The Rev. Kathi Johnson
Easter 2C – 7 April 2013
Text: John 20:19-31
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
+ INJ +
Alleluia! Christ is risen! In fact, he is still risen! And, in our gospel lesson today, he begins making his post-resurrection appearances. Our confused and perplexed disciples from last week’s empty tomb stories are back – this time, hiding in a room behind locked doors. They are afraid – deathly afraid – remember they have just lived through the trauma of watching Jesus be crucified!
And into their fear – into their secret hiding place – Jesus appears. Not only does he appear, but he offers them this beautiful greeting: “Peace be with you.” And then there is a flurry of joy as they realize – wow – he’s really risen, he’s really here – here, among us, once again. In my mind’s eye, I believe the joy must’ve continued as they shared the news with their friend, Thomas.
Now, Thomas gets a bad rap from our gospel lesson today. When Jesus visits the disciples this first time in today’s reading, Thomas isn’t there, so later on, he expresses doubt about what the disciples have just told him about seeing the risen Lord. As a result, he’s often been called “Doubting Thomas.” “Doubting Thomas” – a name still given to people who express their doubt about something. I’ll point out here, though, that the other disciples also had doubts of their own when the women told them that Jesus’ body was missing.
This past week, a clergy friend shared a picture that’s going around the internet: a painting of Thomas, encountering the risen Christ, sticking his finger into the wound on Jesus’ side. The caption: “Doubt for one little minute, and they never let you forget it.” Yes, Thomas has gotten a bad rap through the years.
The church hasn’t always focused on Thomas and his doubts. About five hundred years ago, when preaching on this same lesson, Martin Luther did some masterful thinking about this story, and what it says to us as Christian people – not about doubt – but rather what it says about faith and peace, and the relationship between the faith and peace. I want to share some of his thoughts – mixed with my own – today.
First of all, Luther reminds us that faith and peace are two of the Fruits of the Spirit as described by the apostle Paul: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control.” The good news: these fruits are gifts, given to us by God.
So, what is the big deal about faith? We have faith, we confess our faith, we tell others to “have a little faith” – but what’s the big deal? Luther says that our faith must not just be that Christ was crucified and raised – but rather that these things happened for us – for our benefit - “and that through his resurrection sin, death and hell are vanquished” – they are put down - and that Christ’s victory becomes our victory.
Luther continues by returning to our gospel story: “This is signified by Christ entering through closed doors, and standing in the midst of his disciples. For this standing denotes nothing else than that he is standing in our hearts; there he is in the midst of us, so that he is ours…” Just like in our lesson today, as he stands among his friends and they have him among them - “…when he thus stands within our hearts, we at once hear his loving voice saying to the troubled consciences: Peace, there is no danger; your sins are forgiven and blotted out, and they shall harm you no more.”
Where then does peace enter into this picture? Luther ties together faith and peace in this way, by saying that “…the fruit of faith is peace…” He goes on to describe two kinds of peace: outward peace and inward peace.
Outward – or worldly peace – comes when illness, or violence, or other troubles are absent, or maybe not really causing any problems. When we aren’t having any troubles, or when the troubles are at least manageable, we may find it easy to have peace outwardly. But when troubles are re-introduced into our lives, that outward – or worldly - peace vanishes.
It is then that we must rely upon inward – or spiritual – peace. This is the peace that withstands these troubles, and remains even when they are present. Jesus gives this kind of peace to the disciples that night in the room as they are huddled together in fear, and he gives that peace to us, too. Luther says this about inward peace: “When [however] the Spirit comes, he lets outward adversity remain, but strengthens the person, making the timid fearless, the trembling bold, changing the troubled into a quiet, peaceful conscience, and such a one is bold, fearless and joyful in things by which all the world otherwise is terrified.”
Where does this come from? From our faith in Christ.
In our daily lives, then - “…the fruit of faith is peace…”
On days of calm and certainty - “…the fruit of faith is peace…”
On days of storm and fear - “…the fruit of faith is peace…”
Jesus died. Jesus rose to life again. And he takes us on that journey with him when we are baptized. That’s why we express our thanksgiving for our baptisms, like we did at the beginning of our service. In baptism, Jesus’ death and resurrection become ours – so that we can walk in faith and peace every day of our lives. We are, after all, the ones Jesus talks about in this story when he talks about those who believe without seeing the nail scars in his hands – none of us have seen those first hand, and yet, through faith, we believe. And Jesus calls us “blessed.”
It is out of faith and peace – given to us by Christ - that we then reach out to others with the love of God. Others, who, like Thomas and the disciples, have their doubts. Others, who, like us, struggle with sin and with questions – or don’t really see the need for faith at all. This is our work – the work of every Christian – so let us rejoice in the power of the Spirit, and do the work to which we are called.
Amen.
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