The Rev. Dan Rondeau
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School
Acts 2:14a, 22-32 | Psalm 111 | 1 Peter 1:3-9 | John 20:19-31
Some snapshots from the readings we just heard:
"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…" (John 20:19)
Thomas [who was not present to see the Lord] said "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." (John 20:25)
Upon seeing and hearing Jesus, with the invitation to touch Jesus, Thomas responded, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28)
With the gift of Peace came the gift of the Holy Spirit and a mission: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. . . ." (1 Peter 1:3)
These snapshots can very well be of us.
Which of us has not been locked away in fear of some kind? Hurt, vulnerable, cautious, we lock ourselves away, hoping that we will not be discovered and suffer more. We are just like the disciples.
In that tender place, in our hurting heart, which of us has not lashed out, like Thomas, attacking those who seek to comfort, encourage, or heal us? I'm not so sure his words are words of doubt. A person he loved was killed. The person he thought he was, courageous and principled, fled and hid. The hope he carried, that Jesus was the Messiah, was beaten and crucified and buried like a common criminal. In his hurt the words of the others "we have seen the Lord" seemed cruel, and his words meant to stop them from hurting him more.
Still hurting, still trying to put his life back together, still wondering what to make of all that he was seeing and hearing, Thomas is surprised by the Lord. Unbidden, the Lord steps into his life. The Lord invites Thomas to touch him.
Without touching, Thomas makes a profession of faith "My Lord and my God."
We know from history that Thomas and the others do go as Jesus commanded; we know they shared the story of God's love. From their writings we know of the beauty and power of their message.
Some years after the encounter between Thomas and the Lord, the words of the First Letter of Peter are written. These are strong words, solid in conviction, filled with light and joy, words to inspire. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. . . ."
These words mark the progress of Thomas and the others. These words, in our family album, are here to encourage and guide us. From fear, to courageous proclamation—this is our journey. From being locked away, hidden, hurting, and wanting to be invisible, to open, convincing, convicting, speech aimed at sharing joy and blessing with as many as will hear—this is our journey. From lashing out in doubt, anger, and hurt to confessing the faith in honesty and hope—this is our journey.
Truth be told, we each come here with self-doubt, with fear, with hurts of various kinds, with weaknesses known so well as to cause us despair, but we come. Despite the burdens, we come, we gather, we pray. We come to hear the words of Jesus "Peace be with you." We come to touch the Lord, we come to speak the words first spoken by Thomas "My Lord and my God."
We come because we have come to believe. We come because we trust the words of Jesus "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Even if it is just a little, even if it is delicate and fragile, we have come to believe—and that is enough for God to work with.
As the disciples made the progression from fear and hiding to courageous and public proclamation, so may we travel the same path. May we hear the words of Jesus within our hearts "Peace be with you." May we, in our own way, come to touch the Risen Lord and be touched by the Risen Lord, that we may exclaim with Thomas "My Lord and my God." As Thomas and the others became faithful witnesses throughout Jerusalem and the world, may we be faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord, even as we pray every Sunday after communion and even as we are blessed on our way back home.
After communion we give thanks that refreshed in communion we are assured that we are "heirs of [God's] eternal kingdom." We give thanks that we are included in the circle of friends and disciples—even as Thomas was included in that circle.
And in response to the generosity of God what do we pray? "Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord." This is our prayer; this is our way to respond to the gift of the Risen Lord.
In this Easter Season our priest celebrant invokes God's blessing before we return to the world: "The God of Peace…make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight." We ask to be sent; God blesses us and sends us, in Peace, to do "every good work" we are called to do.
Let me finish with the words of another familiar blessing we have many times received: may the peace of God that passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord—thus blessed, may we bless others.
Amen.