Love be in my speech, Truth in what I say, Love us all Christ Jesus and grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Good morning and welcome to the second Sunday in Easter. I must share with you all that I am flattered to be standing here and preaching to you all this morning. The view is definitely quite impressive, you should try it sometime.

It has been a short three months, and I still have much to learn and do. I would like to let everyone know how welcome you have made me feel. This is truly a special, warm, and inviting congregation.

In this morning’s Gospel from John, there is a lot going on. You have disciples huddled together, Jesus showing up, unexpectedly, Jesus sharing the peace with his disciples, Jesus empowering the disciples with the holy spirit, and last but not least, my friend doubting Thomas.

So how did we get to today’s Gospel. On Easter morning, Linda read the Gospel of Mark, when Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were startled. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So, they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

For they were seized by terror and amazement, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 

Where did the women go? Did they in fact keep these instructions to themselves? Did they return to where the other disciples were staying or hiding, holding this spectacular revelation to themselves? Were they with the disciples when Jesus appeared…we do not know. It seems reasonable that they would be there.

Huddled in a locked house, I suspect the disciples were battling the same level of fear, fear for their very lives. They saw what happened when Jesus was brought before Pilate on a charge of sedition. They had every reason to believe that they might be accused as well, because of their association with him. 

Imagine the atmosphere and the physicality of the house. They were locked in the house, and probably staying in the main room, what we would call the kitchen and dining room, but more likely one large room. I see the room as a wreck, dishes in the proverbial sink, robes strewn around the room. They were probably not getting adequate sleep, and the room is probably dimly lit with the shutters drawn, with suffocating air due to a fire in the fireplace and the sweat emanating from their clothes.

You see, there is an undertone in the air, within the room, one of worry and most definitely uncertainty and skepticism, what do we do next, our Rabbi is dead, what will happen if the Temple or Roman Soldiers catch us? What would Jesus have us do now?

I envision some were standing and some were sitting, when Jesus, in his spiritual body became present to them. In this morning’s reading, Jesus says to them, Peace be with you, which would be translated from Hebrew as Shalom Aleichem, which means ‘peace be upon you,’ and is a common way to greet someone in the Jewish culture, wishing peace and well-being upon the person or persons, and normally the response would be Aleichem Shalom. There is no mention of this, because the mouths of the disciples were fixed in a gaping mouth of startled astonishment.

Now, Shalom itself means peace, yet it represents not just the absence of conflict or turmoil but also wholeness and completeness. I believe Jesus was referring to this wholeness or completeness of all in the room. I am confident that each person in the room was broken in some fashion, dealing with spiritual disbelief and doubt, and that their entire sacred understanding of Jesus’ teachings was failing them. I can imagine it was a desperate situation.

Again, Jesus is standing in the room and proclaiming, wholeness/completeness be with you…for Jesus comes not to ask them why they deserted him, why they doubted him, or worse, why did they not believe in him at the end. Jesus comes to forgive, to heal and bring their brokenness back to wholeness, completeness, as Jesus too, is complete and whole.

With that, Jesus realizes, as he shows them his hands and side that with this healing comes the complete understanding for them, of all of his teachings, during his life and even through his crucifixion. Jesus recognizes that they now ‘get it.’ And with that Jesus says, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” and he breathed on them and said, “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.” 

Jesus bestowed upon them the essence of his ministry to the world through the power of the holy spirit. As H King Oehmig states, ‘he breathes on them, as in the beginning God had breathed into Adam the breath of life (2nd Chapter of Genisis) and just as Adam represented new life, the disciples represent a new community that will testify to a new era of eternal life in Jesus Christ’. As the son has revealed the Father to his disciples, now the disciples are to reveal the son to the world. That no longer does sin have its grip on us, that through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God’s forgiveness would be bestowed upon they who believe and ask. Also, one could argue that this is the beginning of the Church, with a capital C.

There is one problem, the disciple Thomas is missing. Where was he? Had he gone out to scavenge up some food for the group? Perhaps he was held up, hiding from the soldiers. Did Jesus expect for Thomas to be missing, was this another teaching moment that Jesus had planned. Who knows, the point is, he was not among those when Jesus appeared to them. When Thomas did return to the house, he was told that, “We have seen the Lord.”

Thomas obviously saw this as a bad and inexcusable joke. Have you ever received news or information regarding a touchy subject, only to find out it was an unnecessary joke, conceivably a bad April Fool’s spoof? 

So, what does Thomas do? He challenges his friends…in essence he tells his friends, if what you say is true, I want proof. Thomas is extremely specific about what is required of his friends for him to believe. He wants to see the mark of the nails in Jesus’ hands, and he wants to be able to place his finger in the mark of the nails. Additionally, he wants to put his hand in Christ’s side. Maybe Thomas is certain that the proof he requires is impossible for them to provide. 

Yet, a week later, they, the disciples, including Thomas, were present in the house with the doors shut. This time, the atmosphere is quite different in the house. Was the fear gone, were the dishes put away, were the robes hung and in order? Did Thomas actually notice a difference in his brothers and sisters demeanor? So, Jesus again appeared and stood by them and said, “peace be with you.” Imagine the beams of pure love coming from the faces of the disciples, but what was Thomas seeing, what face was Thomas wearing. Was his mouth agape like the disciples before him. Jesus immediately calls out to Thomas, asking him to put his finger in his hands and reach out and put your hand in my side and not to doubt, but believe.

It is interesting that Thomas never touched Jesus’ wounds, it was not necessary for him. Thomas was healed, forgiven, and brought to wholeness as the other disciples were. Then Thomas replied to Jesus, “my Lord and my God.” Imagine how Thomas’ face changed, his face reflected the same love that beamed from the face of Jesus. 

Here is where Jesus planned his teaching moment. He is not throwing Thomas under the bus, but Jesus is helping us to understand that they, the disciples, are responsible for sharing and witnessing to the world the resurrection of Jesus. So, Jesus then says to Thomas, “have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” And this too is the mission of the church, to know Christ by faith and to proclaim to the world that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, through whom we may have eternal life.

Are you familiar with the phase, seeing is believing and believing is seeing. To me, this is the difference between belief and faith. The disciples were able to believe because they saw Jesus, but we are asked to see, because we believe, because we have faith in the resurrection and eternal life. 

St Paul reminds us in Romans 10, “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” and from his 2nd Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5, “for we live by faith, not by sight”

And through this faith and with the power of the holy spirit, which was bestowed upon us during our baptisms, what are we asked to do? What is our call as individuals and as the Church, what is our ministry? If you are not sure, allow your baptismal vows to guide you, as you are asked:

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?

I will with God’s help

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

I will with God’s help

Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?

 I will with God’s help

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

I will with God’s help

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

I will with God’s help

This is our call to ministry; this is our instructions on how to minster to God’s people, with Christ’s help

Amen