|
EASTER 2
YEAR
A ACTS 2:14a,
22-32 1 PETER
1:3-9 JOHN
20:19-31 MARCH 30,
2008 John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came
into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the
light of all people. We are the
people of God. We are a people that celebrate the life our Lord gave us.
We celebrate this life to its fullest when we discover what this life is
about. The first words in the Gospel According to Thomas has been
given the name of doubter but this may be a bit of an injustice for
Thomas. Thomas was not going to say he believed something he did not
believe. He was not going to say so just to get the others off his back.
The Greek word used for Thomas’ unbelief means, to start believing and to
stop walking in unbelief. You might wonder about the difference. People
that doubt sometimes stop seeking information. People that doubt have
already made there mind up about a certain thing. Some of us have made up
our minds that God not longer heals people as God did in the Bible times.
We pray but we doubt it will make a difference. We doubt the power of God
to make good things happen for us. We are not walking in childlike faith
and so we deny the power of God. Thomas was a bit stubborn when his
brothers told him about seeing Jesus but he was willing to be persuaded.
He was willing to learn the truth but it would need to come from Jesus.
We have a
wonderful class of confirmation students. You saw them during our Lenten
drama as we held the trial of Jesus. Our students are learning. They come
to class faithfully and they participate in the class activities. They
really want to learn but they are not willing to say they believe
something just because we tell them they should. The other evening we were
talking about the Lord’s Prayer and the petition about giving us our daily
bread. The discussion about daily bread made an abrupt shift to another
topic. One of our students had a question about the Bible and something
was troubling her. This student was searching for answers. The ensuing
discussion took us off of the topic of daily bread but the student was
having some serious faith issues. She was struggling with a teaching in
the Bible and wanted to find the answers. You might wonder
about the faith of a student that would question the Bible. You might
think we have problems if our students begin to question the word of God.
There is no problem when our students are asking questions. When they ask
questions it demonstrates to me their faith development. It tells me that
they want to know more. They want to understand. They want some answers
before they are going to believe anything. This is why we have a Sunday
School program that begins at a very young age. We teach our children the
ways of the Lord and we encourage them to ask questions. This is why our
Wednesday evenings are filled with activities. We teach our children to
ask important questions of faith. We do not discourage them by telling
them they should be seen and not heard. We are all at a
particular point in our faith development. Some are infants in the faith
while others are adolescents. Many are young adults in the faith and still
others have become mature Christians. As we continue to grow in faith we
continue to ask questions and seek answers from the Lord. As we ask
questions we have a better understanding and our faith grows as does our
maturity. The discussion
in the confirmation class was ended but it was a “to be continued” type of
ending. We will revisit the conversation. Thomas did not close himself off
from learning about the risen Lord. He did not refuse to believe. He just
needed more information. When Jesus appeared in the room with Thomas
present, Thomas could proclaim the words that all Christians must come to
proclaim. “My Lord and my God!” John 20:26
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.” Why are the two
appearances in this text a week apart? The first appearance occurs on the
evening of the day of the resurrection. The second appearance occurs after
eight days. The first day of the week and the eighth day of the week were
both Sundays. The first day of the week is the day Christians have chosen
to worship. We worship on the first day of the week because it is the
celebration of the resurrection. It is quite possible that the first
Christians worshipped at the synagogue on Saturday and gathered to share
the Lord’s Supper on Sunday. It could be that they left the Sabbath
worship and went directly to the Christian celebration of the Lord’s
Supper. Their Sabbath day started at 6:00 Friday and ended at 6:00
Saturday. The first day of the week would have started at 6:00 on Saturday
evening. Jesus appeared
to his disciples on the first day of the week. He taught them and he
granted them peace. Our Lord blessed them with the Holy Spirit that would
allow them to begin to understand the reason for the life, death and
resurrection of our Lord. This is why Sunday is the day we gather and the
day we share in the Lord’s Supper. On Sunday we have our Christian
teaching and on Sunday we gather to worship the Lord. On Sunday we gather
for Christian education and we do not despise the worship and the teaching
of God’s word. So then, how can
we have a Saturday evening service and still celebrate resurrection? If we
follow the Jewish model we know that Sunday begins at 6:00 on Saturday
evening. We call it an extension of our Sunday worship. We gather because
we want to know the Lord and we want to celebrate the life God has given
to us. Jesus is Lord on Saturday evening just as he is Lord on Sunday
morning. It is good to gather in the Lord’s name. It is good to come
together to sing praises to the Lord. Today you are
invited to come forward for laying on of hands and healing. You come to
the altar believing in the healing power of God and trusting that God
wants you to be healed. You come forward proclaiming that Jesus is your
Lord and your God. You come forward not because you have seen him and have
touched the nail marks and the mark in his side. You believe even if you
have not seen. We are the ones that are filled with joy because we
believe. You are invited
to stop your unbelief and begin to believe in the power of God. Believe
that he is alive and that he is breathing life into you.
John 20:30, 31
Now 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 that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name.
AMEN |