1030am Sunday 4-19-20

Thank you praise team. If you are with us welcome once again to st. Stephen Lutheran Church, I'm Pastor Peter morning. Today. We're going to enter in to the second week of the Easter season because Easter isn't a day I would argue with an attitude, but I definitely in the life of the Church calendar. It is a season as well as we come together today. I'm going to invite you to grab your Bibles wherever you are. If you're on your phone and your Bibles on your phone, you can just of course listen to while but if you will turn with me to the Gospel of John chapter 20, we're going to begin at verse 19 the Gospel of John chapter 20 beginning at verse 19. This is a good news. According the Gospel of John the 20th chapter.

When it was evening on that day the first day of the week the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews. Jesus came into the Hmong them instead peace be with you. And after Jesus said this he showed that his hands and his side bed by disciples rejoiced when they had seen and 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 receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them. And if you retain the sins of any they are retained by Thomas who was called at the twin one of the 12 was not with him when Jesus came so the other disciples told Jesus we have seen the Lord. But Thomas said to them unless I see the mark of 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 this time was with them and all the dogs. Although the doors world. Shut. Jesus came into the Hmong them and said peace be with you. Then. Jesus 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 answer Jesus my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him how do you believe because you have seen blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which you're not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is Messiah the Son of God and that through believing you may have life in his name. This is the gospel of Our Lord. I invite you to be seated. Maybe already set.

I invite you to pray with me. Chains be broken lives be healed In This Moment Christ be revealed in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. Amen.

well I am incredibly blessed today because most of the time when I am after Easter is usually the time when pastors go comatose because after Easter most pastors and worship leaders and we're just spent we spent an entire week of worship and leading and preparing and we usually take a vacation and I've always needed a vacation by the hallways also lamented because I always love the fact that immediately after we declare the resurrection we get this story and in the revised common lectionary which as lutherans and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America wheat, we follow the revised common lectionary, which is simply an organized three-year term where every Church in the ELCA is invited to follow so that every single week all every prisoner in the ELCA receives the same stories and if Listen over three years to the revised common lectionary you will hear the entire Bible. So it makes it impossible for pastors to kind of focus on one element of the Bible and ignore others that are made the inconvenience. And so today. Revised common lectionary we get the story of Thomas and I love Thomas Thomas is one of my favorite characters, you know, Thomas here. This is story often referred to as the story of the doubting Thomas and I really don't like that terminology and that a label that has been given to Thomas, you know Thomas just before our texted before Jesus's crucifixion Resurrection earlier in the readings of Good Friday when Jesus is is marching to Jerusalem and is heading toward the crucifixion Thomas is the one who when Jesus says I'm going to do this thing and under Captured I'm going to be tried. I'm going to be convicted. I'm going to be Shane I'm going to be mopped. Imma be killed. It is promise of all the disciples who says to all the other disciples. Let us go with him so that we may die with him to Thomas's face is not small. It is not insignificant. It is big it is bold and it is fierce. And yet in this moment when Jesus is not raised. Thomas struggles to reach that conclusion and I have his heart trust and feel that hope again why? How old is Thomas how do any of us go from complete and utter trust and hope and courage to that? Because I may be clear, This is story is not unique to Thomas. It is your story is my story. It is Humanity's story. In the in the store we get today the the door to where the disciples are meeting except for Thomas Thomas isn't there that first time it is shut and locked in fear. It is shut and locked even after the disciples have received the testimony from the two women the two Mary's who encountered the Lord and who went to the disciples and relay the message not only from the angel, but from Jesus himself, their testimony apparently was cast aside. Because here they are. I didn't receive the good news in the room upstairs locked. And Jesus comes and stands among them in his first words to them. Our peace be with you the words that Jesus uses here are intentional date. They recall the farewell discourse that Jesus gave to his disciples toward the end of his life at the Last Supper. He says my peace I give to you my peace I leave with you. I do not give as the world gives. And that is followed by his crucifixion and death and now his first words which the disciples here in that moment of beauty and power. They hear their lord in his farewell discourse again providing them that piece Jesus always seems to be giving peace after peace after peace. Why did Jesus give this piece? And what is this piece to Martin Luther? He makes it very clear distinction about the Peace of Christ. He says that the Peace of Christ has not given so that it takes away. destruction and death It is given so that in the midst of Destruction and death we may have peace. I feel as though that is exactly what we need to hear right now as each and every one of us are in. Our own house is locked behind our doors for fear. Not of the the persecution of others, but of this virus it is wise for us to be behind those doors is wise for us to be in our homes, but we must always remember that even when we are behind the doors and not able to do our normal Ministry and provide peace and love to our neighbor. We still must hold our peace and not let the world steal it not let the virus taken it. Jesus stands before the disciples today and says peace be with you and he shows them his hands and his side and they Rejoice but Thomas. Is not there. Thomas is late. Never had a friend who just never seem to get there on time Thomas is that guy eat? He's always little bit late and he's late here too and the disciples when Thomas gets their declare. We have seen the Lord. batalas The very one who is willing to walk to Jerusalem on the cross with Jesus that Thomas now turns and says unless I put my hand in his side and my hands in the nail spots on his hand. I will not believe couple years back I I was looking at the scripture and was talking with colleagues of mine and I asked you what is it about Thomas's doubt. What is it? That's restricting Thomas from leaving from having faith the same faith that the disciples themselves have now and who struggled with it as well with the first testimony from the wind Thomas is only asking for the exact same thing that all the other disciples have had. Call Lee reached over to me and leaned in and said, you know, it's not that Thomas believes not because he hasn't seen Jesus. It's maybe because he doesn't believe because he has seen too much. That same Thomas was willing to lay down his life to follow Christ. Has now watched the outcome of that crucifixion. He's watched as his hopes and his dreams his Lord. His friend was killed and mocked and shamed by people who gave little care for him. He watched the ultimate power of the time Rome conquer over the one whom Thomas bleed with his whole heart he was willing to die for Thomas Thomas struggled to believe because he'd watch that happened to his friend. How many of us? When we are hurt. And lost and Afraid. How many of us see our courage shrink back as well? Thomas is you and I Thomas is not some nebulous unspoken guy who died two thousand years ago. Thomas is us because you and I have seen a lot too. We have seen so much. We seen people die from this virus. We've seen people continue to go into Hospice Care. We've seen people struggle with loss of their business. Their family is the livelihood we're seeing suicide and we're seeing depression and we're seeing abuse in homes Skyrocket. We're seeing all of these things happen and it's hurts and it causes us to wonder about our faith. But the opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty because without a little bit of ambiguity. There's nothing for us to reach Beyond ourselves too. And so as we today in this story about the Peace of Christ coming into our locked doors and our own struggles with our faith and our hope and our belief in this one who has conquered the grave and whom we have received testimony from Generations dozens of generations before us We we examine ourselves. We take heed of Thomas's experience. I think it's really really important that we be gentle with ourselves, especially with those who bring their doubts and I love that the scriptures that are often depicted by different Christian denominations as this kind of absolute Authority. As this thing that if you have any doubt or any concerns or any kind of hesitation that somehow you are a broken disciple. How did Jesus treat, How did the disciples his friends treat Thomas notice sent when Thomas first comes to the disciples and they declare to him that they have seen the Lord and Thomas struggles to believe notice when it says a week later there again still in the room. But Thomas is still with them. I love that this first Community of Christ this first church this first proclaimer and witness of the Resurrection does not take the the doubtful and the questioning and the concerning of the hesitant Thomas and say well, I guess you're not as pure Christian is us. So be gone. I love that she still with them. I wonder what they were talking about. I wonder what their conversations were like.

