Immediate Word

For April 28, 2019:

• Finding Resurrection Among Smoldering Ruins by Chris Keating — The aftermath of the fiery destruction of Notre Dame of Paris, as well as the recent burnings of African American churches in the south, provides a contemporary connection to our search for resurrection hope in moments of fearful desperation.
• Sing Boldly! by Tom Willadsen — As one who has worn the name Thomas for more than 55 years, I find myself needing to defend this disciple and perhaps offer him something like redemption.
• Sermon illustrations from Ron Love and Mary Austin.
• Worship resources by George Reed that focus on resurrection today, for us; Thomas as a positive role model.
• Children’s sermon: Recognizing Resurrection by Bethany Peerbolte — Resurrection may seem like a foreign concept to children. This sermon will help them to notice the little and big resurrections we can see around us and begin recognizing them as God’s work.

Finding Resurrection Among Smoldering Ruins
by Chris Keating
John 20:19-31

As the smoke cleared from the gutted shell of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, hope began to arise.

With firefighters still on the scene, French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo were given a brief tour of the cathedral’s smoldering interior Monday evening. Huge holes appeared in the structure’s ceiling, but Hidalgo described some hopeful signs.

“The altar and its cross were preserved,” she said. “It’s less terrible than I feared.”

Many of the cathedral’s treasures and priceless artifacts were preserved, including a relic said to be the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, the tunic of Saint Louis, and pieces of wood thought to be from Jesus’ cross. Still, the damage was devastating. Two-thirds of the cathedral were destroyed in the fire.

Billions of dollars have been pledged toward the rebuilding effort, which some predict could take decades.

It’s a sign of hope, a reminder of the risen Jesus standing with the fear-filled disciples. Yet Notre Dame is not the only church that has burned recently. As the flames engulfed Our Lady of Paris, members of black churches in Louisiana began making plans to rebuild the charred embers of their congregations.

Easter morning’s bombings in churches and hotels in Sri Lanka deepened the scars inflicted by the trauma in Louisiana and Paris, adding fresh images of pain, fear, confusion and loss. The series of coordinated attacks is said to represent some of the worst experienced in Sri Lanka in a decade.

Each of these sacred spaces was invaded by terror. Notre Dame’s accidental fires prompted concerns over priceless artifacts as well as the building’s symbolic meaning for France. The black churches in Louisiana also lost priceless treasures — sacred spaces of celebrating decades of baptisms, weddings, funerals; pews favored by long-deceased aunts and uncles; pulpits where sermons announced hope to the oppressed. These lesser-known congregations are the latest examples of centuries of violence directed toward black churches, a history too easily neglected.

Perhaps ironically, the bloodiest carnage in Sri Lanka appeared to be at St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, a church named after an early Christian martyr.  

These stories are not forgotten by the risen one who is present with us this Sunday. Jesus comes to the frightened and weary apostles, breaking through rumble and ruin, shuttered doors and locked windows. They’ve suffered their own fiery ordeal. But still he rises, bringing words of hope.

John’s testimony of Jesus’ resurrection offers assurance to those mourning the loss of great monuments and clapboard chapels alike: “Peace be with you.” It’s still Easter, and the risen Lord is still finding his way to bring good news to the sorrowful. And this time, he’s bringing them the Holy Spirit.

In the News
The flames that have engulfed sacred spaces in recent days have swallowed timbers, charred spirits and created fear. They have also brought reminders of other tragedies endured by places of worship across the world in the past decade, including shootings, bombings, and fires. While Notre Dame’s inferno was accidental, its unthinkable destruction has prompted unimaginable hope, including millions of dollars pledged toward rebuilding black churches in southern Louisiana.

To borrow the words of Guatemalan poet Julia Esquivel’s, these flames have threatened their communities with resurrection. Evil, whether spontaneous or premeditated, has tried to arrest hope like a dictator’s jackbooted armies. Yet unimagined hope has arisen from these unthinkable experiences.

Packed into a windowless room in a rented Masonic lodge, members of the Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas, Louisiana, raised their voices in praise on Easter. Their church was one of three targeted by an arsonist whom authorities believed was motivated by racial hatred. Grief broke through songs of jubilation and joyful dancing as members reflected on the loss of their church.

The church’s pastor addressed the burning in his Easter sermon, praising congregants for their graceful response to the tragedy. He directed them to pray for the suspect, 21-year old Holden Matthews.

“Holden and his parents, I think about what they must have been going through,” the Rev. Harry Richard said. “I would hate for that to have been my son. How would I feel? I put myself in his place. How would I feel if it was my son? Can you imagine that mother and that father waking up that morning and realizing it was their son that did this? Can you feel the heartbreak?” “Don't ever give up on love,” he continued. “I don't care what the world might do to you. You never give up on love.”

His words were a reminder of the resurrection’s gifts of unimaginable peace and hope.

