Sermon on John 20:19-31

Sermon on John 20:19-31
Angela Harris
April 23. 2006
Second Sunday of Easter
AU – John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, 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 the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, 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. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt 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 come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

I am afraid of spiders, and snakes and other such creepy, crawly things. I imagine many of you probably share these fears. Am I right? If your fear isn’t in the creepy, crawly things of the world, it is in something else. I bet something or things has come to your mind even now as I am speaking about my own fears. All of us have these things, be they outside of our self, or inside of our self, that make us cringe and recoil into the dark places of our souls.

But if you were able to look into the recesses of the shadows in my mind, you would see that there are things that I fear even more than spiders and snakes. One of which is that I have a fear of being left behind, of not being in the right place at the right moment when I am most needed. When I say “left behind” here I am not referring to the apocalyptical use of the phrase, but rather a more general sense of being distracted, and missing something important, something vital to my life’s existence. Perhaps, some of you know this feeling as well.

I think that Thomas understood this fear, because it happened to him in a big way. We do not know exactly why Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples at the time of Christ’s appearance to the other disciples. Perhaps he was still in hiding, or the others had sent him out for supplies or food, maybe he had gone to visit his family in the in between time of Christ’s dying and the knowledge of his many resurrection appearances. We do not know why Thomas wasn’t there when Christ appeared; we just know that he wasn’t there.

The other disciples knew fear as well, did you notice in the reading of the words from the book of John that Jesus had to tell the disciples two times “peace be with you” before they calm themselves enough to truly see and believe what was happening before their very eyes. Jesus understood our fears and our joys, knew what it was to be afraid, to be lonely, distracted, loved … and all the other kaleidoscope of feelings and emotions that we know and experience on a daily basis.

But tonight I would like to focus in on the relationship and the events that occurred between Jesus and Thomas. There is something sacred going on here, and I want us all to take a closer look. Our gospel stories tell us that “Thomas was the one who was willing to go to Jerusalem during the worst threats of Jesus’ life, and even die there with the Master (John 11:16). Furthermore, it was Thomas who was honest enough to tell Jesus that he didn’t understand the sometimes cryptic things Jesus would talk about (John 14:5). In other words, Thomas was a simple man in the best sense of the term. He was honest and good and loyal and true. You could count on Thomas. Thomas was well-grounded. Thomas lived by convictions, and was even willing to die by them.”

So what was going on with Thomas when he returns from wherever he was and the women and men who were the disciples told him Jesus had risen indeed and had been there himself. Our tradition says Thomas puts his frustration this way, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Sometimes we have to know something in our body, a knowing that is beyond the intellectual experience of the mind, or even the empathetic knowledge of the heart. Have you ever been speaking with someone who had been through a bad physical experience or seen an accident and had a gut bodily experience, like a sympathy pain of sorts? Sometimes we have to feel things in a holistic way to truly understand and accept what has happened to a friend or a loved one. Personally, I remember when my grandfather died – I had to literally touch his folded hands at the visitation to know that he had passed. I had known it in my mind, but I needed to touch him to fully understand.

“When Thomas refused to believe in the resurrection of Jesus because he was not with the others on the evening of that first Easter, it was not because he was ornery or cantankerous. It was simply because he had seen too many people go off on wild goose chases when there was no goose to be had. The traumatic events of Passion Week ought to have made everyone a bit sober, and forced them to realize that wishful thinking is not enough to change reality.”

A week later, when Thomas was in the company of the disciples’, Jesus appeared again to the disciples. Immediately he went to his friend Thomas, and asked him to touch him, doubt no more – and believe. The scriptures do not tell us if Thomas ever actually touched Christ. Perhaps he did, but maybe he didn’t. The mystical experience of having an encounter with Jesus after his resurrection may have been enough. Seeing the savior, hearing ones doubts articulated, and just being given the chance to act on them, may have been enough. In this act, Thomas, became our patron saint of all who wrestle with doubt or disbelief.

God created human beings as a blessing for the world. This is a piece of our theology that is very ancient. At least as old as our notions of original sin, but probably less well known. It is known as the doctrine of original blessing. “Creation, creator, Jesus, and we are all essentially good. This is true even in our human physical form. Our physicality is not something to be escaped, but something to be affirmed. We are not divine sparks trapped in fleshly corpses; we are truly human and truly good, made to be the way we are.”

God delights in our humanity, and through Jesus, the son, delights in us – even when we stumble and question our existence, and our nature. God is there with us, even when we can not see or feel God; God is there, beyond our senses. This is healing for us as the people of God, because we are then given to freedom and the potential to live out our lives to the borders of all that we know and even to step forward into the creation of a new relationship, a new work, a new decision in faith.

This passage from John ends with one of my all-time favorite verses, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” As much as there is written, there was more that was experienced and lived. Knowledge is important, but faith is what matters most, hold on to faith when you doubt and when you believe. Trust that God is working through the certainty and the unanswered questions of your life.

* Denise Levertov’s “St. Thomas Didymus”

Peace be with you, this evening, as you travel forth in the confusion, the promise, and the mystery of life.

