On the Way to Wonder

Easter season looks at how we know Jesus truly rose from the grave, conquered death, paid our sins and did all that Christianity claims.  What does it all mean?  This week we are looking at Easter evening when the disciples are behind locked doors, probably scared because the rumor is spreading that they stole the body and faked the resurrection.  It is a plausible explanation though a bit far fetched.  But then resurrection is also an idea hard to grasp.  It doesn’t happen every day.

  As the followers are gathered together sharing what each has heard and experienced, Jesus appeared before them.  Star Trek fans might think Scotty said, “Zoomed him down.”  The followers and Halloween enthusiasts might think, “Yikes, a ghost.  Good costume dude!”  We have heard the story so perhaps we are a bit faded by all the hype.  It does raise the question of how do we tell the difference between a spiritual vision and a psychological hallucination?

37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. Luke 24: 37-40

“Touch me and see.”  It appears the mind is confused by what the body is experiencing and Jesus immediately links mind and body senses together inviting sight to unite with touch.  Ghosts have no bones so the test at the time on whether something is natural or supernatural was touch.  Of course today we usually cannot “touch” Jesus with our hands and yet we have spiritual experiences that we need to test and make sure are real.  Several guidelines can be offered.  

Supernatural encounters will not lead us to contradict the written Word of God that can be touched.  Voices encouraging hate, harm or evil do not originate from God.  James 3:17 further encourages, “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  Human wisdom that comes from bitter envy or selfish ambition is often accompanied by disorder and “every evil practice.”  A rule of thumb I use is that if something is true, it will be consistent advice throughout scripture and from several friends.  Learning to be led by the Spirit requires spiritual growth.  Speaking to an older, wiser person sometimes helps clarify our thinking.  Seldom is the urgent necessary but if the thought is persistent, reinforced by advisors and consistent with scripture, and we are at peace, then a spiritual adventure may be unfolding.  

Jesus does stand among us and does speak to our human senses today but often we just don’t realize it.  Other times we think we saw a ghost, a fluke experience that confuses.  I joke that I wish God would send me a fax but I know that he has given me his Word, my friends and a multitude of other avenues through which I experience his love and wishes today.  Often I want my answers right now, now, now and I must be patient as God works on the big picture.  I often pray, “Open my eyes Lord that I might see”.  Please enjoy this song for a moment.  ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Kxsr6Xcrc    

36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.”  Luke 24: 36

How is the world going to deal with the Israel – Iran conflict right now?  Will we be pulled into war or will it blow over … again. For those of us with children, grandchildren, friends, relatives of friends, this is not an academic question.  I have friends with theories on “end times” and they are preparing also.  Then there are probably many who are wrapped up in the issues of their own lives.  I suspect Easter morning was much like this.  Some were quite involved in the discussion of the missing body of Jesus.  The followers were meeting behind locked doors, scared, as they were being accused of being thieves.  Cleopas and friend who had just encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus had rushed back to tell the others in Jerusalem.  In the midst of the threats from without, the confusion within, and the exhaustion of the weekend, Jesus appears and stands among them.  That is a conversation stopper for sure!

Jesus first word was, “Peace.”  Jesus did not choose to deal with the confusion outside among the people.  He could have.  He could have appeared in public in the Temple as he had so many times  and told the whole religious hierarchy to chill.  He could have ended the confusion right there.  CNN would have loved to have been on the spot.  The pundits could be interviewed for weeks probably.  But Jesus did not deal with the anxiety, the questions, the doubts with a big public splash that took the pressure off the followers.  He appeared personally in a locked room with his little band of followers and dealt with them personally.

The peace that Jesus was talking about was different.  It seems he does not deal with “issues” by removing the issue but by assuring us of his presence and that he, not the removal of stress, is the solution.  We find real peace in our relationship with a risen Lord.

So perhaps on a piece of paper this morning we might jot down in two columns – outside issues I pray for peace and in the other column the internal anxieties I need to bring to God today.

Actually he is interested in both and working in both spheres of our lives.  We can relax and leave our concerns in his nail pierced hands.  Take a deep breath and pray!

