What Now? Sermon for March 30, 2008
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31
Can you imagine if you had been a disciple how you might have felt after the Easter morning revelation by Mary Magdalene that she had seen the risen Jesus? Thinking back on that last week, that week of intimacy, chaos, confusion, denial, horror and grief, what do you think you might have been thinking and feeling? Guilt and fear would probably be high on the list. We know that the disciples were gathered behind locked doors—except for Thomas. The women that went to the tomb probably also had a lot of fear and grief; however, they obviously had something else—great love. They certainly were not expecting a party, not a beginning of a story but an ending. They really had nothing to gain, in fact they could have had much to lose if the authorities saw them and associated them with this criminal. Yet still they made this early morning journey to the tomb, faithfully, lovingly showing up.
The gospel for today tells us that on the night of the empty tomb, the night of resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we have ten disciples huddled together in fear and confusion, behind a door tightly locked. Then suddenly without a knock, without a door opening, Jesus was standing in the midst of them, saying, “Peace be with you.” The same words we say most Sunday mornings right after the children’s story. Jesus said this peace greeting not once but twice; the second time was after he showed them his hands and his side. And then he did a Pentecostal thing—he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. He also authorized them to forgive sins. Can you imagine? These men were probably thinking that Jesus would be angry at them for their abandoning and denying him. But No, he treated them with great respect and love. The same thing happened a week later when Thomas who had been missing that first night finally saw Jesus. There was no reprimand for his having doubted that Jesus was alive. Jesus willingly let him touch the holes in his hands and side. The Easter scripture up to now has been focusing a lot on seeing, seeing and believing. Now Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” This is indeed a word to us and all the generations after the resurrection. We didn’t have to be there to know that Jesus the Christ lives. It’s amazing how Jesus can enter into us with the Good News even when we are scared, even when we have many doubts. Don’t ever let doubt stop you from believing and sharing the Good News. You may not have it all figured out; it’s enough to know that Jesus has given us peace, and the Holy Spirit is to be with us always. As one of the UCC Easter devotionals pointed out, for Christians, it is always the Easter season, “because ever since the Day of Resurrection we have been in the Easter era…Easter happens when anyone who suffers finds new hope. When anyone who is mistreated or neglected or belittled finds the freedom for a fresh start, (then) Easter occurs all over again.”[1] It’s up to us to put the teachings of Jesus into practice. In the next and last chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus reminds Peter of this three times in a row when he asks, do you love me? And then tells Peter, Feed my sheep and Follow me.
What is the Easter mission of our church? Now we have a long mission statement in the bulletin and then we have a short one, like a slogan, on the front of the bulletin: Love God, love your neighbor; seek justice, peace and diversity. For me that word love is the supreme activity that we are being called to do. Many of you know my concern about evangelizing, going out and sharing the good news. One of my favorite writers, Quaker Parker Palmer has written that “the mission of the church is not to enlarge its membership, not to bring outsiders to accept its terms, but simply to love the world in every possible way—to love the world as God did and does” (In the Company of Strangers).
What will bring the bright light of Easter to overcome the darkness of Good Friday? The Good News—and the scary responsibility--is that we are the ones that will bring the light to the darkness. We do that by faithfully and lovingly showing up like the women did at the grave on that Sunday morning. And then we go forth. We go forth with questions, with doubts, with love and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to bring about the passion of Jesus, to bring about the justice and peace of the kingdom of God. Just as Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into his disciples, he has also given us that Holy Spirit and called us forth.
You know, Thomas gets a bum rap in our society; when people say doubting Thomas it really isn’t taken as a compliment. But you know he was the only one of the disciples that evening that was out and about. Sure he had questions and doubts. We might say he had to have some breathing space to try to understand what was happening and what it meant. I believe healthy faith has space for doubts, questions, unbelief. In fact for me one of the most meaningful verses in the Bible, as well as the scripture for my first sermon at age 17 is “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” from Mark 9:24b.
Sometimes we have to go on in spite of our doubts. “There is a story about a pre-civil rights African American community in Florida. The story says that during times of political elections, this community would rent a voting machine and go through the voting process. Now, they knew that their votes would not be counted, but they voted anyway. When asked by members of the white community why they did this every year, they replied, "Oh, just practicing. Just practicing." Believing in what is not yet seen means we practice or behave as if it already exists. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." This is what leaders and visionaries do. They believe in something bigger than themselves and they begin to act as if it is so.”[2] I believe that our faith varies as did the disciples: sometimes we are filled with it; other times it’s barely there. Sometimes we believe even when we have not seen; other times we have seen it with our own eyes and yet are still filled with doubt. Last week on Dateline they showed a young man who had been seriously injured in a 4-wheeler accident. Despite efforts to save him, the brain activity was gone and the family was making preparations to donate his organs, when a relative with medical expertise noticed that something was changing in him physically. And to make a long story short, he came back from the edge of death and made pretty much a full recovery. Some people questioned the medical tests and evaluations; some felt there must have been a scientific mistake. The physicians assured that the tests were correct and that scientifically there was no way for someone with that much damage to recover. Yet he did. I wonder how many people who saw that program held on to the belief that there must have been a mistake instead of rejoicing that miracles happen.