Those gifts were also part of Easter services in Paris, where the efforts of firefighters and others to preserve the cathedral were recognized. About two-thirds of the centuries-old Notre Dame cathedral were destroyed in the Holy Week fire, though no one was seriously injured or killed. Images of firefighters pushing back against the blaze prompted assurances of hope.

The firefighters formed human chains to remove sacred relics from the cathedral. Fire brigade chaplain Father Jean-Marc Fournier climbed on top of altars to remove paintings and consecrated Eucharistic elements. Following the fire, Mayor Hidalgo praised their courage and determination. “We saw the moment you decided to take on all the risk to save Notre Dame, a work of humanity,” she told the firefighters in a ceremony last Thursday.

With the sacramental host in hand, Father Fournier stood alone in the burning nave and pronounced a benediction. “I thought Jesus could help us a little bit and work, too,” he said. “I invited him to worry about his own house if he didn’t want to finish the night under a tent by the Canal Saint-Martin.”

But the city which cradles the cathedral has promised to pursue the hope of its resurrection. NPR’s Scott Simon pointed to the heroic efforts of firefighters as inspiring hope. “Holy Week may be exactly the time to wonder how the world can find so much so quickly to rebuild an extraordinary house of faith, while so many people in the world are left to struggle with so little, in refugee camps and shattered cities,” he said. “But the fortitude of Paris firefighters can remind us, as much as the cathedral itself, of the majesty of human effort. The most magnificent edifices can be fragile. Courage, kindness and faith endure.”

The mystery and majesty of sacred spaces invoke that sort of unimaginable faith, even when they are threatened by unthinkable destruction. It breaks into sealed rooms of fear, bringing the reassuring comfort of the one who says, “Peace be with you.”

In the Scripture
John 20:19-31 form Act Two of John’s resurrection narratives and are traditionally the verses selected for the second Sunday of Easter. The lectionary editors include the misnamed “doubting Thomas” passages in the readings, though as Karoline Lewis notes it is helpful to see these are two distinct stories of Jesus’ appearance (see Lewis, John, Fortress Preaching Commentaries, p. 244). John’s Easter narratives began with Mary making her way to the empty tomb, and her subsequent encounter with Jesus. Her announcement “I have seen the Lord” (v. 18) sets the context for what follows.

Huddled in fear, the disciples seem overcome by fear. Mary’s announcement has not brought them any reassurance, a point Jesus seems to emphasize in his later conversation with Thomas. (“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”) But resurrection is tricky business, and notions that the dead do not remain dead are hard to dismiss. Their fears have consumed them, making it impossible to confront the unimaginable news Mary has shared.

Though the doors are locked, and the windows sealed, Jesus appears (v. 19). It illustrates his previous statements that he is the door to the sheep. As Lewis notes, Jesus is the door, and is not prevented from entering this locked up space (Lewis, p. 244). The disciples’ fear should not be read in anti-Semitic terms, but rather as a fear of the leaders who have crucified Jesus. The same fears have impacted the Johannine community and are not unlike the fears of many today because of their race, sexual orientation, heritage, religious commitment or political beliefs.

In their moment of fear, Jesus appears. He offers them the gift of the Holy Spirit, breathing the Spirit’s warm, energizing and hope-filled peace upon them. This peace is breathed into them, giving witness to the life-invigorating work of the one John calls the Advocate (“Paraclete.”) The Advocate/Comforter’s presence brings the disciples Jesus’ gift of peace, setting aside anxiety and offering a resurrection-size slice of life abundant. He has come that they might have light, and now it is clear exactly what shape this abundant life will take. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any they are retained,” Jesus tells them.

Jesus’ benediction — not unlike Father Fournier’s words of blessing to the burning cathedral — are words that instruct the disciples to become a community of hope. They are to model the abiding love of God and practice the sort of mutuality of love Christ has modelled. The benediction marks the disciples’ transition from a fear-filled community sequestered in a sealed room to the beloved community where even one as pragmatic as Thomas will soon be transformed. John’s Easter Sunday evening is characterized by the unfolding of God’s boundless, nearly unimaginable hope in the presence of unthinkable circumstances.

In the Sermon
As Tom Willadsen notes in his alternative article this week, the church has for too long over-focused on “doubting” Thomas in this passage. In doing so, it misses the tremendous moment of Christ’s confirmation of peace into the frightened lives of the disciples. In addition, Jesus’ bestowing of the Spirit on this anxious bunch offers an opportunity to speak of the renewing life-giving gift of the Spirit on more than just Pentecost Sunday.

Our neighborhoods live in fear — there is a reason why video doorbells and surveillance systems are popular. Our fears are not only the abstract and politically-hyped suggestions that our borders cannot contain invasions from disease-ridden mobs. They are also the very real fears that insert themselves into everyday life: aging, disease, the loss of beloved symbols of community, the unpredictability of terror.

And, as much as we try to evade them, these fears sneak into otherwise well-secured lives.