Mark is building his case that Jesus resurrected.  After the crucifixion, the tomb was found empty on Easter morning but there was no body.  Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?  We first looked at the report by Mary Magdalene on Easter morning reporting that she had encountered the risen Jesus.  Matthew tells us that while the women are finding the tomb empty, the guards are reporting the event and are paid to spread the story that the body was stolen by the followers.  The followers do not believe the women and send Peter and John who confirm the tomb is empty.  Next Mark reports that on Easter afternoon that Cleopas and friend encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  We looked at that story last week. But they were not believed also.  Then the Mark postscript tells of a third testimony. 

 Mark 16:14, “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” 

 For more details about this evening gathering, we turn to Luke 24. It is Easter evening and the followers are gathered behind locked doors.  Rumors are flying around town.  The followers are being accused of stealing the body and spreading lies.  The followers are grieving, are scared and don’t understand resurrection.  Their whole concept of God, of the Messiah, of faith is being shaken to the core of their being.  We are watching a major transformation in how people understand the religion that explains reality.

Rumors, news and truth – how do we tell the difference? When stories conflict and accusations fly, fear and suspicion grip our hearts.  Everyone is trying to understand, “Who Took the Cookie in the Cookie Jar”?  We snapped our fingers and said “Not me” with one hand and named another with the snap of the other hand. We don’t  want to call anyone a liar and so we concede that there must be an element of truth in the report.  Witnesses in a trial are cross-examined to not only know if they are credible but also if they are qualified to speak as an authority.  We are just as skeptical today as people were at the time of the disciples.  Easter season gives us space to digest just how we understand and assimilate truth about the resurrection.

What helps you believe that someone is telling you the truth?  One of the qualities I look for is trustworthiness.  Is the person known to be someone who tells the truth?  I might also ask if the person has a vested interest and if there is a hidden motive in telling the story.  Perhaps I might look for consistency.  Are the basic elements of the story the same as the story reported by others. I listen as the report unravels and as the person remembers more and more about what happened?  Figuring out truth is not easy and in our culture today where so many people are “experts” of different kinds, it is possible to be confused and fearful.  Perhaps a lesson here is to ask myself if I am a reliable witness and friend as I tell my stories.  Am I believable?

Into this midst of confusion and fear, Mark will report that Jesus steps into the followers three dimensionally.  He is seen, heard, and touched.  God wants us to be sure of his resurrection and presence in our lives.  He reaches out to us.  Thank you, Lord.

Let us break bread together on our knees | Lyrics

This week we looked at the encounter between the risen Jesus and two travelers on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and friend.  Names would indicate the people were not Israelites, possibly Roman, heading away from the stir of events in Jerusalem with the crucifixion and missing body of Jesus.  A resurrection?  But where is he?  Jesus joins them unrecognized, joins their conversation, and then opens Scripture to them.  They are so impressed they invite him to spend the night and commune with them.  As Jesus blesses the bread, they recognize him.

One of the most popular communion songs that comes from African American spirituals is Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees.  Often communion is associated with kneeling at the altar rail on our knees.  There are several versions arising from the Gullah/Geechee cultural Heritage area along the East coast between Jacksonville, FL and Willmington, NC.  “Oh Lord have mercy on me,” is the Kyrie Eleison, the plea for mercy that comes with our prayers.  I am also including a link to Joan Baez sharing how she sang it during Civil Rights.  It seems appropriate for our day too!

28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.  Luke 24: 18-31

     The Internet defines communion as “the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.”  The two travelers we have been following this week, Cleopas and friend, have left Jerusalem “after all this,” after all the rumors circulating on Easter morning about the empty tomb, after the crucifixion and after the resurrection.  They are walking to Emmaus about seven miles away and are deep in discussion when a stranger joins them and joins their conversation.  He asks, “What’s up?” What are they are talking about?  They share about the events of the weekend and he “opens Scripture” pointing out that it was all a fulfillment of prophecy.  I would have loved to listen in on that conversation.  I’m guessing this was not a chit chat about weather or politics but the conversation delved into their personal thoughts and dreams that perhaps Jesus was the promised Messiah and the woes of being an occupied country.  The two people were deeply moved for they invited Jesus to stay with them.  They offered Jesus food and he “broke bread” and blessed it and their eyes were open.  And they “recognized” Jesus.

