John 20:19-31
Of all the disciples mentioned in the
scriptures, Thomas gets a bad rap. Early
on he was given the moniker “doubting Thomas” and through the centuries he has
been unable to shake it. Of course, the
other disciples could have just as easily been given names. There’s Nathanael the skeptic, and James and
John the power grabbers. There is Peter
the coward, and Philip the stingy. Even
Judas gets a break from his title of betrayer every now and then. Only Thomas seems to carry his name throughout
the ages.
It’s unwarranted really. Thomas appears in other places in the gospel
and could be known instead for his deep faith.
When the disciples find out about the death of Lazarus, Jesus declares
that the crew will go to him and Thomas responds, “Let us also go, that we may
die with him.” And later in his last
days, when Jesus states that he has prepared a place for the disciples and that
they know the way, Thomas in his desire to follow the Lord asks “How can we
know the way?” Thomas could have just as
easily have been called Thomas the seeker, rather than Thomas the doubter.
But, doubter he is, and most famously
known for this story which only appears in the gospel of John. There is a lot to unpack in our reading for
today. The season of Easter continues
for seven Sundays in the church year and so our reading brings us right back to
where we left off last week. It is the
first day of the week, Easter day, and in the gospel of John, Peter and the
beloved disciple have witnessed the empty tomb, and Mary Magdalene claims to
have seen the risen Lord outside the grave.
And yet, despite the rumors of good
news, the disciples are locked away behind closed doors. They are hiding, in fear of the Jews and the
Romans, and I would wager in fear of their own shame at abandoning their
Lord. Jesus appears behind the closed
doors and it is interesting to note that he is not recognized at first. The writer of the gospel of John makes it clear
that it is only after Jesus shows the wounds in his forearms and in his side
that the disciples realize that he is the one who stands among them.
Jesus gives the disciples a blessing
“Peace be with you” and goes on to breathe upon them, giving the gift of the
Holy Spirit. This is the Pentecost
moment for the writer of the gospel of John.
The gathered community is given the power of the church, to preach the
gospel of forgiveness of sins in the world and to hold each other accountable
for their actions.
Thomas of course was not there that
night, and when the others share their story with him he struggles to believe
it. He too wants the experience that they
had, to see with his own eyes that the one he saw wounded upon the cross is now
raised to new life. He is no more
doubter than any of the other disciples who refused to believe Mary’s story of
encountering Jesus in the garden. Or
even Peter who continues to wonder about the story even though he himself witnessed
the empty tomb.
Strangely, a week later in the story
we find the disciples in the same place.
Even though they have been visited by Jesus, even though they have been
gifted the Holy Spirit, even though they have been commissioned to go out into
the world and be the church; they are still hiding behind locked doors. Jesus appears again, and where we may expect
a word of judgement we once again find grace.
Jesus again blesses those gathered
with his peace and he then offers Thomas the opportunity to touch the very
wounds that had broken his mortal body.
The writer of the gospel does not record whether Thomas actually touches
the wounded body of Christ or not, but the writer does record Thomas’ great
statement of faith, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus goes on to say blessed are those who have not had such an
opportunity and yet come to faith anyway.
This is a wonderful story because it
says so much about the person and nature of Jesus Christ. First of all, this story tells us that God is
the one to seek us out. Just as in the
beginning of the gospel when Jesus called his followers, the movement of God is
always a movement toward us, rather than us moving toward God. They have heard stories of resurrection and
yet the disciples are not out seeking the risen Lord. Jesus is out there somewhere, and yet they
remain hidden and locked inside.
It is significant that they are not
seeking Jesus, they are not looking for God, and they are not taking any
actions that we could construe as faith; and yet God comes to them. God is seeking them out. God is going where they are. If they are going to hide behind closed
doors, God will find them there. If
they, like Thomas, are going to request a personal appearance of Christ, God is
going to make it happen.
In our own day and time it is important
to remember that faith comes to us as a gift of God, rather than as something
we are able seek out for ourselves. Especially
during this Easter season, I know that there are many of us whose thoughts turn
to our family members who are not religious.
How we wish we could bring them to church, how we wish we could share
our faith in such an articulate way as to convince them of its truth. And yet, we are unsuccessful.