These fears are broadcast everyday: cell phone video of churches exploding in Sri Lanka as we got ready for Easter services; smoke rising from the roofline of Notre Dame as we planned Holy Week worship; racial hatred turned into arson as we work daily to unmask systemic oppression. We can identify with the disciples in the experience of isolating fear.

This second Sunday of Easter offers an opportunity to proclaim the unimaginable joy of Jesus resurrection in a world beset by unthinkable fear. Proclaim the promise of abundance this Sunday. That promised abundance finds its way into the black churches of Louisiana as they pray for their racist and troubled arsonist. It offers new life to the Catholic community of France as it rebuilds its cathedral in their deeply secularized community. The renewal Jesus breathes on the disciples offers peace to Christians under attack in Sri Lanka, and indeed to persons of all faiths who experience the trauma of violence in worship spaces.

Preach the promise of resurrection again this Sunday, proclaiming the unimaginable hope of resurrection as it arises from the charred embers of fear and violence.

SECOND THOUGHTS
Sing boldly!
by Tom Willadsen
John 20:19-31, Acts 5:27-32, Psalm 150 or Psalm 118:14-29

John 20:19-31
The surviving disciples gather on consecutive Sunday evenings. The first, on the day we know as “Easter,” then a week later. Preacher, beware. This is one of many passages in John’s gospel where the seeds of anti-Semitism can be replanted. It is not “the Jews” whom the disciples fear; it’s the Jewish authorities. They themselves are Jewish, as was Jesus. Furthermore, it’s absurd to hold responsible modern Jews for the crucifixion.

The text shows whom they feared, but it does not say why the disciples were afraid. Perhaps they feared the ridicule of those around them who knew they had followed Jesus of Nazareth — another in a long string of failed messiahs. Perhaps it was not only fear they were feeling, but also shame. Shame at having abandoned their Lord and teacher. And shame at having followed him and finding that he wasn’t what they had been hoping he would be. They were certainly depressed and exhausted and uncertain about what to do next. They needed to gather and work together to figure out what to do next.

John’s gospel doesn’t say anything about what happened after Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene at first light. She reported the conversation she’d had with Jesus, but there is nothing indicating how the surviving disciples took the news. They may have deemed in “ληρος” in Greek, “an idle tale” as Luke has it. (See last week’s illustrations.) Whatever they made of what Mary shared, they were still afraid and isolated.

As one who has worn the name Thomas for more than 55 years, I find myself needing to defend this disciple and perhaps offer him something like redemption. It is most unfortunate that he has been dubbed “Doubting Thomas.” In today’s passage from John, Thomas is the only disciple to be named; he stands out. He is among the few disciples we know anything about. Peter, of course, was both “The Rock” on which Christ’s church would be built, and about as smart as a rock in other contexts. Peter stands out also for having denied knowing Jesus three times, just as Christ had foretold. He gets something like redemption later in John’s gospel and certainly in Acts.

Judas we know as the treasurer and betrayer.

James and John, along with Peter, comprise something like the executive committee among the disciples.

We know something more about Thomas from the two occasions when he speaks in John’s gospel. As they gathered on the evening we know as Maundy Thursday, Jesus gave them the “New Commandment” to love one another. Jesus starts to prepare the disciples for what lay ahead. Jesus told them that he was going ahead to prepare a place for them and that they knew the way to the place where he was headed. At this point, Thomas speaks up and says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” This is not the question of a doubter. This is a question from one who wants to understand what’s going on.

It is in response to Thomas’s question that Jesus gives a concise, easy to remember sentence that sums up Christianity, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

(Jesus’ next sentence is another that the preacher must be careful with, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Christians through the ages have taken this sentence as the basis to invalidate other faith traditions.)

Immediately following Jesus’ answer to Thomas, Philip asks to have the Father shown to him. He hasn’t been paying attention. Or rather, he, like Thomas, realizes that the stakes are high and really, really wants to understand and be certain.

So now we skip ahead to the Sunday evening following the resurrection. The disciples have sealed themselves off and gone into hiding. Jesus appears in their midst and breathes on them. Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared. Sometime between that Sunday evening and the next Sunday evening the disciples say to Thomas exactly what Mary Magdalene had said to them, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas insists that he needs to see Jesus’ wounds and touch Jesus’ them before he would believe the disciples.

There is nothing in the text about how the disciples responded to Thomas.

You know how the story ends, Thomas sees with his own eyes and believes.

Imagine Thomas making different responses. He could have said, “No way, guys, you are just like Mary, the other Mary and Joanna; this idea of seeing Jesus and talking to him is just so much nonsense. You are deluded.”

He could have said, “Really? That’s excellent! I believe every word of this,” and started rejoicing. But Thomas was the original Missourian, he needed someone to show him. He didn’t rule out what the disciples had seen, but he did not give it immediate credence either. He took a middle path.