Holy moments involve a sharing of our lives in fellowship but then there is that “communion” when the talk becomes something more than an exchange of words but becomes an exchange of hearts when we explore the reality of what is going on inside ourselves.  Christians celebrate communion, a sacrament or a ritual, that involves depending on your tradition, a confession of sins, forgiveness, breaking of bread that reminds us that God is building our lives, and a drinking of wine or juice that reminds us that God is as close to us as our blood flowing through our veins and giving us life.

     The ritual may seem routine to many even as our fellowship is often superficial and time filling.  But then there are the times when we open our heart and we not only fellowship with God but we also commune.  We hear the words that we are forgiven, that we are God’s child and that we can face the coming week because he goes with us.  At the end of the service, the pastor raises his hands and says, “Go in peace.”

Like Cleopas and friend our eyes are opened and we recognize that the risen Christ has been with us.

We encounter the risen Lord in personal moments like with Mary Magdalene.  We encounter the risen Lord in the explanation of Scriptures that put our lives into perspective.  We encounter the risen Lord in the sacraments that walk us through the events of our lives and remind us we are a child of God.  May you be blessed as meet him on your journey this week.

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”  Luke 24:17 -37

The Swahili greeting in Kenya is “Habari?” That translates to “News?”  The required response is, “Mzuri,” Good.  You always respond “good” because God is working so all news is good.  The next line is “lakini…”, but….  Life is good because God is good but my cow died or my child is sick.  Jesus comes alongside two people, Cleopas and friend, walking away from Jerusalem on Easter afternoon and they don’t recognize him.  He establishes conversation with an opener similar to our “What’s up?”  He allows them to establish the topic of conversation.  Again, God comes to them on their turf, stepping into their questions.

What’s up could have a double meaning.  It can mean to draw out the other about events of their life but it can also be pointing the talkers to a broader perspective on reality.  What’s up is that prophecy is being fulfilled even if it is not the way the two people thought.  Cleopas and friend pour out the lament of what they know about the events in Jerusalem.  It sounds like they themselves heard the reports of the women who went to the tomb and of the disciples who went also and confirmed the body of Jesus was missing.  “What’s up?” Is their question.

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.  Mark 24:25-27

Jesus now gives them an eternal perspective.  He does not just show them his hands and side.  He takes them to the same Scripture we turn to when we have questions about the events of our lives. All that happened was prophesized from the time of Moses, their hero. Jesus is asking them questions, not to trick them into showing their ignorance but to drawn them out so he could inform them, give the historical perspective and context.

I must confess that like Cleopas and friend, I get involved in the events of my everyday life.  I need to step back and allow the Spirit to speak to me, give me perspective and context.  We live in a fallen world where good guys get hurt, people die, and the happy ending will not be seen in our life time.  But we also live in a world with sunrises and sunsets, with friends that love us with our warts and wrinkles, and we live with the written Word we can always turn to in times when we are confused.  I love to read Psalm 121, “I look to the hills from where does my help come, it comes from the Lord,” when I am down.  Psalm 51 helps me confess when I feel I have blown it.  Many love Psalm 139 that talks about God knowing and understanding us.  Blessing as you encounter a God today who wants to know, “What’s up?”

 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;16 but they were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:15-16

Cleopas and friend are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the events that had just taken place over the weekend in Jerusalem.  It was bigger than March Madness and bigger than a solar eclipse.  We have become numb to the news about which politician has done what. Back then, though, there had been a public execution of a popular hero, Jesus.  He had died and was placed in a tomb but three days later the tomb was found open and there was no body. So these two people were deep in discussion.  The guards claimed the followers of Jesus had somehow overpowered trained soldiers and stolen the body.  The guards had not been executed as was the custom when guards failed their duty.  Some people claimed they had seen Jesus resurrected.  Our two people were walking along and were discussing   when a fellow traveler joined them.  They did not recognize the traveler. 

        Mark says that Jesus appeared in a “different form.”  He must not have had the nail prints in his hands nor the sword hole in his side.  I’m guessing his face was not scared by the crown of thorns.  Those tell tale symbols that we put in our paintings and sculptures of the risen Christ must not have been there.  Jesus is no longer bound by our rules of reality.  And yet he can step into reality and can speak with the travelers and join their discussion.  This is not the emotional encounter of Mary Magdalene but Jesus meets them on a walk, in the middle of a discussion.