Faith and fear, fear and faith: as William Sloane Coffin, one of our great prophets in the UCC, said, "As I see it, the primary religious task these days is to try to think straight...You can't think straight with a heart full of fear, for fear seeks safety, not truth. If your heart's a stone, you can't have decent thoughts – either about personal relations or about international ones. A heart full of love, on the other hand, has a limbering effect on the mind." Another great preacher, Harry Emerson Fosdick has written a poem of sorts about fear vs. faith:
Fear imprisons, faith Liberates;
Fear paralyzes, faith empowers;
Fear disheartens, faith encourages;
Fear sickens, faith heals;
Fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable;
Fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life, while faith rejoices in its God.
This poem certainly makes faith sound pretty wonderful to me. What needs to happen with you so that your faith will overcome your fears and your doubts? For most of us it’s not enough just to read the words; we have to experience Christ’s presence. Maybe you want to touch Jesus and KNOW that Jesus is really right here with you? Then hear what Jesus says to his disciples after they have received the Holy Spirit: “you are being sent out into the world and specifically to the world’s brokenness.” Will you (name some of people present) accept the commission to be part of the body of Christ and go forth in love? You are being called AND empowered to do what Jesus did. You don’t wait until you feel prepared and faithful enough, you go and then your faith and your power will increase. In your own way through the opportunities you are presented with, go, touch, heal, love, forgive in Christ’s name. Bring about justice and peace in this hurting world. Remember the Holy Spirit is within you and Jesus himself promises to abide with you till the end of time. God bless each of you as you go forth. Amen.
[1] David M. Powers, Stillspeaking Lent Devotional: Thursday, March 27.
[2] Wyvetta Bullock, Must We See to Believe? In e-Sermons.com.
Can you imagine if you had been a disciple how you might have felt after the Easter morning revelation by Mary Magdalene that she had seen the risen Jesus? Thinking back on that last week, that week of intimacy, chaos, confusion, denial, horror and grief, what do you think you might have been thinking and feeling? Guilt and fear would probably be high on the list. We know that the disciples were gathered behind locked doors—except for Thomas. The women that went to the tomb probably also had a lot of fear and grief; however, they obviously had something else—great love. They certainly were not expecting a party, not a beginning of a story but an ending. They really had nothing to gain, in fact they could have had much to lose if the authorities saw them and associated them with this criminal. Yet still they made this early morning journey to the tomb, faithfully, lovingly showing up.
The gospel for today tells us that on the night of the empty tomb, the night of resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we have ten disciples huddled together in fear and confusion, behind a door tightly locked. Then suddenly without a knock, without a door opening, Jesus was standing in the midst of them, saying, “Peace be with you.” The same words we say most Sunday mornings right after the children’s story. Jesus said this peace greeting not once but twice; the second time was after he showed them his hands and his side. And then he did a Pentecostal thing—he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. He also authorized them to forgive sins. Can you imagine? These men were probably thinking that Jesus would be angry at them for their abandoning and denying him. But No, he treated them with great respect and love. The same thing happened a week later when Thomas who had been missing that first night finally saw Jesus. There was no reprimand for his having doubted that Jesus was alive. Jesus willingly let him touch the holes in his hands and side. The Easter scripture up to now has been focusing a lot on seeing, seeing and believing. Now Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” This is indeed a word to us and all the generations after the resurrection. We didn’t have to be there to know that Jesus the Christ lives. It’s amazing how Jesus can enter into us with the Good News even when we are scared, even when we have many doubts. Don’t ever let doubt stop you from believing and sharing the Good News. You may not have it all figured out; it’s enough to know that Jesus has given us peace, and the Holy Spirit is to be with us always. As one of the UCC Easter devotionals pointed out, for Christians, it is always the Easter season, “because ever since the Day of Resurrection we have been in the Easter era…Easter happens when anyone who suffers finds new hope. When anyone who is mistreated or neglected or belittled finds the freedom for a fresh start, (then) Easter occurs all over again.”[1] It’s up to us to put the teachings of Jesus into practice. In the next and last chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus reminds Peter of this three times in a row when he asks, do you love me? And then tells Peter, Feed my sheep and Follow me.
