Easter 2

 

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! +

    Before we begin to consider our Gospel lesson, I want you to think back to Palm Sunday. Think on the crowds, the celebration, the pride and joy that the disciples must have felt seeing, knowing that they were a part of this whole Jesus thing, that they were His disciples. But Luke records for us this note about Palm Sunday – When [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! We'll look at this Luke text at the end of the Summer, but do you see the contrast there? Joy versus weeping. Displays of pomp and power, and yet, they don't know peace. And Jesus is right – we see the peaceless violence of Jerusalem, the mob, the shouting of threats triumphing over justice and order. And in a week, the disciples hopes and dreams are flogged apart and nailed to a tree. Quite the contrast.

    And now our Gospel text. It's 8 days after that Palm Sunday, the evening after Easter. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” You know, we call Palm Sunday the triumphal entry, and I'm never going to get the Church to change that – but this, this is Christ's triumphant entering Jerusalem again. Not in humility on a colt, the foal of a donkey – but brashly. Locked door – Jesus don't care about no locked door – just walks right on in, alive, risen from the dead, having crushed Satan, having descended into hell and harrowed it. This is Christ Jesus triumphant, this is the Christus Victor, this is God Almighty.

    And Jesus shows up to His fearful disciples, and He says, “Peace be with you.” Shalom. It's all good. It's all right. It is finished, and yet I live. The war between God and man, the rebellion started in the Garden, the rule of Satan and sin – that's all done, and now there is peace. And that had been the goal from the beginning – the promises of the Old Testament to Adam, to Abraham, the promises of the Messiah. The whole sacrificial system, providing temporary peace until Christ our Passover Lamb would come. Even the threat of death is undone – for just as Jesus is raised so you too will be raised – that's what Peace is! That's the peace that Jerusalem didn't care about, that's the peace that the disciples cowering in that room had ignored, that's the peace that Christ Jesus won for the disciples by His passion, by His Cross, by His death, and by His resurrection. Peace. There is peace because I have won, and it is your peace disciples, because I am giving it too you.

    When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the LORD. And it's a real peace – it's a peace that actually happened – not some made up peace, not some delusion in my head peace. No, it's a peace that endures even beyond crucifixion, even beyond the spears of Rome, a peace that surpasses all human understanding – You think that dead men don't live again and certainly not with a spear thrust to the heart after being crucified! But there Jesus is. Christ the Crucified stands risen before them, and this Jesus says peace.

    But not just to them. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” Oh, disciples, this peace isn't just for you. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world – it is peace for all. And you are being sent, sent to proclaim that peace. Behold, the Living Jesus breathes – see, alive, He breathes, He respires, the Spirit of life is with Jesus, and Jesus breathes that Spirit upon them and gives them the Holy Spirit... for what? To give people forgiveness. To give people peace. Peace is a forgiveness word. If you've not forgiven someone, there is no peace between you – there's animosity and anger and plots and plans and perhaps even a bit of punishment. Jesus gives the Spirit to the disciples so that they will go out into the world and proclaim that Jesus lives and there is forgiveness and life in His name.

    And this is the story of the New Testament Church in a nutshell – go out and proclaim Christ's forgiveness, and forgive sins, and people hear and believe, even on to this day. To you, now. You've heard the proclamation of Christ's forgiveness. His peace is declared to you. The Spirit of Christ Jesus is poured upon you again, this day, so that you would be given once again Jesus' peace. That's what the Holy Spirit's job is – to make you know Christ's peace, to give you life. This Spirit giving that Jesus does there in that locked room burst forth from that room and spread and flowed even on into your life, even unto you today. It's the same Spirit at work, proclaiming peace from the very same Jesus. A tidal wave of peace, and mighty rush of the Spirit that fills not just a room on Pentecost but fills the whole earth, all four corners, and speaks to dead and dying sinners and gives them life – speak to the breath, speak to the Spirit, Son of Man, that these dry bones may live! That is what Jesus does here.