I would suspect that we too often do not recognize Jesus as he comes along side us because we expect him to look a certain way or we expect ourselves to feel a certain way.  I hear it explained by someone who happens to be reading the Scripture and a “verse jumps out.”  Sometimes he speaks through the voice of a friend.  I was clearing off my husband’s desk and found a poem he had written before he died, summarizing his life and his experience of God’s presence in his life.  I cried and felt the “It’s OK” of God speaking to me.  In the “discussions” on the road of life as we travel from one place to another, we discover that Jesus is risen and speaking to us.  Blessings as you become aware of him traveling with you.

13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 

 Luke 24:13-14

We are looking at eye witnesses to the risen Christ.  Some of us are like Mary Magdalene of last week who went to the tomb and then lingered afterwards in her grief.  Jesus met her and called her name.  It was a deep personal experience.  That afternoon we meet two others, Cleopa and friend, who are headed away from Jerusalem but they are discussing the events that have just taken place.   They seem to be headed in the wrong direction, away from the action.  Maybe there was no room at the “inn.”  Maybe they had to head home for work.  It could be that Cleopa was a woman as her name sounds Roman and ends with an “a,” the female ending like with a similar name Cleopatra.  Mary Magdalene is a known follower of Jesus but we know nothing about Cleopa.  Cleopa and friend are somehow similar to the three wisemen who pop into the story line for only a short space but they represent God’s love that goes beyond the Jewish community to all people.

The verses challenge me to ponder where I am in my spiritual journey today.  Am I deeply seeking Jesus and pondering the meaning for my life or am I intellectually challenged and curious but not that emotionally involved?  In either case, God steps into reality.  God does not wait for us to climb up to him and to understand  the circumstances of our lifetimes, instead he seeks us out and meets us in the middle of our discussions.  

I also note that God met Mary Magdalene as an individual and he met Cleopa and friend in community.  We often put parameters and expectations around what a spiritual experience might look like but in fact our God is a God who works with believers and seekers, with individuals and groups and with people deep in prayer and people deep in discussion.  

So where are you today?  Are you heavy in heart with a question for the Lord or deep in discussion with deeper understanding being sought.  God comes to us where we are if we are looking and listening.  Thank you, Lord.

¹² After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. ¹³ And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.  Mark 15: 12-13

After this…

After what?  A post script was added to the Gospel of Mark but the Gospel of Luke 24:12-14 recorded the same encounter with the risen Christ.  Easter Sunday afternoon at sometime the risen Christ appeared on the road to Emmaus to two people.  Last week we looked at Mary Mgdelene’s encounter on Easter morning.  The followers did not believe she had seen the risen Christ nor had talked with him.  Perhaps you have your doubts also.  You have never actually seen nor touched Jesus.   This second encounter has a different flavor.  Two people are walking along to Emmaus, a small town about seven miles from Jerusalem and talking over the events of the day and digesting all the stories swirling about town.  There was no TV, CNN or radios then.

I don’t remember what I did Easter afternoon but it probably involved eating with friends and then a snooze thinking about perhaps the sermon but perhaps wondering when the kids would call. I might have been preparing for Monday.  I suspect that first Easter was more like the afternoon of 9-11 without TVs and radios to report. Everyone is comparing notes about what they’ve heard.

As I think of Sunday afternoon as preparation for teaching on Monday, I think of the song by the Mamas and the Papas:

, Monday, can’t trust that day

Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way

Oh Monday mornin’ you gave me no warnin’ of what was to be

Oh Monday, Monday, how could you leave and not take me

The week prior people hailed Jesus as the expected Messiah and then they yelled for crucifixion and now are confused if the body was stolen or what???  It is easy centuries later to jump to “Hallejuah” and skip the grief and despair when life does not turn out the way we want but I suspect we often have Monday downs.  For all our wants, often life does not turn out the way we want or the way we expected.  Those irritating interruptions upset our day and we feel we have been left behind.  The two travelers were not believed by their friends any more than Mary was.  It was a no-good-very-bad day.  After this,” signals a coming to terms with reality.

