John 20:19-31 HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS - the resurrection
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors 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 side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
In the early 1920’s in Communist Russia, the great communist Nikolai Bukharin was sent from Moscow to Kiev to address an anti-God rally. For an hour he abused and ridiculed the Christian faith until it seemed as if it were hopeless for anyone to believe in Christianity. Then questions were invited. An Orthodox church priest rose and asked to speak. He walked up behind the podium, faced the people, and gave the Easter greeting, “He is risen!” Instantly the assembly of thousands rose to its feet and shouted back loud and clear, “He is risen indeed!”
The opposite happened on Easter evening. The apostle Thomas walked into the room full of disciples, and the disciples said to him, "He is risen!" And Thomas said, "No he's not!" Later, Jesus took care of Thomas' skepticism, when he appeared a week later. But that skepticism that Thomas expressed has echoed down through the centuries. We live in a "No he's not!" culture. The Christian church says at Easter, "Christ is risen." Not true, our culture says. The Bible says that because Jesus has risen, we also will rise. Because Jesus has risen, we will live, even after we die. Not true, our culture says.
This world is all there is, our culture says. "You only live once," is a cliché used by young people about a year ago. "YOLO," was the acronym. The whole YOLO thing began to die when talk show personalities started to use it because they were trying to be "hip" like the teenagers. A person says, as he is about to do something reckless or stupid - YOLO - you only live once. But if Jesus has risen from the dead, you don't only live once. You only live how many times? 3 times is the real truth - did you realize that? You live once right now. You live a second time at the moment of your death, when you close your eyes and open them in heaven. And you live a third time when you rise from the dead on Judgment Day, just as Jesus rose from the dead on Easter. If Jesus did not rise - then yes, you only live once. But Jesus did rise - and so, you only live three times. That article of faith that we hold to be true - that is one of the most important results of Jesus' resurrection.
Let's take a moment and see Jesus appear to his disciples on Easter night, and let's ponder what it means that Jesus has risen from the dead, how that changes the way we look at life and our existence beyond this life. There is a reason to hope, and today Jesus teaches us that reason,
The Bible describes the disciples locked into a room on Easter night, and that they were afraid and hopeless.
For some time now, they had been following the Teacher, Jesus Christ. They had thought that perhaps he was the Messiah. They had watched his miracles. That had heard his promises. He had said so many good things. But now he was dead. And all the things he had said and done were dead with him. How can you hope in someone who is dead? For those disciples, the world had become a very cruel place – a place of broken promises, unfulfilled dreams, and big disappointments. You can sum up their attitude with one word - hopeless.
Have you ever had a moment like those disciples, a moment when you just want to lock yourself into a room and be by yourself? Has the world ever seemed like a very cruel place to you– a place of broken promises, unfulfilled dreams, big disappointments? The world can be a very difficult place to live, and the Devil uses those difficult moments to make you feel hopeless and despairing. The Devil wants you to say to yourself, “The God you believe in is dead. There is no hope.”
Not only can the world cause us to feel that way. Our own history - our own choices in life - can cause us to feel that way. Look into your past, the Devil says, and consider all the mistakes you have made in life, all the words and actions you wish you could take back, but you can’t, you cannot help but feel a sense of hopelessness. At the time, you were just living for the moment - "you only live once" you thought to yourself. But now there is the guilt. You hurt someone, and that bothers you. You offended God, and that bothers you. And you close your door and you feel hopeless, just like those disciples.
The ultimate cause of hopelessness is death. Do you realize that there are 2 kinds of people - people who are recovering from the death of a loved one, and people who are about to experience the death of a loved one? Which one are you? Is death around the corner for you, or is death in your rear view mirror? For some, death is a time of hopelessness. To think that there is anything positive when a loved one dies - how can you do that?
What is the cure for hopelessness? Our world tries to offer hope, but not too successfully. Be a positive thinker, people say. Can you imagine walking up to those disciples locked in that room, and saying to them, “Everything will be fine, you guys, just think positive thoughts!” That’s ridiculous. And yet, that’s the best comfort our world is able to offer. To tell someone to be optimistic without any real reason for being optimistic is really quite silly.
The disciples found the reason to be optimistic when Jesus appeared to them. "Peace be with you," he said to them. And the Bible says they were overjoyed. No more hopelessness. No more sadness. Now, it is joy. But not for Thomas - he wasn't there, and he would not believe it. He was stuck in an attitude of hopelessness, until that next Sunday night, when Jesus appeared to him, and said to him, "Stop doubting and believe." And Thomas' doubt disappeared, as he worshiped Jesus and said, "My Lord and my God."
What a turn-around for Thomas! One minute God is dead, and there is no hope. But then he sees that Jesus is alive. God is not dead. There is hope! Thomas discovered that there is a reason to be joyful, to be hopeful, to be optimistic. And that reason is that Jesus is alive and well. His hero was alive. We all love heroes. But there is only one hero in all the world who has died, and then has come back to life – and that hero is Jesus Christ.
This moment that Thomas had with Jesus also belongs to you. When things look hopeless, remember – this is not a dead end. There is no such thing as a dead end for a Christians, because Jesus is alive. There was once a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa. Some of his friends asked him, “Why have you become a Christian?” He answered, “Well, it’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn’t know which way to go. And there in the road were two men, one dead, and one alive. Which one would you ask which way to go?”
For every person in life, there is a fork in the road. To be a Christian, or to not be a Christian. To be hopeless, or to have hope. One way is littered with nothing but death – unfulfilled dreams, broken promises, empty optimism, charismatic leaders who are dead. But there is another way, and in that way stands someone who is alive. Someone who does not break his promises, someone who knows what your dreams are and promises to fulfill them beyond what you could ever imagine, someone who gives you a real reason to be optimistic. That someone is Jesus, and he comes to you, sometimes during your lowest moments in life, when it seems as though God is dead, and Jesus says to you, “Stop doubting and believe.” You only live 3 times, thanks to Jesus Christ.
In the Greek Orthodox tradition, the day after Easter is devoted to telling jokes. They felt they were imitating the cosmic joke that God pulled on Satan in the resurrection. Satan thought that he had won, and was smug in his victory, smiling to himself, having the last word. So he thought. Then God raised Jesus from the dead, and hope was born.
In your life, the Devil will never have the last word. There will always be a reason to hope, because Jesus is alive. His promises are alive. His assurance of eternal life for you are alive. You only live once? No. You only live 3 times? The answer is yes. Look to the risen Jesus, and find your hope. Amen.
