John 20 19-31 (1)
Easter 2 B
John 20:19-31
April 26/27, 2003
“Easter Breathing”
Introduction: I remember standing on the coast of Maine, looking out from the rocky shoreline that divides the wide expanse of ocean from dry land. There, with the ocean mist spraying in the air, the rocks wet with ocean dew, I remember breathing in deeply, filling my lungs with air, taking in the fresh air of life. Now, one of the joys of life is going outside on a sunny spring morning, feeling the warming sun, and taking in a deep breath of fresh spring air, all the while praising God because it is so good to be alive and breathe the breath of life. It is a gift of God. This breathe of life, this gift of God, was given first to Adam in the garden of Eden. In our gospel lesson the God man Jesus Christ breathes His life giving breath upon the disciples. It is a breath that brings peace. It is a breath that brings forgiveness and life. It is a breath that brings joy. And it is a breath that sends into action.
God Breathed
In the beginning of creation, after man was formed from the dirt of the ground, God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life. The creator breathes into the created. What God breathed into Adam was more than just spring air warmed by the noonday sun. It was life itself flowing from the source of life. God breathed into Adam His Holy Spirit. Through it God made man into a living being, alive because He was connected to the source of life, God Himself. This breath was more than the animals were given. It was a special link between God and man. In it God shared His own life when He shared His own breath and breathed on him.
Man Lost His Breath
Of course we know the story. Man sinned. He rebelled against God’s will and so doing he separated himself from the source of his life. The result was that man lost His breath. His breath was taken away in the curse of death.
God Promised to Restore Man’s Breath
Despite what man had done, God promise to restore that which was lost and give back that which was taken away. His promise is well illustrated in the Book of Ezekiel. In chapter 37 we are told the surreal story of the valley of the dry bones. They are the bones of a decimated and lifeless people. The bones represent the parched hearts of God’ people in exile, cast out of the Holy Land because of their own rebellion and sin against God. These bones represent the breathless people of God. These bones represent us. The Lord said to Ezekiel, “say to these bones, ‘Dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord! I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin, and you will live.’ As I was speaking, Ezekiel goes on, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone, tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them. The Lord said, ‘Come, O breath, and breathe into these slain.’ And breath entered them, and they came to life and stood up on their feet. And the Lord said, ‘These bones are the whole people of Israel.’ Ezekiel foresaw the day when the dry bones of the people of God would breathe again.
Jesus Breathed
Into the Dry Bones of His Disciples – It was Easter evening, the night following the glorious day of the Lord’s resurrection. Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdala and then to the two men on the road to Emmaus, even eating with them. Now, in the darkness of the night the eleven disciples gather together in a room behind locked doors. They were parched with fear and left breathless at all that had taken place. Their Lord Jesus had been brutally treated and crucified. Now the Jews were out to get them. They were breathless, like the dry bones of the bodies is Ezekiel’s desert. They were breathless because of their own inactions and desertion of Jesus, leaving Him to be crucified…alone. They were breathless because of fear. They were breathless because of the conflicting stories of the living Christ and their own reason and eyes which had seen Him die. Separated from God they were breathless.
Peace – Into this breathless, stifling and stagnant room Jesus comes. In glory He penetrates the darkness and the locked doors. Jesus, the God man, stands in the presence of those whom He loves and has chosen. To these men Jesus Breathes these words, “Peace be with you.” As He speaks He shows them His hands and His side. It was indeed Him. Their Lord Jesus was alive. Because of His pierced hands and feet and the spear wound in His side, because of His terrible suffering and death, they were now truly at peace with God. It is a peace that flows from the crucified Lord. The word of peace that comes from the lips of Jesus is more than a mere blessing or wish of good will. His word of peace is able to give what the words say, “Peace be with you!” It is the peace with God which Jesus has purchase for all people, purchased not with gold or silver but with Holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. The breath of Jesus brings peace.
Forgiveness – As Jesus breaths these words of peace He breaths forgiveness. Where there is peace there is forgiveness. God, in Christ, reconnects himself to man, the creator rejoins with the created. The source of life gives man his breath back, breathing deeply the forgiveness that God has given. With this breath God gives life, eternal life, back to man. The disciples knew that they were at peace with God through their Savior Jesus. Such a peace calmed their hearts. As their hearts are calmed Jesus breathes joy into his disciples.
Breath of Power and Action – Jesus spoke again, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Here is the focus of it all, because the word Spirit in Greek is basically the word for breath itself, or wind or power. When our Lord breathes on these discouraged disciples and when He breathes into their dismal, locked tomb of a room, He is unleashing on them the Spirit of God Himself. It is the same life giving Spirit that was there at the beginning of creation, that made Adam a living being and a child of God. It was the same Spirit that would give life to Ezekiel’s dry bones. It was the same Spirit sent in the form of a dove at our Lord’s baptism as the Father sent His Son into the world to save the world. This same Spirit is breathed on the hopeless disciples making apostles of them, “As the Father sent me, so I send you” into the world to save the world.
Easter Breathing
Like God at the beginning of creation, Jesus Christ breathed His fresh breath of air into the disciples and they indeed went out into the world. They exercised what I would like to call Easter breathing. They went into the world and breathed the message of the gospel to the world, bringing peace and forgiveness to the world for the sake of the crucified and risen Lord. This breath of Easter has gone out into the entire world. It has come to us. Through the gospel new breath has been breathed into our lives freeing us from the locked rooms we find ourselves in and free from our fear. Easter breathing frees us from the pain and hurt we cause and suffer. Easter breathing frees us from the grief we mourn and the guilt and shame we carry as lonely burdens in the world. Easter breathing renews our hope and our joy. The Lord’s glory penetrates the darkness of our lives. He comes into your presence because He loves and has chosen you. The Lord comes to you and speaks to you here through His Word and Sacrament; as He does He breathes into you His peace, forgiveness and joy. Hear His word to you, “Peace be with you.” It is not a peace that the world can give, but my peace, earned for you with my pierced hands and feet, in my suffering and death and in my glorious resurrection.
Conclusion: As Christ was sent, as the disciples were sent, we are sent into the world. We breathe the Easter message to the rest of the world. It is the message of peace, peace from the cross, peace from the other side of the grave, peace with God Himself. Breathe deeply the Gospel of Jesus Christ and live. Breath deeply as God uses you to give life to the world. Amen!