It is at this point of disorientation, this point of confusion, this point of discouragement that Jesus steps into that we shall be looking at this week.  We have a God  that meets us when our faith is scraping the bottom of the barrel and when life seems all topsy turvy.  When we feel God has left us behind and not taken us on his journey of health, wealth and prosperity, it is at those times that we see the risen Jesus in a whole new way.  

This week we will see God in sunrises and storm clouds, even a solar eclipse today.  We will recognizes him when we see things work out for the good.  But let us be encouraged that even “after this” God is still working to bring about good.  Thank you Lord that you are working even when I can’t see you and when I am confused and down.  To you be the glory.

First Reading: Acts 4:32-35

³²Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. ³³With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. ³⁵They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Psalm: Psalm 133

How good and pleasant it is to live together in unity. (Ps. 133:1)

 ¹How good and how pleasant it is,

  when kindred live together in unity!

 ²It is like fine oil upon the head, flowing down upon the beard,

  upon the beard of Aaron, flowing down upon the collar of his robe. 

 ³It is like the dew of Hermon flowing down upon the hills of Zion.

  For there the Lord has commanded the blessing: life forevermore. 

Second Reading: 1 John 1:1–2:2

¹We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—²this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—³we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

 ⁵This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; ⁷but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

 ^2:1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

¹⁹When 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.” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

 ²⁴But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So 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.”

 ²⁶A 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.” ²⁷Then 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.” ²⁸Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

 ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But 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.

CHILDREN’S SERMON: Sleeping Beauty

 One of the childhood stories made popular by Disney is “Sleeping Beauty.”  The beautiful Princess Aurora is born into royalty and the entire kingdom gathers to celebrate, including three good fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. Suddenly an uninvited guest, an evil fairy, appears and curses the baby.  She announces that before Aurora turns 16, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel’s spindle and die before sunset on her 16th birthday. The good fairy, Merryweather, softens the curse so Aurora will not die, but only fall into a deep sleep instead until she receives love’s true kiss. All the people in the castle would go into a deep sleep also so she would wake with friends. The parents try to rid their kingdom of spinning wheels but Aurora does indeed find one and pricks her finger.  100 years later the handsome prince arrives to cut through the brambles that have overgrown the castle and kisses Aurora. True love awakens the princess to happy ever after.

Let’s pray.  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

Last Sunday was Easter.  We are now in the Easter season.  For the next 40 days we will focus on the proofs of the reality of the resurrection.  Last Sunday the women went to the tomb to anoint the body only to discover it was not there.  Angels told them “He is risen!”  Those three words have echoed through history with different explanations given.  Was the body stolen?  Was it exchanged on the way to the tomb and Jesus never really died because God can’t die?  All the other resurrections recorded in the Bible have the resurrected person at the scene of the resurrection.  Elijah raised the son of the Shunamite woman and presented him to his mother.  Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus and presented her to her parents.  Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain in front of the whole community.  And Jesus raised Lazarus after Lazarus was in the tomb four days and had the people unwrap the cloths binding him.  The women last week came to the tomb and found no body.  Houston, we have a problem.

  Many people saw Jesus in the days between the resurrection and his ascension but as they told their experiences they were met with doubt like that of Thomas in our text today.  “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.”  Locked doors are like locked hearts that respond to the message of Easter with fear and doubt until faith grows.  Mark ended his gospel last week with an angel telling the women who went to anoint his body that Jesus was risen and they were to go and tell the disciples.  They left terrified and did not tell or were not believed. Our text today continues and it is Easter evening and the followers are gathered behind locked doors, scared.

During the Easter season we look at the proofs that confirm to us that Jesus is alive and active in our world today.  Each gospel offers the experiences of different eye witnesses to this resurrection.  As we travel through the Easter season we will grow each week into a deeper and deeper understanding of what resurrection means.  Our text today comes from the gospel of John and it is the evening of Easter Sunday.  In the passage Jesus appears and three times says, “Peace be with you.”  Princess Aurora and the people in the castle who are all asleep all seem to be at peace because they are not aware of the thorns growing around them and insulating them from their dire state and it is only as the Prince arrives and the kiss of love is given that they awake to reality and true love.