In the News
I am writing on Thursday, April 17, the day the redacted version of the Mueller report was released. All week I’ve been getting urgent notices from the President’s defenders and attackers about what was in the report. I have not heard about any leaks; no one on any side knew what the report contained before this morning. This did not keep pundits from speculating about the report’s contents based on clues they have picked up from what the White House has said. Former government officials have speculated about what might happen if what they suspect to be contained in the report is true. Has the President been exonerated? Has he and his staff obstructed justice? Reading the tea leaves and palimpsests and suspicions, is impeachment likely?

What would happen if those responsible for reporting and interpreting the news took Thomas’s approach? “I need to see for myself; then I might have an opinion.”

Back to Thomas
The second Sunday when Jesus comes to the room where the disciples have retreated to — and it appears that Jesus knows that Thomas had insisted on seeing Jesus’ wounds himself — Jesus shows Thomas his wounds and Thomas believes saying, “My Lord and my God!” Again, Jesus’ response is one that continues to bring comfort and strengthen the faith of generations of Christians who have followed. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Acts 5:27-32
We see reason for Peter’s redemption is today’s reading. This reading is Peter’s testimony the second time he was arrested and brought before the council. Remember two weeks ago when Jesus said, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Peter is now, a little while after Pentecost, preaching with boldness and conviction.

Peter’s first response, “We must obey God rather than any human authority,” is used by people doing acts of civil disobedience. Surely the council at the Temple was not thrilled with this response, but like the council just before Jesus’ trial, they dared not oppose the popular followers of the one from Nazareth.

In verse 31 Jesus is referred to as “Leader and Savior.” This is the only place in scripture that both titles appear. Is there something different about this context that calls for a new title for Jesus?

What is the significance of Jesus being regarded as “Leader” in the Easter season?

Psalm 118:14-29
The verses for this reading differ slightly from the reading for Palm Sunday. Verses 14-18 are all about vindication and victory. These were not part of the Palm Sunday reading.

The Lord is my strength and my might;
    he has become my salvation.
 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
    the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
    the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
 I shall not die, but I shall live,
    and recount the deeds of the Lord.
 The Lord has punished me severely,
    but he did not give me over to death.

Psalm 150
Everything that breathes should praise the Lord. This may be the most joyous psalm, perfect for the Easter season. The psalm makes it very clear that one has to move to praise the Lord. One cannot dance without moving. One cannot make music come out of any instrument without moving. Perhaps the psalm recalls the hymn “When in Our Music God is Glorified.” The hymn adds something that is not, however, in the text. In the hymn we sing, “Let every instrument be tuned for praise.” The psalm does not say anything about tuning. In fact, nowhere in scripture does it say, “Make a beautiful noise,” but “make a joyful noise.” Nowhere does it say, “Make a well-rehearsed noise.” It is not the quality of the music that matters; it is the feeling in the heart of the one making the noise in praise of the Lord.

This is all justification for my heart-felt opinion that if one cannot sing well, one should sing loudly. If the Creator did a bad job creating your voice, praise is precisely the context where the Lord needs to hear it!

Sing boldly! Sing loudly! And if someone in your congregation complains because you followed my advice, well, tell them the author is not a musician, but a trombone player.


ILLUSTRATIONS

From team member Ron Love:

Psalm 118:19 “Open to me the gates of righteousness”

The colony of Massachusetts outlawed any Baptist to be present in their domain. In 1651 a Baptist minister, Reverend Obadiah Holmes, entered Boston to visit a friend and to hold evangelistic services. He was arrested and imprisoned for several months. Upon his release from prison he was taken to Boston Commons and given thirty-nine lashes. Thirty years later, on April 9, 1681, Holmes prepared his will. It was such a powerful statement of faith that the president of Harvard was forced to rethink his position on Baptists. In the will Holmes wrote: “make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament in manner following, committing my spirit unto the Lord that gave it to me and my body to the earth from whence it was taken, in hope and expectation that it shall thence be raised at the resurrection of the just.”

* * *

Acts 5:29 “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

Marin De Boylesve was a French Jesuit priest. For each day of the Christian liturgical calendar he selected a short scripture passage and then wrote a meditation on that scriptural passage. The meditations are very short because he did not want to lose the attention of his readers. These meditations were published in 1877 with the title A Thought for Each Day of the Year. For Tuesday of the second week of Easter he wrote on John 10:13: “He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” He wrote that the wolf “represents the heretic, sophist, the man of scandal, or any one who by word or example would draw the Christian into error or vice.” He went on to write that if we do not fight against this heretic then we are a “hireling” who has “no love for souls, nor for Jesus Christ…” He ends each meditation with a prayer and a practice. For this meditation they are:

Prayer: Jesus, inspire me with a constant hatred and a holy anger against error and vice.

Practice: Think often of Jesus, who is ever-thinking of you.

* * *

John 20:22 “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Edward Gilbert and Samuel Martin were pastors in the Church of England. They selected several hundred quotes from the early church fathers. They then selected one quote for each day of the year, and then wrote a meditation for each. These were then printed in 1864 in a book titled The Family Prayer Book, or, Morning and Evening Prayers for Every Day in the Year. For April 14 they selected a quote for St. Teresa of Avila that reads:

Prayer is the only channel through which God’s great graces and favors may flow into the soul; and if this be once closed, I know no other way He can communicate them.

