"This Gospel's for You!" a sermon for 2 Easter, 4/12/26

 

Grief                            Shock

Doubt                           Fear

Uncertainty                    Anger

These are just a few of the emotions that I’m sure filled the Upper Room that first Easter afternoon.  The women have come with their strange report- the tomb was empty.  But those gathered together do not yet believe.  Suddenly, the resurrected Jesus is with them behind the locked doors of the room.

In the midst of pain and confusion, in the middle of fear and doubt, Jesus offers His friends the gift of peace.  We tend to think of peace as an absence of war or conflict.  Peace, in the Biblical tradition, is so much more than that.  Peace is about an inner sense of well-being, wholeness, and harmony based upon a deep, abiding trust in God.

John tells us why he wrote his account of Jesus’ life and ministry.  John tells us that his Gospel is for me and for you.  For all who may have seasons of doubt and darkness.  So that we, too, may come to believe in Jesus and in the power of Jesus’ resurrection.  As John himself writes in our reading today:

Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book.  But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God.  If you have faith in him, you will have true life (vs. 30-31; MSG).

Scholar and professor Yung Suk Kim writes: “The final statement in John 20:31 serves as the summary and overarching purpose of the Johannine Gospel.  Its central theme revolves around Jesus’s true identity and his works of God, which are inseparable from his role as the Messiah.  [John’s] primary mission is to embody and reveal the truth—specifically, the Word of God—which is fundamentally rooted in divine love.  This truth is not merely an intellectual concept but an experience to be encountered through faith.”[1]

The early Christians in John’s audience needed such hope and assurance.  Tensions between Jewish individuals in the Temple and the fledgling Jesus community were growing.  The early followers of Jesus found themselves cut off from the synagogue communities.  Even families were broken up over Jesus’ identity.

Thomas, one of the twelve, is not there this first time Jesus appears.  Thomas earns himself the name “Doubting Thomas,” by his refusal to believe the others.  The next time Jesus’ followers gather in the Upper Room, Thomas is there with them.  Again, Jesus offers the greeting of peace- even to “doubting” Thomas.

Jesus accepts Thomas as he is and where he is.  Instead of harsh words, Jesus offers His hands and His side in compassionate proof.  Here, I think Jesus (and John) are both saying that what matters is not having all the answers.  What matters most is that you and I let the doubts and the questions transform us.

Each of us has a Thomas, a doubting Thomas, within us.  Each of us experiences times of doubts and questions.  That is a part of what it means to be on a faith journey.  I love Thomas’ story.  I love how Thomas’ doubts are welcomed by Jesus.  There is no condemnation or shunning of Thomas.  Just caring and understanding.

Our doubts and questions that arise on the journey should always bring us to a deeper, richer faith.  A faith that moves us into action and brings us to remember the poor, the hungry, the needy, our fellow doubters.  For his part, Thomas ministers in India where many are brought to faith in Jesus through the Mar Thoma church.


[1] At workingpreacher.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Kyrios Christos" * a sermon for 2 Easter, Year C, 27 April 2025**

              The Christian community lost someone special this past week.   Even though “the Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction here,” [1] I prayed for Francis during his recent illness and hospitalization.   Many, Christian and non-Christian alike, also prayed for Francis.   Such was the power of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (to use his given name). Jorge was, by all accounts, a gentle and humble person.   He chose to forgo the papal stipend and did not sleep in the Papal Apartment.   Francis also did not wear the usual fancy silk vestments and red shoes of previous popes.   His burial arrangements are also simple- one coffin in a lesser-known church as opposed to under St. Peter’s Basilica.             Like his namesake, Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis was a determined advocate for the poor and marginalized.   A Vatican plaza became a homeless shelter.   Ma...
Read more

"New Beginnings" ** a sermon for 4 Easter C on 4 May 2025**

             Winter gives way to Spring.   Graduation from High School or College.   A new job or a promotion.   A well-earned retirement.   The birth of children or grandchildren.   Life-saving heart surgery or cancer treatment.   Life gives you and me many opportunities for new beginnings.   An opportunity to start new and fresh. This morning Simon Peter begins to live in to his name—the Rock.   Peter previously denies knowing Jesus during Jesus’ trials.   You remember that Peter is outside, in the courtyard keeping warm.   Three times Peter is asked about his relationship to Jesus.   Each time Peter denies having any kind of relationship with Jesus. Jesus appears to Peter and the others several times after the resurrection.   Today we hear about the disciples encountering Jesus by the Sea.   After a breakfast of fish, Jesus gets real with Peter.   “Peter, do you love Me?’ Jesu...
Read more

"Holy Unity" ** a sermon for 7 Easter, 1 June 2025**

  Let’s get some context here.   This is the end of Jesus’ “high priestly” prayer.   Jesus and his friends have shared a meal together.   Jesus has washed their feet and given them the commandment to “love one another.”   Judas has left the group to betray Jesus.   Jesus brings the other disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.             Jesus prays for the coming hours.   Jesus knows the betrayal and suffering that are ahead.   Jesus initially prays for the cup to pass.   To not undergo the fate that awaits Him.   A very natural and human response.   But, then Jesus also prays for the strength and courage to endure—Your will, God, not mine Jesus prays in the Garden (see Luke 22:39-46)             At such a time, it reasonable for Jesus to only think of Himself.   Yet Jesus spends a significant time praying ...
Read more