EASTER 2B – Acts 4:32-25; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31 – 19 April 2009 – A sermon given by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for the people of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado
Looking for Signs of the Risen Lord
INTRODUCTION – Where was Thomas?
We are told that one of the first appearances of the risen Jesus to the disciples was on that first night. At least ten of them were together behind locked doors, despite the fact that Mary Magdalene had already seen the Lord earlier in the day and told them about her experience. We are told they were in a house “where the disciples had met”. (John 20:19) Was this the same place where they had made preparations for the Passover, where Jesus had washed their feet – the same place where they had eaten their last meal with him? Quite possibly. And even though they’d heard this amazing news from Mary, they were hiding behind locked doors.
And Jesus came and stood among them. And what were the very first words out of his mouth? “Peace be with you.” Then he showed them him his hands and his side. And by his wounds they knew him. And he breathed the Holy Spirit upon them.
Only Thomas wasn’t there. Where the heck was Thomas? We don’t know, but evidently he wasn’t freaking out, scared out of his mind with the others. Mary’s news about seeing Jesus must have led him to go take a walk. Perhaps he was hoping to bump into Jesus. Just his luck: when Jesus showed up that evening, he wasn’t around for it.
And so the ten told him what had happened – how Jesus was suddenly right there in the room with them, even though the doors had been locked, and how he showed them his wounds, and gave them his peace. And Thomas said, “No way! I ain’t believing that he’s risen unless I see him myself, and see his wounds for myself… until I touch his wounds, in fact!”
Jesus waited another week. Yes, the second Sunday of Easter arrived. (Are you getting the picture of why we worship on Sunday and why we always have this reading about Thomas on this particular Sunday?) And the disciples were still hanging out in the same house. This time Thomas was with them. We are told that the doors were shut, though evidently not locked. The disciples are taking some baby steps of faith. And – boom! – Jesus showed up in the middle of the room again. His first words were again, “Peace be with you.” They still needed to experience the peace of Christ. And then he looked right at Thomas and said, “Dude! Just so you know that I know what you said last time, put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. See? The wounds are still visible. Do not doubt but believe.”
And Thomas didn’t need to touch any of the wounds that – a week earlier – he thought he needed to touch. All he needed to do was proclaim, “My Lord and my God!”
LIKE THOMAS – Looking for signs…
We are very much like Thomas. We want some evidence that the risen Lord is alive and well and at work in the world. We are not as fortunate as Thomas and all those he appeared to in those 40 days between that first appearance on Easter Sunday and the last appearance, when they saw him taken up into heaven. But it stands to reason, that if our Lord’s promise at the end of the Gospel of Matthew – “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) – is to be fulfilled, then you and I should see signs of His presence among us.
And perhaps we should begin with what happened to those scared-out-of-their-minds disciples. After Jesus’ ascension, what happened? Did they go back to hiding behind closed and locked doors? No. Just the opposite, in fact. As we heard in the Acts reading, they began to tell anyone who would listen about the resurrection of Jesus. They were so brought together in unity of purpose that they began to sell their possessions, and used the proceeds to help anyone among them who was in need. They entered into a new kind of community or fellowship (from the Greek koinonia), which was a joyful fellowship with God the Father, with his Son Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and with other Christians. (see 1 John 1:3)The marks of this koinonia also include Christian friendship, sharing with the less fortunate, partnering in the work of Christ, sharing in the faith, communion fellowship as we participate in the Sacrament of our Lord’s Body and Blood, and sharing in Christ’s sufferings. (See New Testament Words, by William Barclay) We know that Peter and John preached boldly about Jesus’ life and death and resurrection, even to the point of being thrown in prison. And we know that – through them – people were healed, in the very same way that Jesus had healed others.
In other words, we see evidence of the risen Christ among us when we see these kinds of things going on. The disciples were transformed from fearful people huddling behind locked doors to folks who spread the Good News and healed and served others in Jesus’ name.
ENCOUNTERS WITH THE RISEN LORD LEAD TO TRANSFORMATION
Those doors that were originally locked, on that first Easter night, become a metaphor for the life that is transformed by an encounter with the risen Lord. Before the first encounter, the doors were locked. Before Jesus showed up for the second time, they were shut, but not locked. Before the third time, the doors were – as I see it – ajar, signifying that the disciples were back walking around on the street, and Jesus might have had to wait for them to come back home. Before the fourth time, the door was wide open, meaning he had to encounter them out in the middle of the city somewhere. And by the time Jesus ascended into heaven, it’s as if the house has no more doors on it. There is no holding the disciples back. They are free to come and go as they please, for they are no longer fearful, and others are welcome to come right on in and talk to them, or ask them questions on the street.
If you are looking for evidence of the risen Lord among us, then look for these signs:
Are you or those you know being transformed, moving more and more out of places of fear and into acts of love and courage and boldness, done in Jesus’ name?
Are you telling others about your faith, about how you experience the Spirit or the risen Lord working in your life?
Do you suddenly feel as if God is with you when you pray or when you read scripture? Does a certain calm come over you, where before you had been a little anxious, and suddenly you experience a peace that passes all understanding?
Do you ever come up to this communion rail, and by the time you leave it, you notice something different – you feel at one with God, at one with the other people at the rail, maybe even at one with the whole world?
Do you ever find that you are in a difficult place, and you read something that is helpful, or someone calls you and really listens to you, or you encounter someone and they say something to you, and it is exactly what you need to hear in that moment?
These are signs, my friends – signs of the risen Lord, alive and well and at work among us, in us, and even through us, evidence that He keeps his promises, that He is indeed with us always.
CONCLUSION
If we, like Thomas, at first don’t see evidence of the risen Lord, then we need to look again! Because the risen Lord keeps showing up – in you, in your neighbor, in the stranger, in the words of Holy Scripture, in nature, in music and art, in some selfless act that is offered, in the face of a child, in the face of someone in need, in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, in that meal that you share with your family or friends.
It’s still Easter. You’ll notice that he just didn’t show up once to Mary Magdalene and the other women, and that was the end of it. No. He kept showing up to all those who were looking for him, and to many others who weren’t necessarily looking for him, for they were still in a state of shock. Not only that. The Lord keeps showing up today. Not just to one person at one time, but to many, many people, in many, many places all over the world.
He keeps showing up to transform our lives, our communities, and our churches, to lead us into a whole different way of living and sharing and loving, so that our fear is transformed, and so that the doors we used to hide behind are blown right off their hinges.
If we’re not being changed, then we’re not being open to the Spirit of Christ working on us and in us and through us. Because one thing is for sure: the Risen Lord keeps showing up. He says to you and to me, “Do not doubt but believe!”