Have I seen you before?
John 20:19-31
We are picking up the Easter story again this week. For us Easter is pretty much over. The stores have the clearance tables filled with chocolate bunnies, peeps, Easter baskets and stuffed animals. They are clearing off the shelves for new stuff; I guess suffer, out door summer stuff.
Today we move so fast between seasons and subjects. Yesterday’s news is quickly forgotten as we move on to what ever is happening today no matter how trivial…
We rarely savor an event for very long before we change the channels of our focus to the next event.
I am a little afraid that Christians just go along with the rest of culture. Christmas has this huge commercial build up and disappears in just a couple of seeks. Easter is less commercial so it seems to just come and go in the matter of days. I have a problem with that.
--- Easter is the celebration of the core proof of our faith. It is a big deal.
Christmas is a celebration of God breaking into this world with the cry of a baby.
Easter is the story of Jesus changing from a human being with all physical limitation and normal experiences into the divine. This change is our understanding of our God that has walked in our sandals. How can we let that hit a peak and be gone in a week.
The disciples Easter experience was a little slower and perhaps even less sure than the way we make it today.
Last Sunday we were reminded of the good news of Christ resurrection according to John; He tells of Mary Madeline going to the tomb and making the discovery, she tells Peter and John who confirm it is empty and it says they did not yet remember that his mystery was foretold in scripture.
To me that means that they did not get it! A horrible event had taken a strange turn. Someone had stolen the body of Jesus Christ.
The men leave thinking WHAT NEXT?
Mary hangs around and talks to a couple of angels and bumps into Jesus who sends a message that he has been raised for the dead to His disciples.
Today’s reading jumps to evening. It is likely that the followers of Jesus had pretty much stayed out of sight all day. They may have stayed together in this room or they may have been spread across the city and gathered together as evening came.
If they moved through they city that probably tried to disguise their Galilean clothing, and maybe even hid their faces like common criminals.
They were, according to the scriptures, afraid of the Jewish authorities.
All we really know is that they were gathered together possibly in the same upper room that was used for their Passover meal. We read that the door was locked, if there are windows they are probably closed by shutters of some kind of drape to give as much privacy as possible. The room would be pretty dark with only oil lamps and candles . - Instead of an intimate warm feeling, the dimness probably matches their mood.
I imagine that any talking is done is soft tones and whispers.
I imagine that the sounds of grief and pain would be heard in the sound of crying and moans.
Everyone is listening for voices and foot steps outside, not with expectation, but with absolute fear of being found by the authorities.
(Wisper)
Mary saw Jesus, He was alive…No not a dream she was wide awake, she said she was wide awake. She said he talked to her. She saw him in the garden outside the tomb. It was daylight….Well I suppose she could have been mistaken or wishful thinking…
Shhh did you hear something?
Can you imagine, they are away from their familiar territory in a city crowded with worshipers. Their teacher was killed because he was accused of being a king. All they things that they thought might happen suddenly vaporized.
And the situation was not over. Their teacher is dead and the rumor around the market place is that the authorities and telling everyone that they, the disciples ,had stolen the body…..That can’t be a comfortable news.
Can you imagine how that felt?
Being really scared that at any moment you would be dragged off to prison and a rigged trial.
This information about Jesus that Mary brought, I would be hard to find any real comfort in that. It sounded like wishful thinking. It sounded like some kind of delusion.
It really did not ease the fear of getting caught.
For them Easter had not come on that morning.
They are still in the dark physically and emotionally.
-- I wonder why they were holding up in that room in the first place. I suppose it was a way of grieving together, comforting each other. Maybe they felt safer in a group.
I almost wonder if they had gotten together to say Good by before each one set out for home and their own lives.
-- Then “suddenly,” Jesus is there! No knock, No noise of the opening of the door.
He is just there.
He says, "Peace be with you,” and every body in the room hears the voice. They hear voice of a dead man.
We don’t know their first reaction, did they jump, scream or shush the sound.
It appears that His voice is familiar and is at normal volume and tone.
No fear No distress
He shows them his hands and side a proof that it really is him.
After Jesus does his show and tell, the disciples were filled with Joy…
-- I wonder if they could be quiet when the realized/believed it was Jesus…
“Dude you scared the daylights out of us! Where have you been….”
I wonder if they immediately realized that no body let him in?
For them, the realization of Jesus resurrection became more real, not necessarily understood. They see him and talk to him and their deep grief and fear relax for the moment.
The room may even seem a little bit brighter.
Then he says, "Peace be with you.
This was a common greeting, similar to something we might share with a friend today, What’s up, How are you doing?
He continues, As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Then he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven."
What …. What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?
They have questions. They want to know what to do next.
What does this statement mean?
This visit seems to be described by John as a personal gift of peace and comfort from Jesus Christ at a moment of their greatest need.
