2nd Sunday of Easter, 04/03/2016

Sermon on John 20:19-31, by Carl A. Voges

The Passage

“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.’

“Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’

“Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” [English Standard Version]

“Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” [Revelation 1.4]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord

With the unfolding of Easter’s Great Fifty Days last Sunday, the Lord’s baptized people may be tempted to move on to other matters: the increasing terrorist attacks around the world, the people we know insisting that things have to be done their way, the exciting distractions of college basketball tournaments, the churches who are working hard to make a name and a reputation for themselves, the people who are not sure of what their political leaders are doing.

The Lord’s people, however, resist moving on to these matters because of the lasting impact of what the Son has done in his dying and rising for the world’s people. Easter Day is the greatest Day of the year because it reveals the Lord’s stunning resurrection! In ways that are not always obvious, however, the Second Sunday of Easter has to be the next greatest day! How come? Because today reveals the gifts spilling out of the Son’s resurrection!

In his studies of John’s Gospel, the biblical teacher, Raymond E. Brown, pointed out that five of those gifts are detailed in today’s Gospel. As he unpacks the background of these gifts, we see how overwhelming they are, especially for people struggling daily with their natural self-absorption and the turmoil that such absorption creates.

These gifts stream out from the Son’s resurrection on the evening of that first Easter Day and on another evening eight days later. In both evenings Jesus’ disciples have locked themselves into a secure location because they are anxious and fearful of what may happen to them (even though they have been told of the empty tomb and the reason for its emptiness!). Jesus’ gifts to his disciples and to his baptized people are the following:

his peace, his sending, his Holy Spirit, his forgiving and retaining of sin, his belief.

First, Jesus’ gift of peace reflects both his presence and his reality of marking us as his sons and daughters in Baptism. The Hebrew background for this gift is “shalom”, the wholeness and wellness of the Lord God’s Life that surfaced when his Anointed One (the Messiah) came to the world. Earlier in the Gospel (chapters 14-17), in his Farewell Conversation with his disciples, Jesus had promised the gift of his peace. Now he completes that promise.

Jesus’ greeting of peace is no ordinary greeting, like “Hello!” or “How are you?”. His greeting signals his divine presence and his marking of us as his people. Jesus then shows the disciples his hands and his side. This vividly demonstrates the link between his crucifixion and resurrection. Seeing Jesus, the disciples are filled with joy.

Again, this is no ordinary joy, like “happiness” or “giddiness”. Like peace, its Hebrew background points to the reality of the Lord’s Life that will appear when the Messiah comes.

Second, Jesus’ gift of sending, beginning with our Baptisms into him and concluding with our deaths in him, reflects the Father’s sending of his Son to this world. In his Farewell Conversation in John, Jesus had noted that his followers would be sent into the world. That notation is now fulfilled as he sends his disciples into the world, propelled as the Father sent Jesus.

This sending will cause the world’s people to see the light of Jesus’ Life or to be blinded by it, a pattern that already emerged in Jesus’ own ministry. This pattern results in the redemption of these people or in their destruction. As our Lord crossed the lives of people who are wrapped up in themselves, are heavily afflicted and burdened, so do we cross such lives. These crossings cause people to either see the light of the Lord’s Life or to be blinded by it. Put another way, these crossings trigger either redemption or destruction of those who are encountering Lord’s Life.

Third, after saying these words, Jesus breathes on his disciples and gives them his Holy Spirit. Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit, occurring at Baptism and maturing us as we grow older, recalls the passage in Genesis 2 when the Lord God breathed Life into the dust he had shaped as the first man. This gift of the Spirit signals our new creation – having been born into world it signals our re-birth as the Lord’s people in Baptism.

Fourth, Jesus’ breathing of the Spirit gives his followers his power over sin. The great news is that they are no longer at the mercy of sin’s presence, of Satan’s control or of death’s final word! Jesus’ gift for the forgiving and retaining of sin is one that is exercised not only weekly in the Liturgy, but also daily in our relationships with one another. Practically every person imbedded in the Lord God understands that forgiveness tumbles out of our confrontation with and our confession of sin (the instinctive desire to have all things revolving around our selves).

Fortunately, as baptized people, we are able to see the forgiveness working through our relationships with the Lord God and one another rather easily. What is more difficult to see is the retaining of sin. Retention means that death has the final word, that Satan is in control, that sin’s presence is dogging us continually. This retention often comes up in intense conversations between pastors and parishioners. Because these conversations are quite private and not shared with others, the retention is not that visible. But that lack of visibility also occurs when intense conversations lead people to seek another pastor or parish community rather than face up to what they need to confront. Thus, Jesus’ gift of power over sin to his followers is magnificent, but it is an explosive, draining gift!

Finally, there is Jesus’ gift of believing, the growing recognition and trust that real Life is found only in Lord God. This is brought out clearly in the conversation between Jesus and Thomas. Thomas is not present for the first appearance of the resurrected Jesus. When the others tell him that they have seen Lord, he states that unless he can prove it is really Jesus, he will not believe!

When Jesus makes his second appearance eight days later, he challenges Thomas to prove he is the Jesus he knew before the crucifixion. He also tells Thomas to not be faithless, but believing. What occurs next is often ignored: Thomas does not place his finger in the marks created by the nails run through Jesus’ hands! Thomas does squeeze his hand into the cavity in Jesus’ side! Without proving what he said he was going to do, Thomas suddenly recognizes the resurrected Jesus and confesses – My Lord and my God! In response, Jesus blesses those people who throw their lives in with his without seeing him directly. This blessing is pours out on followers like us.

John then concludes that Jesus did many more signs than the seven recorded in his Gospel. But John recorded these seven so we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we may have Life in his Name. John’s Gospel detailed seven of our Lord’s signs; today the Scriptures and Sacraments of Baptism, Forgiveness and Eucharist detail those same signs because they overflow with the Lord’s saving activity.

As we grow to see the Lord God in those holy places, we find him building up our trust in him and strengthening our desire to follow him (even when we are being squeezed by doubt or challenging our Lord like Thomas did).

Yes, with the unfolding of Easter’s Great Fifty Days this past Sunday, the Lord’s baptized people may be tempted to move on to other matters. The smart ones, however, will not! They will note, on this second greatest day of the year, the immense gifts that tumble out of their Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection. They will let those gifts work into and around and through their lives as they make their way through these Great Fifty Days. These gifts enable us to see that our lives no longer are driven and shaped by the world’s matters’; they are, in reality, now driven and shaped by the Life and the ways of the Holy Trinity!

Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord.

Pr. Carl A. Voges
Columbia, SC;
E-Mail: carl.voges4@icloud.com

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