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*Sermon on John 20:19-31* Angela Harris April 23. 2006 Second Sunday of Easter AU – John 20:19-31 John 20:19-31 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, 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 the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, 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. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt 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 come to believe.’ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. I am afraid of spiders, and snakes and other such creepy, crawly things. I imagine many of you probably share these fears. Am I right? If your fear isn’t in the creepy, crawly things of the world, it is in something else. I bet something or things has come to your mind even now as I am speaking about my own fears. All of us have these things, be they outside of our self, or inside of our self, that make us cringe and recoil into the dark places of our souls. But if you were able to look into the recesses of the shadows in my mind, you would see that there are things that I fear even more than spiders and snakes. One of which is that I have a fear of being left behind, of not being in the right place at the right moment when I am most needed. When I say “left behind” here I am not referring to the apocalyptical use of the phrase, but rather a more general sense of being distracted, and missing something important, something vital to my life’s existence. Perhaps, some of you know this feeling as well. I think that Thomas understood this fear, because it happened to him in a big way. We do not know exactly why Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples at the time of Christ’s appearance to the other disciples. Perhaps he was still in hiding, or the others had sent him out for supplies or food, maybe he had gone to visit his family in the in between time of Christ’s dying and the knowledge of his many resurrection appearances. We do not know why Thomas wasn’t there when Christ appeared; we just know that he wasn’t there. The other disciples knew fear as well, did you notice in the reading of the words from the book of John that Jesus had to tell the disciples two times “peace be with you” before they calm themselves enough to truly see and believe what was happening before their very eyes. Jesus understood our fears and our joys, knew what it was to be afraid, to be lonely, distracted, loved … and all the other kaleidoscope of feelings and emotions that we know and experience on a daily basis. But tonight I would like to focus in on the relationship and the events that occurred between Jesus and Thomas. There is something sacred going on here, and I want us all to take a closer look. Our gospel stories tell us that “Thomas was the one who was willing to go to Jerusalem during the worst threats of Jesus’ life, and even die there with the Master (John 11:16). Furthermore, it was Thomas who was honest enough to tell Jesus that he didn’t understand the sometimes cryptic things Jesus would talk about (John 14:5). In other words, Thomas was a simple man in the best sense of the term. He was honest and good and loyal and true. You could count on Thomas. Thomas was well-grounded. Thomas lived by convictions, and was even willing to die by them.” So what was going on with Thomas when he returns from wherever he was and the women and men who were the disciples told him Jesus had risen indeed and had been there himself. Our tradition says Thomas puts his frustration this way, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Sometimes we have to know something in our body, a knowing that is beyond the intellectual experience of the mind, or even the empathetic knowledge of the heart. Have you ever been speaking with someone who had been through a bad physical experience or seen an accident and had a gut bodily experience, like a sympathy pain of sorts? Sometimes we have to feel things in a holistic way to truly understand and accept what has happened to a friend or a loved one. Personally, I remember when my grandfather died – I had to literally touch his folded hands at the visitation to know that he had passed. I had known it in my mind, but I needed to touch him to fully understand. “When Thomas refused to believe in the resurrection of Jesus because he was not with the others on the evening of that first Easter, it was not because he was ornery or cantankerous. It was simply because he had seen too many people go off on wild goose chases when there was no goose to be had. The traumatic events of Passion Week ought to have made everyone a bit sober, and forced them to realize that wishful thinking is not enough to change reality.” A week later, when Thomas was in the company of the disciples’, Jesus appeared again to the disciples. Immediately he went to his friend Thomas, and asked him to touch him, doubt no more – and believe. The scriptures do not tell us if Thomas ever actually touched Christ. Perhaps he did, but maybe he didn’t. The mystical experience of having an encounter with Jesus after his resurrection may have been enough. Seeing the savior, hearing ones doubts articulated, and just being given the chance to act on them, may have been enough. In this act, Thomas, became our patron saint of all who wrestle with doubt or disbelief. God created human beings as a blessing for the world. This is a piece of our theology that is very ancient. At least as old as our notions of original sin, but probably less well known. It is known as the doctrine of original blessing. “Creation, creator, Jesus, and we are all essentially good. This is true even in our human physical form. Our physicality is not something to be escaped, but something to be affirmed. We are not divine sparks trapped in fleshly corpses; we are truly human and truly good, made to be the way we are.” God delights in our humanity, and through Jesus, the son, delights in us – even when we stumble and question our existence, and our nature. God is there with us, even when we can not see or feel God; God is there, beyond our senses. This is healing for us as the people of God, because we are then given to freedom and the potential to live out our lives to the borders of all that we know and even to step forward into the creation of a new relationship, a new work, a new decision in faith. This passage from John ends with one of my all-time favorite verses, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” As much as there is written, there was more that was experienced and lived. Knowledge is important, but faith is what matters most, hold on to faith when you doubt and when you believe. Trust that God is working through the certainty and the unanswered questions of your life. * Denise Levertov’s “St. Thomas Didymus” Peace be with you, this evening, as you travel forth in the confusion, the promise, and the mystery of life. Back to Sermons page Back to AU UMC Home Copyright © 2006. Angela Harris No part of this text may be reproduced or otherwise disseminated without the express written consent of the author.

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