Fear, grief and depression had taken over their thoughts completely. They have no concept of a future of a mission of a ministry.
All they can see are the problems immediately before them and their biggest problem is probably the of the unknown.
Jesus words gives them something different to think about. Not at that exact moment but in the next few days and weeks. He tells them of their new role and special power over forgiveness.
They will offer forgiveness of sins or judgment…that is pretty deep. It seems like a powerful gift…. However, the biggest gift was the physical presence of Christ to help them clear their heads, and give them peace.
= Then our story jumps to the detail that one apostle was missing.
It mentions that one of the disciples was nicknamed (Didymus) - the twin.
I have a high school memory that comes flashing back to my as I read this scripture connects with having a nickname.
Sometimes nicknames can be good or bad. I was branded by my parents as “TAB,” from birth. I was not alone. Lots of my friends had nicknames:
- Tank - he was a Big guy.
- There was hoobie… a small guy the reminded me a little of Radar O’Riley on MASH
- There was father tree = A tall guy with a Big naturally RED AFRO.
So, Thomas has a nickname which is not really unusual but I do wonder why it is important.
We are told that Thomas misses the visit from Jesus. The others must have been trying to convenience him that Jesus was there. They saw him…
Thomas must have wondered if they had some bad fish or if this is some kind of sad joke.
Finally he says, stop it, just stop it , “"I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."
Really, he is just saying, I won’t believe it unless I can see it for myself.
The scripture, does not offer any judgment for his being missing in the first visit and I imagine that they are just trying to give Thomas the same joy that they had received to know that the master was alive.
Eight days pass and the group gathers and Thomas was present, they are still being careful and the door is locked. - Jesus appears.
He said, "Peace be with you." Attention immediately shifts toward the voice.
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!"
Jesus offers Thomas exactly what he says he needs.
He offers to let him touch the wounds. But, Thomas does not seem to need to do it anymore. He knew his teachers voice, he knew what he looked like.
John records Thomas’s response. "My Lord and my God!"
Thomas verbalizes what most of us take for granted as a common understanding.
Jesus is more than the Son which is pretty amazing.
Jesus and God are the same person.
The teacher that had walked the earth, taught them and knew them by name was God himself. Who would have ever dreamed such a thing?
Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway."
Then Jesus challenges Thomas and all of us to put aside unbelief because we have not personally witnessed or touched and believe based on our faith.
John is writing to Christians that did not have the gift that Thomas receives. He is explaining that faith for the sake of faith is a powerful gift in it self.
The Holy Spirit empowers faith but, all too often we only believe what we can see and touch.
We have been trained the know that there is no free lunch. We want people to show us the money. We have this attitude in life because we know the world is out to get us. We are paranoid and rightly so because in much of the world there is proof that it is true.
Our scripture calls us to overcome doubt. Not on our own by with the help and power of the holy spirit.
I was thinking, what kind of nickname is the twin.. Didymus?
Is it just a goofy name like Hoobey or father tree, with no real meaning?
I have heard it said that everybody has a twin in this world. I remember hearing that in high school. I had never though of it much until someone told me that there was a person in my high school that could be my twin or at least my older brother.
Our high school has 1200 students and I was not exactly a person that got to know a lot of people. I mostly knew other people in the band.
One day there was a school assembly. One of the friends said “there is the guy that looks just like you.” I looked over the crowd and did not see anyone that I thought looked like me. He kept insisting and telling me where to look….I finally found the face he was referring to. It was one of the coaches; I did not even know his name.. I did not see much of a resemblance, but I did get a sort of creepy feeling.
-- Let me share with you what other ancient literature says the name represents.
Thomas did not have a twin brother. This is an nick name not a description. But perhaps he looked similar to someone that the was not related to…Like the coach and me. People see one and think of the other.
Several sources explain that Thomas was called the twin because, he was like Jesus.
They don’t explain exactly how, some theorize that they looked like brothers, or they had similar mannerisms, or sounded similar. I guess that could be a family resemblance.
Think of how that would make you feel? That some people might mistake you for Jesus…..
But, isn’t that exactly what is supposed to happen?
As Christians aren’t people supposed to catch a glimpse of Jesus coming from us from time to time.
Perhaps not as a visual recognition but more character or actions or love.
Are there things about ourselves that make us doubt that we have a family resemblance?
More important, how are we responding to our knowledge of Easter. Are we bless because of our faith? Or Are we hiding in a closed room away from the world?
SLIDES
What is the hope for the non-believer? What can give them hope….If Jesus were to join them, they would not recognize him and they would not really receive any peace.
They need someone that they can touch that will teach them about Jesus. They need something physical and tangible that will plant the mustard seed of faith so that they can find Jesus when the world crashed in.
Who do you want to look like?
Are you showing a family resemblance of the one that saved you?
All Glory be to God!
