Easter 2A

Second Sunday of Easter, Year A

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Let’s begin this morning by making a correction. The disciple who has become the focus of the Gospel lesson this morning, we call him “Doubting Thomas”. That’s incorrect. Thomas does not doubt. Doubt is a feeling of uncertainty. That’s not at all what we see from Thomas in this scene. This is disbelief. Strong disbelief, in fact. How he came to be known as “Doubting Thomas” … as my peer group studied this passage this past week, the senior pastor in the group was careful to call him “Unbelieving Thomas” instead - a much more accurate nickname.

Maybe “Doubting Thomas” would have been a more helpful way for Thomas to conduct himself. Because here’s the thing: all of us who call ourselves Christians face doubt at some point in our lives. Is that a newsflash to anyone? We don’t like to talk about it because someone has convinced us that doubt means a lack of faith. Have you ever been told you shouldn’t ask a question about our faith because that might mean doubt, and we shouldn’t ask questions like that? I’ve heard this was very common in the generation before me, especially in Roman Catholic households.

But here’s the thing: when we have doubt, that is actually a sign that faith is there, and it’s being challenged by something. Let me say that again: doubt is actually a sign that faith is there, and it’s being challenged by something. If you didn’t have any faith at all, you wouldn’t doubt; you would completely disbelieve. When I learned that about my own doubt, I became much more comfortable in asking questions and getting help with my questions.

Again, “doubt” is not the problem that plagues Thomas. Look at what he says to his fellow apostles and disciples: “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Unless I get the exact proof that *I* demand, I will never believe. Think about the sheer arrogance of that statement. He is not unsure or uncertain; he openly states his disbelief. He is challenging the evidence and the witness of the others who *had* seen the Risen Jesus.

Speaking of the others… are they any better? After all, they had heard the witness of Mary Magdalene and the other women. Luke 24 tells us that these women went to tell the eleven that they had seen the empty tomb, and the two angels who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead, “but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” (Luke 24:11) The other apostles didn’t believe the first witnesses they heard, either. Thomas, however, is noticeably more hard-hearted in his disbelief. That his friends had merely seen with their eyes was not enough. Thomas must see Jesus with his own eyes AND feel Jesus’ wounds with his own hands.

So how did it happen that eight days later, the exact same scene plays out again, just as it had the first time? More than a week after the first sighting of the Risen Christ, the disciples are gathered once more. John describes this scene in much the same way as the first one, and this is certainly intentional. John wants us to know a couple of things: they are still afraid of the Jews, so they are locking the door. But more importantly, “the resurrection of Jesus had the effect of reuniting the disciples after his crucifixion had scattered them. The bond of their living Lord [brought them back together again].” [Lenski, 1383.]

And just as they are gathered together again exactly as they were the previous week, Jesus now appears again exactly the same way as he did before, suddenly appearing in the midst of them. He even greets them the same way, with “Peace be with you.” The very next thing Jesus does is make it clear that he has come to this gathering specifically to address Thomas.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t scold Thomas. He doesn’t belittle him or correct him. Actually, what Jesus does here is to exactly address Thomas’s demand for proof. But Thomas doesn’t pounce on Jesus to demand this proof; he’s not nearly as bold now as he was before. Now it is Jesus making demands… he demands that Thomas come and get the proof he required the week before. Word-for-word, Jesus gives Thomas the test he laid out as the only thing that would make him believe that Jesus was risen…as though Jesus had actually heard Thomas make the demand. Jesus is here on this day specifically for Thomas’s sake. Just as the living Lord brought the disciples together again, the divine love of Jesus reached out to bring Thomas together with them, too. And so Thomas is now made a witness every bit as much as those who saw Jesus the previous week.

Even before Jesus showed Thomas his wounds, he said to him “Peace be with you”. We’ve said before that when we exchange the peace of the Lord with each other, it is more than just a greeting; it is a statement of reconciliation. When we say “Peace be with you” it means “if there’s anything between us that is damaging to our relationship, I forgive you, and I hope that you forgive me, too”. It is a statement of forgiveness. Almost all of the disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested, so his first words to them when he appeared were this very statement of forgiveness. And the first time, he said it twice. Now he repeats it again, for Thomas. If Thomas was one of those who ran away in fear, that is now forgiven. The very stubborn and dismissive disbelief that Thomas had displayed the previous week…that was now also forgiven. Forgiveness is how reconciliation starts, and Jesus once again is not only our teacher, but our example.