Edward Gilbert then wrote a very short meditation for it. “We pray for the hearing ear and the understanding heart…” He then went on to write that we seek “the teaching of thy Spirit, who alone can guide us into all truth, and enable us to know the things which have been given to us by God.”

* * *

John 20:22 “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Alexander Smellie was a pastor in the Free Church of Scotland. In 1899 he published a book titled In the Hour of Silence: A Book of Daily Meditations for a Year. He began his discussion by describing how ancient palimpsests had written upon them pagan poems, stories about false gods and other heathenistic material. Over time these writings faded away, but the parchments on which they were written remained. As he wrote that the pagan writings having disappeared, what was rewritten over them were Christians writings. Smellie wrote, “But the pagan poem is gone, with its ensnaring witchery and glamor, and in its room there is one of the Gospels in Greek or Latin — the blessed history of Jesus and His love.” He noted that at one time every human heart has written upon it a pagan poem, but in knowing Christ that pagan poem is replaced by the Gospel message. He wrote, “Every redeemed and renewed heart is just such a palimpsest. Formerly the heart had written on it all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings. But the old legend has been deleted by the grace of God; and now the heart bears this inscription, A newborn babe…” He then asks, “I wonder whether my heart is among the palimpsests of the kingdom of God.” 

* * *

John 20:19 “fear of the Jews”

Poland in the sixteenth century had three predominant Protestant denominations — Lutherans, Reformed, and the Moravians. As with all denominations there was a serious schism between them. And, which is almost always the case, the central theological issue was the interpretation of Holy Communion. There was a fourth denomination that was not involved in the schism for it had the power of the state behind it. This group was the Unitarians. The Vatican sent emissaries to the Unitarians with the intent of converting its leaders to Roman Catholicism. It would then be able to disband the other three Protestant denominations. This takeover was prevented when the three denominations united. On April 14, 1570, the Lutherans, Reformed and Moravians held a synod and signed an “Act of the Religious Union between the Churches of Great and Little Poland, Russia, Lithuania, and Samogitia.” In it they affirmed to abide by 1551 Council of Trent which states:

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs and testimonies of grace, as it has been said before, which remind us of the promise and of the redemption, and show that the benefits of the Gospel belong to all those that make use of these rites... In the established use of the Communion, Christ is substantially present, and the body and blood of Christ are truly given to those who receive the Communion.

* * *

Acts 5:29 “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

Sarah Platt Haines was born August 3, 1802, in New York City. In 1812 she recalls that she united with her mother in praying for the conversion of the world. She dates this experience as the beginning of her interest in missions. Haines, in 1828, along with eight other ladies, organized her first mission which was a relief mission to Greece. In 1840 she began visiting the New York City prisons. She expanded this mission in1842 by establishing a Home for Women Discharged from Prison, which became known as the Isaac T. Hopper Home. In 1850 she organized a House and School of Industry for Poor Women. During the Civil War she cooperated with the work carried on in the hospitals, ministering alike to the wounded from north and south. In 1860 she established the Woman's Union Missionary Society, designed to elevate and Christianize the women of heathen lands. For this, on April 11, 1861, she became known as the “Mother of Missions.” Sarah Platt Haines died in New York City on January 29, 1877.

* * *

John 20:22 “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. It was adopted in 1646 at the Westminster Assembly and became the standard confession of the Church of England. Regarding justification by faith alone — sola fide — the creed states, “Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love.”

* * *

John 20:22 “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

H. G. Wells published Secret Places of the Heart in 1922. This autobiographical novel features Sir Richmond Hardy, an English gentleman, who is having marital problems and traveling the countryside. In one episode in the book, he is having a conversation with his friend, Dr. Martineau, a doctor who specializes in mental health issues, or as the novel puts it, “nervous and mental cases.”

The doctor informs his patient that the only thing that could save him was to find the peace and fellowship that only God can provide. During this conversation, Sir Richmond vehemently rejects the idea of a personal God. He can accept the idea of a force of righteousness in the universe, but he can't envision it as merciful, warm, or friendly. He calls it a “dream” and a “delusion” to think humans can get close to what we call God.

Sir Richmond says with astonishment, “What! To think of that, up there, having fellowship with me! I would as soon think of cooling my throat with the Milky Way or shaking hands with the stars!”

For Sir Richmond God was completely unapproachable. Absent of faith, Sir Richmond could not comprehend having access to grace. He lived a life absent of a life blessed with peace.

* * *

John 20:22 “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Carl Sagan was one of the world’s most famous atheists. Sagan was an astronomer who narrated and co-wrote the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. At the time, Cosmos was the most widely watched series in the history of American public television. The program has been seen by at least 500 million people across 60 different countries. Sagan summed up atheism when he declared on the program, “The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.”

