Easter 2 – 3 Apr 2016 - Year C
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for our meditation is written in the 20th Chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses19-31.
19 When it was evening on that day, the
first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met
were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
“Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them
his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be
with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed
on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they
are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 But Thomas (who was called the
Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We
have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark 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.” 26 A week later his 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my
God!” 29 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.”30 Now Jesus did many other signs in
the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you
may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name.
This Sunday in some places is known as "Low Sunday." The high festive liturgy of Easter is passed. The church is not quite so bright or excited. It is a rather ‘low Sunday' by comparison. We can be left with a feeling of, "Is that all there is?" Is that all there is to Easter? – Be assured my friends, there's more; much more.
Do you understand
that the disciples' fears are our fears? Not necessarily from church leaders, they
can’t threaten our life, but plenty of other things do. Freak accidents,
strange illnesses, sudden deaths happen every day. One moment someone is
walking around healthy, happy, and the next minute, that's it. Then there's the
risen Jesus. We too have reason to be afraid of Him. The disciples' sins are
ours too. Which of us hasn't betrayed Jesus for a material advantage as Judas
did? Which of us hasn't denied Him in the company of others as Peter did? Which
of us has failed to believe all that He has promised? Why shouldn't we be
afraid of Him?
Because He shows up
and says, "Peace be with you." Although Commentators point out that
this was an ordinary greeting in Jesus' day, these words of Jesus as written
in our text are not just a simple greeting.
These words come from the mouth of the one who said, “Let there be
light,” and there was light. Since Jesus
is not just a man, but is also God, His word happens. His word actually accomplishes what it
says. When Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” you really do have
the peace of God that is above all understanding. Jesus who was crucified for us and now stands before us risen from
death. This is no ordinary peace that Jesus gives, twice.
On Maundy Thursday,
right before Gethsemane, Jesus promised the disciples peace two times as well.
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I
give to you." And, "I have
said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace." Within the
bounds of human understanding it seems ironic that Jesus gave them peace right
before departing to be subjected to extreme violence, torture and death. He had died so un-peacefully. Now Jesus shows
up speaking peace again. The peace He brings is connected to the nail holes
that proved He was the one that was crucified and the spear hole that proved He
was the one who died. Jesus appears and says, "Peace be with you!"
Then He shows them His hands and side and says it again.
Every fibre of
their being is afraid. They're fearful of the world around them and fearful
because of their own doubt and sins Jesus should abandon them to the Jews as
they had abandoned Him. Likewise, we know Jesus should abandon us to the
disease, the accidents, the tragedies all around us because of our sins. Yet
Jesus comes speaking peace to them and to us. During each worship service we
receive and share the peace of the Lord; it is customary for worshippers to be
sent out in peace at the completion of each worship service. Prayers and
blessings over the sick and troubled petition God’s peace that will keep our
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Jesus spoke “Peace be with you” – in speaking
these words the ‘Prince of Peace’ is proclaiming to the fallen world that God
made peace between us and Him by handing over His only begotten Son to torture
and death. The full anger of God that ought to bring every evil in the world
down upon our heads was brought down upon Jesus instead. The agonizing death
our sins deserve was suffered by Jesus instead. His presence among the
Disciples in the locked room, the nail holes; the wound in His side are the
proof that God has spent His entire wrath against sinners and directed the full
punishment for our sins on Jesus.
God is reconciled
with us through the Body and Blood of His Son; now, St. Paul, pleads with us,
"You be reconciled with Him."
Come out from behind those locked doors. Stop thinking we're at the mercy of our
enemies or that God is out to get us. No, God is out to give to us - And give
He does. Jesus shows up and breathes on the disciples and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This may
seem a little strange. If we cast our minds back to the creation account in the
Book of Genesis we can recall that in Eden when the Lord created Adam, it says, "He breathed into him (literally) the
spirit of life." By breathing into Adam, the Lord gave him the power
to pass on physical life. By breathing on the disciples, the Lord gave them the
power to pass on spiritual life. You see, the Spirit He breathed on and into
them was the Spirit of forgiveness.
Think how these
disciples could've accused each other. The rest of their lives Peter could've
been known as cowardly Peter. John could've held a grudge because he alone of
the Disciples stayed at the cross. They could've known Thomas as we all know
him: doubting Thomas. This is the human will that doesn't let go of sins; this
same human will delights in the faults of others; this same human will that
takes a moment of fear, doubt, and sin and makes it the distinguishing feature of
a fellow Christian's life, is alive and thriving in the church today. Think of
how people remember the one who fell away and came back as simply ‘the one who
fell away’. Think of how families today bite and snap at the one who wasn't at
the deathbed. Think of how we still know Thomas as doubting.
Then like a breath
of fresh air the Lord breathes His Spirit of forgiveness into us and sends us as
He was sent by His Father. Jesus was not sent to rub our noses in our sins.
Jesus was not sent to remind us of our sins and make us suffer for them? No,
Jesus was sent to pay for our sins and forgive them. He shows us His pierced
hands and side as proof that the paying is done and over. What remains is the
forgiving.
Easter is this too.
The Lord gives us the peace of forgiven sins at Easter. He gives us the Spirit
of forgiveness at Easter, and in so doing, He gives us the power to forgive
sins. People wouldn't yawn and say, "Is that all there is?" if we had
the power to heal cancer. They wouldn't say, "Is that all there is?"
if we had the power to make gold, or to make people smarter, or happier. Yet,
the power to forgive sins is a greater treasure than all the others. You get
healed of cancer, and you'll still die from something else. You get all the
gold in the world and that won't keep you out of hell. You become the smartest
person in the world or get a lifetime of happiness and that won't stop death and
judgment. But, if at death we're found with our sins, they'll sink us faster
and deeper into hell than a lead weight will sink us in water.
Friends in Christ,
if we know this; if we see this, if we feel this, then Easter is a whole lot
more than a risen Jesus. It's not just about the dead living again in flesh and
blood. It's about the dead living free from sins, from guilt, and from the
power of the devil. That this is the big message of Easter is proven by this
text. Jesus doesn't show up saying, "See flesh and blood can rise from the
dead." He doesn't show up saying, "Look you can live forever."
No, Jesus shows up giving the peace of forgiveness, the Spirit of forgiveness,
and the actual power to forgive sins. Forgiveness is the big thing that Easter brings.
Forgiveness changes
everything. What made Peter go from a minder of things of men, a denier of
Jesus, and a brash fool to a faithful apostle and martyr for the faith?
Forgiveness. What made doubting Thomas become the apostle to India?
Forgiveness. What turned ordinary, fallen, sinful men into apostles, a
foundation for the Church? Forgiveness. Through the amazing grace of our Great
Triune God, we have, without any effort on our part, the eternal forgiveness of
God Himself; and most importantly, through the faith gifted to us at our Holy
Baptism, we have the authority to forgive others as we have been forgiven.
That's the crowning
glory of Easter: The peace of forgiveness, the Spirit of forgiveness, and the
power to forgive. Even on Low Sunday, that's quite a high. Amen
The peace and love our great Triune God
that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Amen
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