When Jesus appeared the first time to them, he did exactly the same as he does now for Thomas: he showed them his hands and his side. Of course he wanted them to know that he was alive and real, and truly himself. But he also showed them the high price that he had paid for their peace…the peace that he now has brought to them. These wounds that he has shown them are visible signs - proof even - that God is at peace with us. They prove that the costliness of our sin has been covered, the price paid. For Jesus to hold out his pierced hands and side and say “Peace be with you!” takes all their guilt away. (Lenski)

So… of the twelve people chosen by Jesus to be his closest followers, removing Judas because of the betrayal, the rest of them either had doubts that Jesus had risen from the dead, or in Thomas’s case, flatly refused to believe in his resurrection. I take comfort in this. These people had been taught by Jesus himself. They spent much of every day for the three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry sitting at his feet, listening to him teach and preach. They learned from the very Son of God Himself… and they still had doubts. My doubts suddenly don’t seem so out-of-place. But more importantly, doubt doesn’t seem so insurmountable. Doubt can be conquered. Maybe not all at once or immediately, but doubt itself is not final.

Jesus, having risen from the dead, tracks down his disciples and PROVES to them that he is alive, and that he has forgiven them of any shortcoming, any wrongdoing, or anything that might be an obstacle to their faith. Their relationship with God is now made right. Not because of what they had done, but because of what Jesus himself has done. Because of his pierced hands and side. Because of his death on that cross. He has bought peace for them and for us, and has proclaimed it to them…and to us.

And then he tells them that this peace that they now have must be shared. The Gospel of Peace as Paul calls it in Ephesians 6 is to be preached to the whole world. And those who are called to bring peace must have peace. (Lenski) After all, you can’t give what you don’t have.

Brothers and sisters: we *have* been given this peace. And the command that Jesus gave to his disciples that day was not just for a select few; it is the mission of the whole church. On that day, Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to those present. Later, more would receive that gift…just as we have received it in our Baptism. Each of us have different gifts, and those gifts can work together to do the work of the Church. When the Church is whole, each member takes his or her place, doing their part, using their gift for the ministry of the church. Everyone has a part to play in sharing the Gospel with the world - responding to Christ’s command “even as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Notice: “sent” - the action (for Jesus) is complete, but “am sending” - the action (for us) is ongoing…it’s still happening. That means: we’re not done yet.

I think it’s safe to say that as we go out into the world, we’re going to encounter both doubt and disbelief. As Christians, we don’t want to talk about our doubt, let alone dwell on it. We want to be solid in our faith; we don’t want to doubt. But that’s how the Wicked Foe works on us, sowing the seeds of doubt. That’s what he did with Eve: “did God really say…?” It becomes a downward spiral - doubt, and feeling guilty for doubting, which increases the doubt. Recognize doubt for what it is: Satan’s work.

Disbelief might be more difficult to approach. If you’ve not engaged in discussion with a militant atheist, count your blessings. They have no interest in hearing the Gospel (or so they’ll tell you). They would rather belittle you and hurl insults at God, the Bible, the church, our worship, our inability to live the Christian life perfectly… they’ve gotten very good at their insults over the centuries. You won’t convince them by being “right”, however you measure that. You can only reach out to them by being loving. With such an approach, we can only pray that their hard hearts will be softened so that the Holy Spirit can enter in and bring the gift of faith to them as well.

We don’t know why Thomas didn’t believe, nor why he didn’t want to believe - the Scriptures don’t tell us. But he certainly had a big list of reasons to choose from. The sense of defeat he must have felt when his teacher was arrested and executed by the Romans must have been absolutely crushing. “Well, that’s over.” I have to imagine all of the disciples must have thought that. The idea of Jesus coming back after that gruesome death would have been simply impossible to grasp. I also have to think that they had placed so much hope in this carpenter from Nazareth - that he really might be the Messiah that the prophets foretold. They hoped! And then seeing him beaten, bloodied, and nailed to the cross… that hope would have been wiped out. It would be hard to hope in something like that again. Thomas may have reacted as he did just out of sheer self-protection. He just might have wanted to make sure he didn’t ever have his hopes crushed like that again.

We are blessed to have Jesus in our midst even today - in His Word, and in His Body and Blood which we will receive shortly when we come to His Table. He reveals himself to all of us, despite our doubts and our sins.

The Living Lord has brought us - His disciples - together this morning, and He has sent us, too. “He who sends enables those whom he sends; and the enabling is the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Lenski, 1371) We have been given the Holy Spirit. We have been given the Word of God. We have been given the forgiveness of our sins by God’s grace in the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus holds out his pierced hands we have been given the gift of life in His Name. Let us now share this gift with the world outside our doors, starting by boldly proclaiming:

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!