* * *

John 20:22 “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Isaac Asimov, a prolific writer, was a famous atheist. He wrote or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Asimov wrote science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers during the twentieth century. Asimov once said, “Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don’t have the evidence to prove that God doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time.”

* * * * * * * * *

From team member Mary Austin:

John 20:19-31
Listening to Thomas
The story is told of two men who came to a rabbi with a dispute. “When the rabbi invited them to sit down and talk about it, they glowered at each other as though to say, ‘If you sit down at this table, then I won’t!’ At last, they sat at the rabbi’s table with arms folded, casting angry glances at each other. Then the rabbi said, ‘Do you have anything more to say, Shlomo?’ Yes, Shlomo asserted, he had more to say. The rabbi kept listening to Shlomo’s answers and asking him questions about them until at last Shlomo said, more calmly, ‘No. I have nothing more to say.’

Next, the rabbi turned toward the other villager, Moshe, and asked, ‘What happened?’ The rabbi listened to him and asked him questions until he, too, said, ‘I have nothing more to say.’ The rabbi rose from the table to leave the room, saying, ‘I will deliberate on this and come back with a decision.’

Less than a minute later, the rabbi returned, sat back down at the table, and said, ‘I have reached my verdict.’ The rabbi described the verdict to them. Shlomo and Moshe looked at each other and each said, ‘All right. That solves it.’ They shook hands and left. Another man had been in the room and had watched all this. He said to the rabbi, ‘You found the solution in just a minute. Why did you let them talk so long, when you knew the answer right away?’ The rabbi said, ‘If I had not listened to each one’s full story, each would have resented my decision. It wasn’t my judgment that solved the problem. What solved it was listening to their entire stories.’”

In the same way, Jesus makes room for Thomas’ need to know more. Jesus hears Thomas’ doubts, and, in taking them seriously, allows them to be resolved. The other disciples couldn’t talk Thomas out of his doubts, and words from Jesus wouldn’t have done it, but allowing the doubts and hearing them fully made space for the answers Thomas needs.

* * *

John 20:19-31
Becoming Thomas
In a recent interview, Krista Tippett asked Eckhart Tolle about a story he tells. He would often see the same woman on the train, and, he says, “she would continuously talk to herself or to an imaginary person in a very angry voice, continuously complaining —‘And then he did this to me, then he said, and I said — how dare he tell me this’ — and I watched in amazement. How can anybody be so insane and still apparently have a job? Because she would catch the subway every morning. And one day, I was washing my hands in the bathroom, and I thought, ‘My God. Her voice — she never stops talking.’ And I suddenly realized, well, I do that, too, except that I don’t do it out loud. And then I thought, I hope I don’t end up like her. And somebody next to me looked at me, and I suddenly realized in shock that I had actually said these words aloud, just like her.” He said, “I hope I don’t end up like her,” and in that moment, became just like her.

We often fear becoming like Thomas, full of doubt that we can’t escape. But perhaps we are like Thomas already, and we can learn from what he has to teach us.

* * *

John 20:19-31
Showing Up
One of the powerful things about the post-Easter stories about Jesus is that he keeps showing up. There are no big healings or long sermons; he just shows up to be with his friends. Columnist Courtney Martin reflects that, as we seek to follow Jesus, part of our work is showing up, too, as our true, God-created selves. She writes, “In a world where we are crafting our identities more conscientiously than ever before — picking particular shots of our lives to share on Instagram, liking certain posts on Facebook — it takes a certain kind of modern courage to stop crafting. To say, enough with the curation. Enough with the control. I’m just going to be myself — warts and all. This means some really practical things. In a room where everyone is talking about their opposite-sex partners, making it the de-facto norm, and you are gay, you don’t shy away from telling a story where you out yourself. It means telling a new friend that you’re a recovering alcoholic without panicking that they’ll think you’re not fun. Maybe it means admitting to your boss that part of what motivates you at work is your spiritual life, a sense that you are actually doing something that you were called by God to do.”

She adds, “But sometimes it can be worth it, in part because when you show up whole, you give other people permission to do so, as well. You can actually feel the air change when someone does this, can’t you? It’s as if our cells collectively relax, oxygenated by the idea that this is a place where, apparently, we can show up as ourselves. What a relief. What a gift.” This the gift that Jesus gives Thomas, allowing him to be his whole, curious self, and it’s a gift we can give each other, in his name.

Martin notes, “At the end of the day, the risks of showing up as your whole self are great and varied.” Thomas knows this, and does it anyway. “But,” says Martin, “the risk of not showing up whole can also be dire. You wake up one day and realize that you don’t actually know who your real self is.”

Jesus is our model for showing up — and so is Thomas.