1. “Peace be with you.”

Peace from fear without

The followers were meeting behind locked doors that first Easter Sunday evening for fear of the Jews.  These people had seen all the gore of the crucifixion and had heard the words of the women but somehow it just didn’t add up.  Peter and John had also gone to the tomb and found it empty.  They had seen Lazarus walk out of his tomb recently but they still did not understand and did not believe witnesses reporting.  Princess Aurora and her parents have lived in fear of the curse for 16 years.  Just like the princess, we live under the curse of death and resurrection is hard to get our minds around.  It takes a leap of faith.  We try to eat the right foods, do the right exercises, and live as safely as we can and yet all too soon death comes knocking at our door.  Perhaps we are not afraid of the Jews — the alien, or of the Romans— the government, but we know life is fragile and our bubble of security can break at any moment. Trusting Jesus’ promises of eternal life is hard.  And then one day Jesus enters our fears and says, “Peace be with you.” 

Let me just confess.  I have control issues but the truth is that  I cannot control curses.  Life reinforces that truth.  Most of us have had to face that disappointing moment when all our faith did not make life turn out the way we wanted.  Prince Charming did not propose.  We lost a job.  A beloved person died.  Finances got stretched.  Evil and suffering are so real and God seems like Prince Charming — off in some other kingdom.

We also live in a world of multiple options.  Many think that all roads lead to Rome.  We may feel like we are standing in one of those game shows with multiple doors and behind one of them is the grand prize and we are challenged to choose.  Common precepts seem to be foundational to all world religions.  So many people surf churches the same way we surf the Internet for a church service that pleases us.  We can find information about the resurrection but we may not meet the resurrected Jesus and most likely will not form a relationship with the body of Christ nor with the risen Christ himself.  Jesus needs to step through the glass of the TV into our lives and say, “peace.”

The door formed a barrier between the terrified followers and the enemy.  Today, it is often hard to identify the “enemy.”  We are insulated in our materialism.  Many think of our country as having Christian roots and so as politics heat up this year we might be confused about issues.  All candidates claim to be good people who will deliver a better, fairer life just like Jesus.  We are not sure just who we are afraid of. Efforts to help the poor and needy have been institutionalized by society and so we now demand the government care for the needy rather than accept it as the role of faith.  The platform of actions that differentiated Christians from society in the first century and in times of crisis has disappeared.  

We look to the government rather than faith to protect us from the fears of danger from outside ourselves. 

We are cursed from without.  We are all sinners and will die.  We are exposed today to religions from all over the world that have similar precepts of being good people.  We are numbed by our present culture that offers to meet our needs and focuses on the solutions politicians offer.  Like Princess Aurora we know there is a spindle somewhere that is dangerous and upon which we might prick our finger but we are just not quite sure what it looks like or how it works.  Anxiety works on our gut and we need Jesus to come through the locked door and say “Peace be with you.”

Martin Luther describes the locked door that is meant to keep fear out and keep us safe within by the words of explanation for the second article of the Apostle’s Creed.  “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”  By grace we are saved through faith, it is a gift of God and not of works.  The Prince cuts through the brambles to kiss and free Princess Aurora.  Jesus came to this world to cut through death and kiss us with love.  The prince finds us.

2. “Peace be with you.”

Peace from doubts within.

“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,” said Thomas and many of us who doubt.  Jesus came through locked doors of fear of that which frightened his followers from without.  He then appeared to the followers who did not believe Mary.  He showd them his side and his hands.  Other Gospels say he invited them to touch him and he asked for fish to eat.  The resurrected Jesus appeared, three dimensionally.  It is only as the followers encountered Jesus that they were able to come to terms with their internal doubts.  “Peace be with you,” Jesus said and breathed on them the Holy Spirit.  

I find it interesting that Jesus goes through locked doors twice.  The first time he appeared to the group, the community of believers.  The next week he appeared to Thomas. Individually.  Princes Aurora is asleep but so is her community.  All are under the spell. Our faith is important to the body of Christ, the church, but it is also individual, changing our lives.

