Christ is risen! Alleluia!
God’s grace and peace be with all of you.
The disciples of Jesus had had a long week. It had been rough, okay? Everything had gone terribly wrong. Jesus had been betrayed by one of their own, been arrested by the religious officials, been tried by the high priest and handed over to the Romans, been beaten and crucified. Judas had betrayed him, Peter had denied him. Joseph of Arimathea had taken Jesus’ body from the cross and laid it in a tomb.
Then they had rested on the sabbath, and on the first day of the week—after the sabbath had ended—Mary Magdalene had come rushing in, breathless and terrified, saying that the stone had been removed from the tomb, that Jesus’ body was gone. The disciples didn’t know what to think. Peter and John went to the tomb and sure enough, it was empty. The wrappings that had been around Jesus’ body were lying there, but no Jesus. Had someone unwrapped and stolen the corpse? Why? Was this some new humiliation for the so-called King of the Jews?
It was only a few hours later when Mary Magdalene came back, breathless again but now with her face beaming. “I have seen the Lord!” she exclaims. What, she found his body? No, Mary insists, she had seen Jesus, alive and whole, she had touched him, he had called her by name. He’d said he was ascending to God the Father.
Well. Who can blame the disciples for doubting Mary’s tale? After all, they had had a very long week. They’d lost their teacher, their Lord, to a betrayal from within and a conspiracy between the religious leaders and the might of Rome. They’d seen him tortured and killed, they’d watched his body come down from the cross. On top of all that, the indignity of someone stealing his body out of the tomb! Maybe it had all been too much for poor Mary. Now she was seeing things, confusing wishes with reality.
The sun went down on the first day of the week. The disciples were all together—to tell the truth, they were in hiding. They were terrified that the same religious officials who demanded Jesus’ death would come for his followers next. So they locked the doors of the house and huddled together in fear.
And that brings us to our gospel reading today. Although in our church calendar, today is the second Sunday of Easter, in the gospel story, it is still that first day, the day of the resurrection. As I said, the disciples have had a long week. They know that the tomb is empty, they’ve heard from Mary that Jesus is alive, but they are still hiding behind locked doors. They don’t believe.
We hear this story, this passage from John chapter 20, every year on the second Sunday of Easter. Traditionally it’s been known as the story of “Doubting Thomas.” Poor Thomas gets a bad rap. All of the disciples doubt. All of the disciples refuse to believe. Mary told them, “I have seen the Lord!” but they don’t believe her. They don’t believe in the resurrection until they’ve seen Jesus for themselves.
In fact, every character in this story has the same reaction. Earlier in the chapter, when Mary first sees Jesus, she thinks he’s the gardener. It’s not until he calls her by name that she recognizes him, and then she grabs hold of him, touches him to make sure he’s real, that he’s alive and not a ghost or a figment of her imagination.
Mary tells the disciples, but they don’t believe. Jesus appears to them (well, all of them except Thomas) and shows them the marks of his crucifixion. Then the disciples rejoice. Only after they encounter Jesus themselves do they rejoice in the resurrection. Until they see him, they do not believe.
And lastly, Thomas. We don’t know why he wasn’t with the other disciples on that first day of the week, but he misses out on seeing the risen Lord. Just as Mary had told them, the disciples tell Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas doesn’t believe. “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.”
Thomas gets a bad rap—for generations, he’s been known as “doubting Thomas”—but all of the disciples do exactly what Thomas does. They doubt the word of an eyewitness. They refuse to believe in the resurrection until they see it for themselves.
When we refer to “doubting Thomas,” I think the implication is that Thomas failed. Don’t be like doubting Thomas! But since all the disciples doubted just as much as Thomas did, does that mean they were all failures?
Look back at our gospel text. I want you to pay attention to what Jesus says and does in this passage. When he appears in the locked house, what is the first thing he says?
Peace be with you. The first thing he says to the disciples is “Peace be with you.” In fact, he says it twice—in verse 19 and again in verse 21. And while he’s there with the disciples, he does two things: he shows them his hands and his side, the marks of his crucifixion; and he breathes on them to bestow the Holy Spirit.
Now, does that sound like Jesus is upset with the disciples? Does it sound like he’s disappointed in them for doubting? He says “Peace be with you” and shows them proof that it’s really him, he’s really alive. He gives them the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.
A week later, Jesus appears again, and Thomas is there. What does Jesus say when he appears this time? “Peace be with you.” And again, he shows Thomas the wounds, invites Thomas to touch him and directly experience the truth of the resurrection.
Are the disciples failures? I don’t think so. They’re human. Doubting is part of human nature, and God doesn’t see that as a failing on our part. Jesus isn’t disappointed in his followers. He returns and shows himself to them because he knows that’s what they need. Mary can’t recognize Jesus until he calls her by name. The disciples, including Thomas, can’t believe in the resurrection until they see Jesus’ resurrected body for themselves.
The risen Jesus appears to his followers because they need to see him, need to hear him, need to touch him. The same followers who saw him betrayed, tortured, and killed need to see that is has been raised from death and is truly alive.
But that’s not all that’s going on here. Jesus doesn’t return just to comfort his followers. He isn’t in that locked room just to make them feel better.
Remember I told you to pay attention to what Jesus says and does in this text? He tells his disciples, “Peace be with you.” That’s not just a polite greeting or a nice sentiment. It’s a blessing and a commissioning. Jesus is giving his disciples peace, and calling them to be peace-bringers. He is comforting them, reassuring them, and also sending them out. He’s not just giving them proof of his resurrection, he also needs them to carry the word of the resurrection out to the rest of the world.
When Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” that’s not just a nice sentiment. It’s a blessing and a commissioning. Every Sunday here in church, we share the peace of Christ. And it’s not just a polite greeting, it’s not just a little break to socialize in the middle of the service. It is the continuation of the blessing, and the calling, of the first disciples.
With those first disciples, Jesus said, “Peace be with you,” and gave them the Holy Spirit. He sent them out to spread the good news of the resurrection. Our reading ends in this way: “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe.” If it weren’t for those first disciples, if it weren’t for the first generation of Christians and the authors of the gospels, we wouldn’t be here.
And now that we are here, now that we have received the good news from those who came before us? Jesus says to us, “Peace be with you,” and gives us the Holy Spirit, and sends us out to continue the work. Peace be with you. Amen.
Pastor Jennifer Preaching 