Sermon Tone Analysis

/Jesus Appears to His Disciples \\ \\ 19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors 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 side.

The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

\\ 21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you!

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

\\ \\ Jesus Appears to Thomas \\ 24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" \\ But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

\\ 26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them.

Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands.

Reach out your hand and put it into my side.

Stop doubting and believe."

\\ 28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" \\ 29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

\\ 30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

31But these are written that you may[1] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name./

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A Wounded Healer

John 20:19-31

 

A Graffiti that can be found in a New York Subway says,

/"God is alive - He just doesn't want to get involved."/

Sometimes, in the midst of difficult experiences

we wonder if God is at all interested in our pain

and our despair.

Sometimes it seems that God

really does not want to get involved

when we suffer.

Last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus

and his victory over death and sin.

Today we want to contemplate

a story of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples.

From this story we learn that the risen Christ

still bears nailprints in his hands and feet.

His scars are a sign that the Christ

who is risen from the dead

is the same person who suffered

and was crucified.

This God, who bears the marks of suffering

in his own body

is the God who is infinitely interested

in our condition.

It is because he has scars,

that he can also understand and heal our pain.

A few years ago the mass-suicide

of the /Heavens Gate/ Cult members hit the news.

The topic of false prophets came up for discussion

in our home.

Our daughter Karis made

a profound theological observation when she said:

"If someone comes to me and says,

‘I am Jesus Christ!’

I would say to that person

‘Show me your nailprints.’”

We are reminded of Thomas,

          who considered the story of Christ's resurrection

                   as nothing other than hearsay,

          until he saw the marks of his suffering.

*The God who saves is also the God who suffers.*

In the Gospel story Jesus appears to the disciples and says,

          “Peace be with you,”

          ... and he shows them his hands and his side.

The risen Christ slips through the closed doors

          and appears before his disheartened disciples.

He speaks to them, as he had spoken so often before,

          "Peace."

But, only when He showed them his hands and his side

          they knew Him…, and they rejoiced.

Thomas showed up a little later.

He wasn't with the other disciples

                   for the Easter appearance.

The other disciples told him of the risen Christ,

          but he would not believe,

          "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, the risen Christ again surprises the disciples.

This time Thomas is there

                   and Jesus grants him his wish,

"Put your finger here,

          Do not doubt but believe."

It seems to me that we are often a bit hard

          on "doubting" Thomas,

          as if we had any reason

                   to question the strength of his faith.

However, when Jesus entered the room that evening

          he did not rebuke Thomas for his doubts.

Rather, he ministered to him,

          offering his wounds as proof to heal his doubts.

Jesus addresses the doubts of the frightened disciples,

          showing them his scars

                   so that they might believe

                   that the mysterious one in their midst

          is the one whom they had followed and loved.

The three days that Christ spent in the realm of the dead

          did not change His character.

When he entered the room where they were gathered,

          He showed them the same compassion

                   that they had come to expect

                             of the Jesus they knew from before.

The risen Christ has scars;

          nailprints in his hands and feet.