of God’s creation in a song of praise, spending time each day in adoration and admiration of the God who has done it all, so that when we face those difficult times we won’t use our freedom to run and hide, but instead stand and speak the Word.