* * *

Revelation 1:4b-8
Alpha and Omega, beginning and End
Our beginnings and endings flow together, and we find the transforming power of Christ in all of it. Author and chaplain Kate Braestrup tells about Fred and Sally, at the end of a long marriage. “Once upon a time, I was a parish minister and one of my elderly (90-ish) parishioners, Sally, was dying. I went to visit her in the hospital, finding her semi-comatose in her bed, surrounded by an encampment of family members and with her not-dying but very old and dignified husband beside her. The husband — I’ll call him Fred — had not left his wife’s side for two days, sitting upright in a chair, holding her hand and refusing all invitations and entreaties to go home to bed, if not for the night then at least for a nap. I suggested that if Fred wouldn’t go to bed, maybe the bed could come to him? The nurse agreed. We found a cot and wedged it in between the wall and Sally’s bed. Upon discovering that the cot wasn’t high enough to allow Fred to be able to comfortably maintain his grip on Sally’s hand, we stacked another mattress on top. Fred clambered aboard this slightly precarious perch, lay down, took hold of Sally’s hand and grinned blissfully.

“I was standing at the foot of what was now — sort of — a double bed. I was dressed in clerical garb. Fred was still wearing his customary jacket and tie. Sally looked lovely in a white hospital gown draped in a white blanket. There were bouquets in the vicinity.  ‘Yeesh, this looks like a wedding!’ said one of the grandchildren. Fred and Sally’s daughter’s eyes at once lit up. ‘That’s what we’re going to do! We’re going to have a wedding!’ She ran out into the hall to collect stray grandchildren who had wandered away during the cot-moving exercise, roped in a few nurses’ aids and a doctor or two. One of the grandchildren strummed a guitar.”

Kate began to speak, saying, “In the presence of God and of this beloved congregation.” She read the ceremony for the renewal of the wedding vows, and announced that by the power invested in her by the state of Maine, Sally and Fred were still married. Fred kissed Sally, who smiled. The next morning, Sally died.

After that ending, Fred mourned for Sally. “It hurt to lose her; it was — as C.S. Lewis would say — a kind of amputation. And yet, he lived on. Sure, he needed more help as he got even older. He moved in with his daughter and son-in-law… and then he started dating again.”

The Alpha and the Omega succeed each other, each having its own turn. Beginnings and endings travel with us, and we never quite know which is which.

* * *

Revelation 1:4b-8
Grace and Peace to You
Attorney Tahmina Watson has a spiritual practice to bring grace and peace into the world. When the world is difficult and chaotic, when her law work is draining, when all she can see is despair, she doesn’t take to her couch with ice cream and Netflix. Instead, she writes letters. As she says, “So, recently, I’ve taken to handwriting notes of gratitude and sending them by mail to people I see working to make a difference. To the doctor, repulsed by the mounting carnage in hospital emergency rooms, who has been traveling the country speaking out in favor of gun control. The math teacher, who fundraises in her spare time and recently created a wish list for needy kids. The lawyer, who is also an animal rights activist who makes us all think twice about visiting the zoo. Handwriting is an almost forgotten art and doing it now has forced me to take stock of the things that are still positive and good in the world.” The act of writing forces her to slow down and look around, and it lifts her out of her own preoccupations. Instead of falling into despair, she extends grace and peace out into the world — and finds it again herself.



WORSHIP
by George Reed

Call to Worship:
Leader: God is our strength and our might.
People: God has become our salvation.
Leader: There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous.
People: "The right hand of God does valiantly.”
Leader: O give thanks to God, for God is good.
People: God’s steadfast love endures forever.               

OR

Leader: Praise God! Praise God in the sanctuary.
People: Praise God in the mighty firmament!
Leader: Praise God for mighty deeds.
People: Praise God according to God’s surpassing greatness!
Leader: Praise him with trumpet, lute and harp!
People: Let everything that breathes praise God! Praise God!

OR

Leader: God is alive! Christ is risen!
People: We rejoice in the living presence of our God!
Leader: Open your hearts and lives to the living God.
People: We welcome God into the depths of our souls.
Leader: Bear witness to God’s presence in your life to others.
People: We will share with others the joy of God’s life in ours.

Hymns and Songs:
Now the Green Blade Riseth
UMH: 311
H82: 204
NCH: 238
CH: 230
LBW: 148
ELW: 379
W&P: : 311
STLT 266

Christ Is Alive
UMH: 318
H82: 182
PH: 108
LBW: 363
ELA: 389
W&P: 312
Renew: 300

Surely the Presence of the Lord
UMH: 328
NNBH: 129
CH: 263
W&P: 131
CCB: 1
Renew: 167

He Lives
UMH: 310
AAHH: 275
NNBH: 119
CH: 226
W&P: 302

Blessed Assurance
UMH: 369
PH: 341
AAHH: 508
NNBH: 249
NCH: 473
CH: 543
ELA: 638
W&P: 426
AMEC: 450 

I Am Thine, O Lord
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283

Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561 

I Love to Tell the Story
UMH: 156
AAHH: 513
NNBH: 424
NCH: 522
CH: 480
LBW: 390
ELA: 661
W&P: 560
AMEC: 217 

Praise the Name of Jesus
CCB: 39
Renew: 7

Lord, I Life Your Name on High
CCB: 36
Renew: 4

Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P:: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship

Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is life eternal:
Grant us the grace to see new life bloom forth today
even in the midst of the ashes of our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

OR

We praise you, O God, because you are eternal life. When our lives are in shambles and ashes you come to offer us a new life. Help us to trust in your resurrection power today. Amen.

