Latest / Belin Memorial UMC / Rev. Dr. Sandra Stevens Poirel - "Encore!"
Transcript
- Belin Memorial UMC: you for remaining standing for the conclusion of the passage for today. We have heard the beginning of the story that has been read by Reverend Mark Ayo about Jesus and the disciples. Now the story continues with Jesus and Thomas. A week later, Jesus' disciples were again in the house and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you Then he 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 answered him my Lord and my God Jesus said to him. Have you believed because you have seen me Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. This is the word of God for the of God. ⁓ You may be seated. Well, welcome to the continued season of Easter. The Easter season is 50 days long, so we have several Sundays that we will continue to celebrate. Each of the Sundays of the season of Easter are actually named, and the name is based on the gospel lesson that is assigned to that particular day. Today is the second Sunday of Easter. Liturgically, it is referred to as Thomas Sunday because of the gospel lesson that we just heard. The Gospel of John is the only one that gives us what might be called a week later story. It's the one we heard this morning and it has the time stamp. a week later, a week after what we know is Easter Sunday. And this story and this event all happened because of Jesus and his disciple Thomas. Now for centuries, Thomas has become known as, you already know this, doubting Thomas, right. And to be honest, I prefer to call him believing Thomas. I kind of feel bad for the guy. Have you ever known someone, this is rhetorical, you don't have to answer unless you want to of course, have you ever known someone or have you ever gotten stuck with a nickname that you just didn't like? Or it's a nickname that came out of one single event that happened out of an entire lifetime. Well, that's sort of what happened to Thomas. After all, he only really did what most or all of us would have done in the same set of circumstances and being confronted with the same news. The disciples knew, they were very clear, Jesus had died on the cross. Now, sure, they tried to understand his words of preparation, but the resurrection, this had never never happened ever in history. What they were absolutely sure of up to this point was that when people died, they stayed in tombs. But now others come to him with this news, we have seen Jesus. He's walking and talking. Well, for Thomas, who was not with the other 11, It's just too good to be true. Are you kidding? Are you sure? And Thomas basically says, show me. That really was not a vile or a disrespectful reaction. If we take a moment and consider Thomas's history, his record of service, if you will, leading up to this event, when Jesus was on his way to Bethany, having been summoned by his friends, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, about his condition and being so ill, it was Thomas who said, after the others tried to convince Jesus, that he would be okay if he had just fallen asleep. and they tried to talk him out of going. It was Thomas who said, let us go that we may die with him. And then you remember Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper. Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid. and that they knew where he was going to which they probably shook their heads and said, what? And it was Thomas who spoke up standing in for the others and often taking the words right out of their mouths said, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? And then later, Jesus burst, burst onto the scene and appeared to his disciples. behind locked doors. Well, to all of them except Thomas, who happened to be absent. The other 11 were gathered post-resurrection. This was his first appearance to them as a group since his death on the cross, and they were behind locked doors. They were not celebrating. They were huddled in terror. They were not anticipating the mission that Jesus had given them and had tried to explain to them. They were paralyzed in fear over what might happen to them next. They knew that the Roman guard was on the other side of these locked doors. They had just seen what had happened to the Messiah. Yet they've heard from Mary that the tomb was empty. Angels have spoken. What was happening was exactly what Jesus told them would happen, and he had tried to prepare them for it. But here they are barricaded in fear. The greatest event that has ever taken place in history. They are part of the story. They are in the first person. They are among the first witnesses. And we find them, but before we're too hard on them, they're holed up, locked down, and terrified. And Jesus understood. He appeared to them. He greeted them in spite of the locked doors and simply said, peace be with you. was the same message he had given them in his long discourse, trying to prepare them for this very event. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not let it be afraid. And now he comes to them. First response was not a rebuke. It was not, were you not listening to anything I said? to you, but rather peace be with you. So Thomas's colleagues reported this good news to him. We have seen the Lord. And here's where Thomas was completely honest, like Peter. He often just said what everybody else might have been thinking and they probably would have been, but they had already seen the risen Lord. Unless I see the marks 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. It's understandable. Jesus understood. He understood the fear when he met with the first disciples, the 11, and he understands. And Jesus provided what Thomas needed. He provided an encore experience. A week later, a week later experience, a week later, Jesus did just that. He made an encore appearance for Thomas. Same house, same disciples, but this time Thomas was present. And Jesus responded to Thomas' demands. He did for Thomas exactly what he had done for the other 11. He did not rebuke him. He did not rebuke him for asking for proof. He simply gave him what he needed. He gave him what he asked for. Jesus extended the invitation for Thomas to touch his hands and his side. Put your finger here. Reach out your hand. If you read the story carefully, we have absolutely no evidence that Thomas ever touched him, never. What we do have is Thomas' immediate recorded response. The one who said what he felt, just rolled off his tongue, the one who has for centuries become labeled out of one moment, The doubter, the doubting Thomas responded with one of the greatest affirmations of faith that we have recorded and it was completely without doubt with no evidence that he touched him. My Lord and my God. And then Jesus says, have you believed? Because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen. and yet have come to believe. That is a part of this story that's troublesome for many, but it actually bears a lot of good news in the story. It means we are included in the story. Jesus was speaking to Thomas. This was a conversation they were having, but as soon as he asked that question, we were included and Jesus was speaking to us as well. Jesus was very aware that there would be future generations who would come to faith without being an eyewitness as his disciples were. This was a new definition of faith, from doubt to faith. And in this encore moment, in this week after story, and all the weeks to come, including this very week, the risen Christ reminds us that he meets us where we are, what he did for his disciples then, what he did for Thomas, then he does for us right where we are. Continues to make encore appearances weeks after Easter Sunday and in all the weeks to come. Jesus appeared in spite of locked doors. Jesus appeared to them in spite of doubt, in spite of fear, in spite of his knowing that they could not understand at all. Jesus still comes to us. All of us at some point feel like we are behind those barricaded doors. At some point we hit a time in life that we feel filled with confusion, that we have doubt, that we have fear. We too find ourselves maybe not physically, but we know that we are behind locked doors. but what this story reminds us. And here is the good news. Jesus appeared knowing that. There was nothing that could stop him. The Roman guard was there. There were plenty of people who were still not pleased that this had happened. His own disciples were terrified and locked doors. locked doors, did not, do not, will not, and cannot stop God. The good news is... God is still with us. God is still making encore appearances. God is still bringing to us what we need through the risen Christ. And we heard in the passage, Jesus breathed on them the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom we still have and who is still very present and very active so that we too can proclaim, we have seen the Lord, not as Thomas the disciples did but we do see the Lord we see the risen Lord in each other so here's the commission that Jesus kept going back to go make disciples go share the good news go share the good news of the gospel so others too may see the risen Lord in you in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit amen