Thomas has become famous because he was absent from this appearance of Jesus. He doubted the reports.  Thomas did not want second-hand faith but demanded the real thing.   Many like Thomas want to encounter Jesus for themselves.  Jesus invited him to touch and feel.  Jesus appears in many ways to dispel our doubts.  For some it is music and others it is nature and for many it is in the written Word.  We share our stories to encourage others in the spiritual journeys and to help each other through hard times of doubt and pain. Thomas needed the personal experience of touching and feeling Jesus.  Even we need to know that God cares for us as we are.  The princess had to be kissed but the community was impacted.

3.  “Peace be with you.”

Peace to be fully you.

But I note something else.  Jesus breathes peace on the followers and then says two things.  Jesus sent the followers out to represent him in the world even as he himself was sent by the Father.  Next he breathed the Holy Spirit on them and he commanded them to forgive each other. Those are two challenges we cannot face when we are full of fear and doubt.  Like Princess Aurora we are asleep, immobil and unable to do anything until we are kissed by true love. Once kissed by the love of the Prince, by the resurrected Christ, the followers became changed people that changed their world.  They were not to stay behind locked doors and they had to forgive the people they feared.

They became brave representatives of Jesus facing the people on the other side of the door of fear.  Before they were at peace, they were paralyzed by fear of judgment, criticism and rejection.  When we are blinded by hatred and prejudice, we will be tempted to see people as enemies. The Peter of Pentecost is not the Peter of the trial a few days earlier.  Nicodemus who went to Jesus by night changed and went to Pilate to ask for the body for burial.  Saul who killed followers became Paul the evangelist.  There’s a difference in their lives.  1 John 4:18 challenges us, ”¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”  Loving people who are different from ourselves and who have different values and different ways of doing things, is just plain hard. But Jesus sends the followers and us even as he was sent by the Father.  We are sent like sheep among wolves.  We are sent like Jesus who was often misunderstood and often rejected but he changed the world as he loved the unloveable, touched the untouchable, and raised the dead.  Princess Aurora awakes after the kiss to live a life we can only imagine. 

The flip side of the coin is that each one of you is important.  Maybe you are not the preacher or the teacher but you are the voice, the hands, and the heart of Jesus in this world.  People will know that Jesus is risen because they will see him living through each one of us.

Secondly Jesus tells his followers and us to forgive the sins of others.  That is just plain hard and needs the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts to truly forgive.  The followers are huddled behind locked door because they had seen the horribleness of their leader beaten beyond recognition and nailed to a cross.  In order to move forward in life they had to forgive those who so greatly abused them.  We call that forgiveness but we also call it “speaking truth to power.”  Sometimes that might mean turning the other cheek but sometimes it means being willing to care for sick neighbors during the plague, building hospitals and schools.  The truth of the risen Jesus is seen in the lives of the people who reach into the ugly places of life to love and care.

Thomas was invited, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas believed and proclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”  History has it that Thomas became a missionary to India and died a martyr’s death.  I met a care attendant for an Indian woman and the man claimed he came from the mountain where Thomas was martyred! He was a real person, from a real place, talking about a Biblical person I knew about.  He was not Internet information.

Faith starts like a tiny seed.  It begins with the kiss of love from the Prince who seeks us out.  It starts with the resurrection of Jesus and like Thomas realizing Jesus is his Lord and his God – alive and active in our world, we too join in testimony.  I like Thomas’ response to realizing Jesus is risen.  He says, “My Lord and my God!”  Those words imply that Jesus is not only the creator and provider but Jesus is also the master, guiding and directing in ways Thomas may not always like. Jesus is the counselor, the source of wisdom for the journey.  Take a moment and ponder the title you give Jesus in your heart.  Is he your Lord, your Savior, your Good Shepherd, or maybe your Friend?

The text concludes, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But 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.”

We are the people John is talking about and we are the receivers of these testimonies. Jesus is the one who cuts through the briars choking our lives and who is willing to kiss us back to life.  He loves us not because we are like a beautiful princes asleep but because we are his creation, his children.  He wants to live with us for eternity. May the seed of faith be growing in your heart this Easter season as we learn more and more what it means that Christ is risen and wants to be our Lord and our God.

Let the people of God say,

 “The Lord is risen.  The Lord is risen indeed.”