OR

We worship you, O God, because you bring your living presence into our lives. You are ever ready to reveal yourself to us as we seek a fuller relationship with you. Open us to new experiences of your presence today. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to seek God as God comes among us each day.  

People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We rejoice in the stories of the Bible but too often we are content to allow this to be our only meeting with the Risen Christ. We fail to look for the divine active among us today. Our faith is too much in our heads and not enough in our hearts and souls. Give us faith to not only believe in our heads but to experience in the depths of our being your living presence. Amen.   

Leader: God is here among us. Emmanuel is not limited to Christmas but the Christ is always bringing God to us. Open yourselves to God’s presence and share God’s love and grace with others.

Prayers of the People
Praise and glory are yours, O God, because you are the life of all creation. You have made us and you have not left us alone but dwell among us always.

(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)

We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We rejoice in the stories of the Bible but too often we are content to allow this to be our only meeting with the Risen Christ. We fail to look for the divine active among us today. Our faith is too much in our heads and not enough in our hearts and souls. Give us faith to not only believe in our heads but to experience in the depths of our being your living presence.

We give you thanks for the miracle and blessings of life. We thank you for your constant presence among us even when we are unaware of you.

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)

We seek your blessings for all your children this day. There are many who feel they are all alone. There are many who find themselves trapped in existence that feels little better than death. As you move among them bringing new life, help us to be your physical presence of life to those around us.

(Other intercessions may be offered.)

All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:

Our Father....Amen.

(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service)

All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.

Children’s Sermon Starter
Have your parents or teachers ever asked you, “What happened here?” Maybe something got spilled or broken when they were out of the room and they didn’t see what happened. They are really looking for witnesses, people who saw what happened. Jesus’ disciples were witnesses after Easter morning to the resurrection of Jesus. They ‘testify’ about his being risen. We can be witnesses, too, sharing the good news that Jesus is alive.



CHILDREN'S SERMON
Recognizing Resurrection
by Bethany Peerbolte
John 20:19-31

Resurrection may seem like a foreign concept to children. This sermon will help them to notice the little and big resurrections we can see around us and begin recognizing them as God’s work. Thomas is a great example for this change of perspective. Thomas may seem like the lucky one to see Jesus and have his demands met and his belief reinforced. Jesus points out that the real lucky ones are the ones who will find ways to see resurrection without having to see him. The believers who believe by faith and not by sight. In order to nurture that faithful belief we first have to teach our kids the tools to recognize God’s work around them. 

Say something like:

Have any of you ever missed something cool? Maybe you were playing a game on recess on one end of the playground but someone did a cool trick on the other side of the playground and you missed it. Or maybe you were on vacation and missed a playdate with friends that ended up being really fun. When we miss cool things like this, we only get to hear about them from other people. It can make us feel left out, maybe angry that we didn’t get to see it with our own eyes. 

This happened to one of the disciples. After Jesus was resurrected, Jesus started visiting his friends. One visit took place with all the disciples in the room except one. But Thomas missed it. When Thomas joined the disciples later all the other disciples could talk about was how great it was to see Jesus. Thomas felt left out, maybe even a little mad that he wasn’t included. He got so upset he promised not to believe that Jesus was alive until he got to see Jesus too. 

Thomas wanted to be a part of something amazing! You know what, Jesus agreed. Later Jesus does show up to see Thomas. When Jesus sees his friend he tells him he understands why Thomas wanted to be part of seeing him resurrected. Jesus knows it is great to be part of something so amazing. Jesus also says that not everyone will be able to see Jesus like this and that doesn’t make them any less a part of the amazingness of resurrection. You don’t have to see to believe!

I’ve never seen Jesus in person, but you know what I have seen? I have seen resurrection, and that reminds me that Jesus is still alive. I saw flowers die a few months ago and they are coming back in beautiful colors today. I have seen scary things happen like hurricanes and fires and I've seen whole towns that were destroyed be rebuilt. I have seen sad things happen to people and have seen them find their smile again. I have seen people get hurt and other people come to help them heal. 

Even though we don’t see Jesus resurrected, we can see resurrection around us. Jesus’ story reminds us that when bad things happen God works to resurrect them into something new. Resurrection is for all of us! With God we can heal, rebuild, and grow!

Let’s thank God for including us in the amazingness of resurrection. 

Amazing God, thank you for resurrecting Jesus, and continuing to resurrect our world. When we see sad things happen, we trust that you will be there to help. When we feel hurt, we know you will heal us with the same power that brought Jesus back from the dead. Thank you, Amen.


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The Immediate Word, April 28, 2019 issue.

Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.

All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.