    But Pastor – um, not to be a buzz kill, but why did Jesus add on that “withhold forgiveness” part? Allow me to clear something up. One of the things about how we use the word “if” today is that “if” makes something seem optional, like there's a choice – if you forgive, if you withhold forgiveness. Nope – that's not the point. I don't have the option to not forgive someone who confesses their sin and desires forgiveness. I don't have the option to say, “Jesus didn't actually die for you, ya jerk.” This isn't a statement about what I or what you might think we get to do with forgiveness. It's fact. When you forgive someone, they are forgiven. And when someone refuses that forgiveness, when it is thrown back in your face, when you are stuck holding Christ's peace and forgiveness in your hands because they have refused it and rejected it and they do not know the things that make for peace – that forgiveness is withheld. And they don't receive it, and they miss out on peace. And Jesus is warning the disciples that this will be something that will happen to them. Jesus risen doesn't mean life in the sinful world will be sunshine and daisies all the time.

And as example number 1 of this we hear – Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” Alright, pause here. The Apostles, the sent ones, the ones sent by Christ even as He was sent by the Father, go forth to preach their first sermon. There's nothing more entertaining for a pastor than watching some young buck getting ready to preach his first sermon – a Seminarian all nervous and excited and this is going to be the bestest anyone has ever preached Jesus and this will be awesome – and so the newly minted apostles go and preach their first sermon all happy and joyous and... But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.” Understand just how flat the apostles' first sermon fell. It's not just that Thomas doubted – Thomas is disdainful, dismissive, and rude. Oh, you saw Jesus? Oh, He showed you His hands and side -thhpppptttt. Get bent you delusional hacks. Like that happened? Yeah, sure, right – tell you what, I'll buy that this happened when I see it myself, no, no, no, not even see it myself – I'll believe when I just get to jam my finger into a nail hole, no, no, no even better – when I get to stick my hand up into His side. What a load of bunk. Do you see what Thomas did? He took individual parts of what the disciples told him, and he threw it right back in their face.

    Jesus had warned the disciples. There would be times peace is not received. Jesus had even prepared them for this long ago – when Jesus sent the 72 out two by two He had said, “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.” Yeah, disciples, even after Easter there are still going to be plenty of “if not” sorts of situations. There will still be times when people won't want Jesus' peace – even people who should know it and want it.

    Oh well – you go be a proclaimer of peace! You speak it forth, and maybe it will stick. Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them – see, persistence, dragging Thomas along even when he's at his “I don't want peace” grumpiest – Although the doors were locked – see, the world is still messy and dangerous, there still are angry mobs ready to do violence to the disciples of Jesus – same old, same old. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Still the proclamation of Jesus' peace goes forth – despite people denying it, despite many people wishing do to violence against it – Christ Jesus has died and has risen, and the protestations of the world can't change that one bit.

    And then a reminder that our Risen Lord not only is forgiving and merciful, but that He also still has His sense of humor. Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands – Yeah, Thomas, I heard you trash talking about Me and My resurrection – so come on over here, blind man, and see with your finger. And put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Come on Bub, you said need to poke Me, let's get this over it. This is Jesus rubbing Thomas' nose in it, just as Thomas had done to the disciples – but a joyous rubbing of Thomas's nose in it, rubbing Thomas in forgiveness and life and peace – rubbing the Spirit into Thomas' ears for Thomas now believes – Thomas answered Him, “My LORD and my God!” And Thomas gets it. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is God. Christ is risen from the dead, and there is peace.

    And now you get mentioned in the bible. Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. There you go – that's Jesus talking about you. That's Jesus speaking about all those who simply hear the Gospel and don't get to see Jesus face to face until the last day – don't worry, you get the full kit and kaboddle of forgiveness and peace too. You get baptism, you get the Supper (hey – the peace of the Lord be with you always – huh) – you are blessed by Jesus.

    And then John wraps it up with a reminder of what his Gospel is for, what our words in the Church are for. After a quick reminder to preachers tempted towards being long winded – Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book – wrap it up, preacher. You don't have to explain EVERYTHING – just get to the point – but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name. The Gospel of Christ goes forth – the Holy Spirit is at work – so that you may hear and believe and have life. Even to you, this day, Christ Jesus still says Peace. That's the point – now let's feast. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, alleluia!