I pray they were having people watch this who have doubts West struggles with hesitations and concerns because guess what so do I in the midst of that questioning We begin a quest for something deeper than ourselves. We began a quest to find Christ within and around us.

I think it's wonderful that we as a congregation have a diverse population. Have a diverse congregation have a diverse viewership and worshipping Community now through this digital platform in Media. But I pray that in the midst of your locked doors in the midst of your doubts in the midst of your questions Christ in some way through this medium of Technology. From ourselves that Steven into your homes into your family's into your hearts we are able to stand here today and declare to you as Christ did to those first disciples peace be with you that peace is not going to remove illness. It's not going to prevent transmission of the disease. It's not going to to save you perhaps even from bankruptcy. But in the midst of those storms it is going to provide you with an anchor. Something to root yourself in that is more permanent and real than anything the world has to offer. Thing that allows you to stand with your hand at HUD help hides in humility because you know that there is one inside working with through before above and behind you. It is going to prevent you from perishing prevent your spirit from collapsing. Life can be difficult and Thomas perhaps more than any other disciple reveals the challenges of life in all of its rawness because he had seen so much. He struggled to have faith in that moment of opportunity. But Christ who is gracious and merciful comes to Thomas again. He comes to us today. The Community of Christ and not first century room with those first century Christians stayed together And we do as well. So wherever you are today, if you are struggling if you are doubtful, if you are questioning good you are in good company with one of the most faithful disciples who just a few verses before and said let us go and die with him. Today we do not need to follow Christ into death. or he has conquered it and he is overcome it and he invites us now to begin the quest of our questions to begin that the challenge of our curiosity and to enter into a more substantial substantial deep Define resilient Faith than we ever had before we ask those questions before we ever engaged those challenges and those doubts Wherever you are today church. I pray that Christ is in your heart with you with us now and says to you the same thing. He said to Tom and the disciples that first Easter. Peace be with you. Let's pray gracious. God will give you sex today and then it's no more locked doors are locked Hearts our struggles and our doubts. You stand before us not in judgment, but in peace to give us the peace which surpasses understanding help us to understand gracious. God the peace that you bring to us in this time of great trial and frightfulness. Help us God to rise above it. Not in some. Mystical barrier protection where we are somehow protected because of our face but in spite of the dangers and the death around us to have faith the anchor ourselves and the good news of your resurrection and your son help those who have seen too much got to have faith in spite of what they have seen and help those experiences deepen their faith and not cast it out. We ask this in the name of the one who has overcome the grave and calls us with our questions and all into faith and relationship with him and his church through Jesus Christ. We pray.