What is the Easter mission of our church? Now we have a long mission statement in the bulletin and then we have a short one, like a slogan, on the front of the bulletin: Love God, love your neighbor; seek justice, peace and diversity. For me that word love is the supreme activity that we are being called to do. Many of you know my concern about evangelizing, going out and sharing the good news. One of my favorite writers, Quaker Parker Palmer has written that “the mission of the church is not to enlarge its membership, not to bring outsiders to accept its terms, but simply to love the world in every possible way—to love the world as God did and does” (In the Company of Strangers).
What will bring the bright light of Easter to overcome the darkness of Good Friday? The Good News—and the scary responsibility--is that we are the ones that will bring the light to the darkness. We do that by faithfully and lovingly showing up like the women did at the grave on that Sunday morning. And then we go forth. We go forth with questions, with doubts, with love and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to bring about the passion of Jesus, to bring about the justice and peace of the kingdom of God. Just as Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into his disciples, he has also given us that Holy Spirit and called us forth.
You know, Thomas gets a bum rap in our society; when people say doubting Thomas it really isn’t taken as a compliment. But you know he was the only one of the disciples that evening that was out and about. Sure he had questions and doubts. We might say he had to have some breathing space to try to understand what was happening and what it meant. I believe healthy faith has space for doubts, questions, unbelief. In fact for me one of the most meaningful verses in the Bible, as well as the scripture for my first sermon at age 17 is “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” from Mark 9:24b.
Sometimes we have to go on in spite of our doubts. “There is a story about a pre-civil rights African American community in Florida. The story says that during times of political elections, this community would rent a voting machine and go through the voting process. Now, they knew that their votes would not be counted, but they voted anyway. When asked by members of the white community why they did this every year, they replied, "Oh, just practicing. Just practicing." Believing in what is not yet seen means we practice or behave as if it already exists. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." This is what leaders and visionaries do. They believe in something bigger than themselves and they begin to act as if it is so.”[2] I believe that our faith varies as did the disciples: sometimes we are filled with it; other times it’s barely there. Sometimes we believe even when we have not seen; other times we have seen it with our own eyes and yet are still filled with doubt. Last week on Dateline they showed a young man who had been seriously injured in a 4-wheeler accident. Despite efforts to save him, the brain activity was gone and the family was making preparations to donate his organs, when a relative with medical expertise noticed that something was changing in him physically. And to make a long story short, he came back from the edge of death and made pretty much a full recovery. Some people questioned the medical tests and evaluations; some felt there must have been a scientific mistake. The physicians assured that the tests were correct and that scientifically there was no way for someone with that much damage to recover. Yet he did. I wonder how many people who saw that program held on to the belief that there must have been a mistake instead of rejoicing that miracles happen.
Faith and fear, fear and faith: as William Sloane Coffin, one of our great prophets in the UCC, said, "As I see it, the primary religious task these days is to try to think straight...You can't think straight with a heart full of fear, for fear seeks safety, not truth. If your heart's a stone, you can't have decent thoughts – either about personal relations or about international ones. A heart full of love, on the other hand, has a limbering effect on the mind." Another great preacher, Harry Emerson Fosdick has written a poem of sorts about fear vs. faith:
Fear imprisons, faith Liberates;
Fear paralyzes, faith empowers;
Fear disheartens, faith encourages;
Fear sickens, faith heals;
Fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable;
Fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life, while faith rejoices in its God.
This poem certainly makes faith sound pretty wonderful to me. What needs to happen with you so that your faith will overcome your fears and your doubts? For most of us it’s not enough just to read the words; we have to experience Christ’s presence. Maybe you want to touch Jesus and KNOW that Jesus is really right here with you? Then hear what Jesus says to his disciples after they have received the Holy Spirit: “you are being sent out into the world and specifically to the world’s brokenness.” Will you (name some of people present) accept the commission to be part of the body of Christ and go forth in love? You are being called AND empowered to do what Jesus did. You don’t wait until you feel prepared and faithful enough, you go and then your faith and your power will increase. In your own way through the opportunities you are presented with, go, touch, heal, love, forgive in Christ’s name. Bring about justice and peace in this hurting world. Remember the Holy Spirit is within you and Jesus himself promises to abide with you till the end of time. God bless each of you as you go forth. Amen.
[1] David M. Powers, Stillspeaking Lent Devotional: Thursday, March 27.
[2] Wyvetta Bullock, Must We See to Believe? In e-Sermons.com.
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