It is important to share our beliefs
with our friends and neighbors. Like the
disciples, we have been gifted the Holy Spirit and have been commissioned to be
the church. But it is also important to
recognize that God must move first, God is the one who will decide when the
time is right to enter the locked room of an individual’s heart and win them
over with love and grace.
The second thing that I notice in this
passage is the complete lack of judgment.
Poor Thomas has been judged throughout the centuries as one whose faith
simply doesn’t measure up. In labeling
him the doubter we have looked down upon him for ages. And yet, neither Jesus, nor the other
disciples in this passage engage in that behavior. There is no judgement here, only acceptance
of Thomas’ heart and his needs for faith.
In fact, there is ample opportunity
for Jesus to be judging all of the disciples in this reading. He has been tortured, crucified, visited the
realms of death, and returned to be with them.
Not only is he not bearing a grudge for his suffering, he doesn’t bear a
grudge against the disciples for abandoning him. Upon seeing them gathered for the first time
since their final moments in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus doesn’t say “Where
were you? Why did you leave me?” He doesn’t say, “How could you not watch with
me? How could you not admit your love
for me? How could you leave me alone upon
the cross to die?” He doesn’t say, “My
friends, why have you forsaken me? And
why do you refuse to believe in my resurrection even now?” He doesn’t say any number of things I imagine
he would say, any number of things that would break the hearts of those
gathered together in shame and grief.
No, Jesus enters the space and says,
“Peace be with you.” Not only does he
not rub it in how awful they have been, he actually seeks to assuage their
guilt for abandoning him. “Peace be with
you.” He gives them a gift, he gives
them a blessing, and in giving them the Holy Spirit he seeks to give them the
courage and confidence that they lack.
It is the ultimate example of forgiveness and grace. He shows up with his wounds and brings with
him the salve of forgiveness rather than the well-deserved sting of judgment.
His openness in sharing his wounded
state is the other moving and valuable piece of this story. So often in our modern society we cover up
and hide that which makes us vulnerable.
Be it our wounded bodies or even our healthy bodies, our culture has
taught us to hide away in shame.
Just this week I was sharing a story
about this with the brown bag group.
When I was in the hospital right after Oliva was born my family was
constantly in and out of the room. While
I was breastfeeding I heard a knock on the door and assuming it was my parents I
invited the person in. Well, in walks an
80 something year old man from my church.
Talk about a vulnerable moment, we both felt uncomfortable. It is hard enough for you old guys when your
pastor is woman, let alone having to see her boobs!
It’s
a funny story, but as a leader I can say that I honestly have difficulty being
vulnerable. There is a big part of me that
wants to always seem put-together when I stand in front of you as your
pastor. I am embarrassed and ashamed of
the parts of my life that aren’t perfect.
And yet, Jesus models just the
opposite. He comes to the disciples and
displays his woundedness. He shows the
places where he has been injured, the parts of his body that are not perfect,
and he invites the disciple to share in those wounds. It is a powerful example of leadership, and
it is a powerful challenge to all of us to be more honest about who we are when
we are gathered together as the church.
This is the place where it should be OK to share our pain with each
other. This should be the place where we
can share our mistakes and vulnerability.
This should be the place where there is peace and forgiveness, and so we
should be willing to share our scars in this community.
Today we gather around the communion
table and we remember all the elements of this story. Jesus was wounded and so we share in his body
and blood. Jesus offers us forgiveness
and so we gather as the community of faith, forgiven for our own doubts and
disbelief and tasked with forgiving each other.
Jesus comes to us with an invitation.
We are invited to touch and taste our Lord, we are invited to be
nourished and fed, and we are encouraged to experience the power of our faith
in the tangible elements of bread and wine.
Just as we experience this body of Christ, we are sent out to share this
good news and to be the body of Christ in the world around us.
This reading from John gives us a
powerful vision of the risen Christ, and a powerful message to us as modern
readers. Like the disciples, we are the
church community. We are commissioned to
share our wounds with each other. We are
called to go out and preach the good news of forgiveness. And we are tasked with the hopeful work of
watching for the movement of the Lord in our own lives and in the lives of
those around us. May God be with us as
we strive to live into this amazing and wonderful faith. Amen.
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