If He Comes Back ...
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Dear Fellow Preacher,
We have clearly moved into the "post-war" phase in Iraq as initial steps are now being taken to establish a provisional government. The Iraqi people are understandably frightened. Transitions from a known leader, even an evil one, to an unknown future cannot help but create fear. It is also an anxious time for the American people as we consider what continuing role we will play in the Middle East.
In this week's installment of The Immediate Word team member George Murphy explores the lectionary gospel text for April 27, 2003, John 20:19-31, and uncovers some important insights for these disquieting times. There are also additional textual resources provided, timely and rich illustrations, and comments from other team members. As always this installment also includes helpful worship resources and a creative children's sermon.
We always welcome reader response and comments. We would be particularly interested in hearing about your worship resources needs. Are the worship materials we are providing meeting what you need for your services? Let us know how we can better serve you with these important materials.
If He Comes Back ...
By George Murphy
John 20:19-31
As coalition forces moved into Iraq, many Iraqis were somewhat reticent about denouncing Saddam Hussein publicly. This wasn't too surprising, even for those who really were opposed to the dictator. What if he weren't dead? What if the war stopped short of removing him, or he was somehow able to return to power? Given his past actions, it isn't hard to imagine what he would do to anyone who had abandoned or betrayed him.
Of course Saddam Hussein and Jesus of Nazareth were worlds apart in the ways in which they treated people. But if Jesus' disciples, on the day after his death, considered the possibility that he might somehow return, they might have been more than a little worried about how he would deal with them. They had all deserted him in his hour of need after making brave statements about their loyalty. Their usual spokesman, Peter, had denied that he even knew Jesus. If Jesus could return, they might think, surely then he would deal with those who had put him on the cross. And what might he say to those who had abandoned him? Perhaps, "A fine bunch of friends you are. You can go to hell along with all those others who didn't believe in me. Now I'm going to recruit some real disciples."
What he actually said was, "Peace be with you." And we're told that "then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord."
In the gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter, John 20:19-31, the risen Christ, bearing the marks of the cross, comes not to denounce those who have failed him or to take revenge on his enemies, but to proclaim peace, shalom, to his fearful and dispirited disciples. The second part of the text, with the story of "doubting Thomas," continues the same theme. While Jesus admonishes Thomas for his refusal to believe without observational evidence, he does not simply condemn or reject him because of his refusal to accept the news of the resurrection on first hearing.
Others will have their choices, but I think that this text is the most profound of the biblical stories of Christ's resurrection appearances. It speaks not only of the reality of the resurrection but of its meaning for those who hear of it. It displays the pattern for Christ's coming to all people, to the whole human race whose sin made the cross necessary. This is the Easter message that needs to be proclaimed to all who live in fear (sometimes inculcated by certain ways in which Christianity is presented) of judgment and condemnation for their failings. It is his response to doubt. And it is also the pattern for the way in which the church is to carry out its ministry in the world.
But let's back up a bit. Some Christians might be offended by any sort of comparison, such as the one with which I began, between Saddam Hussein and Jesus. As I noted, they are 180 degrees apart in their relations with others. The Iraqi was (is?) a user of others par excellence, while Jesus is, in Bonhoeffer's phrase, "the man for others."
But it's important to remember that we have the advantage of seeing Jesus in the light of his resurrection and with the whole apostolic witness to him. His contemporaries, and even his close disciples, seem consistently to have misunderstood what he was about before Easter. If Jesus was thought to be in some sense a claimant to kingship, why shouldn't he have been expected to behave the way ancient kings and modern dictators usually do and eliminate all opposition? (Solomon is a good example.) One of the parables attributed to Jesus has a king who acts in this way (Luke 19:27). Jesus had to rebuke James and John when they wanted to "command fire to come down from heaven and consume" a village that had refused to receive Jesus (Luke 9:51-56), and it isn't clear that at that point they got the message. And there are several biblical passages that suggest that God will destroy his enemies and those who have been unfaithful.
We would have to ignore many statements in the Bible in order to picture God's judgment in a sentimental "no-fault" manner. The wrath of God is a reality. But while God has wrath, God is love (1 John 4:8). That is a statement about the character of God and about the way in which God deals with the world.
It is helpful to make a distinction like that of Luther between God's "proper work" and God's "alien" or "strange" work. The former is activity that corresponds directly to God's character, work of love, mercy, and blessing. It is, to speak very loosely, what God "really wants to do." On the other hand, God's alien work of condemnation and destruction is work which is alien to God's character but which has to be done in order to do the proper work. It needs to be one component of preaching, but not for its own sake. When divine wrath and judgment are spoken of, it should be in such a way as to bring people to an awareness of, and faith in, divine love, mercy, and forgiveness.
Unfortunately these priorities have often been reversed. The image of a vengeful God and the idea that Christ will return in wrath to judge the world have been major components of much of Christian thought down to our own day, and preaching today still emphasizes such images. Jesus may have ridden into Jerusalem on a humble donkey, but next time, the message suggests, he'll be driving a tank. (I could cite a T-shirt I saw a few years ago, though its language may be offensive to some Christians: "Jesus is coming back, and boy is he pissed!")
The idea of the Last Judgment is certainly biblical -- but how is it to be presented?
Telling Christians about how unbelievers will be condemned may spur them to evangelistic efforts, but it may also encourage gloating over the potential fate of "those others."1 The threat of punishment may enforce obedience, but it's unlikely to bring people to love God. We might recall how, as a monk, Martin Luther was terrified by the image of Christ as the relentless judge that was common in the late medieval church. "Love God?" he said later. "I hated him!"2 There is another side of the biblical picture of judgment -- the sheep rather than the goats. There is the basic gospel message that Christ came to save the world rather than condemn it, and that those who put their trust in him need not fear condemnation.
Whatever is said about law, sin, and judgment should be intended to point people to this reality. And that is the direction in which our text points.
For Jesus says, "Peace be with you," to those who had deserted him. He invited Thomas to strengthen his weak faith and (in the next chapter of John) restores Peter who had denied him. And legends that Pontius Pilate later became a Christian are - well - implausible legends. But perhaps they have the right spirit.
Because the gospel is about forgiveness and acceptance. The resurrection of the crucified is not payback time.
Some preachers may feel that I'm overstating the obvious here. They realize that their central message should be John 3:16 and not "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." But many of us know how easy it is to slip into the preaching of law when gospel doesn't seem to produce any effects, and how many Christians of all denominations do in fact think of their status before God as dependent on how well they live up to God's demands instead of on the righteousness of Christ. In the Easter season especially, the simple but profound message that we are saved by Christ and not by ourselves needs to be announced clearly.
The purpose of such preaching is to enliven and strengthen faith. And that brings us to the part of our text that often is emphasized, that dealing with Thomas, who is portrayed as doubting the reality of Jesus' resurrection. He wasn't the only one with this attitude. We're told in Matthew's Gospel (28:17) that even when Jesus appeared to the eleven, "some doubted." And of course there have been many doubters from that time until now.
However, doubt about the factual character of Jesus' resurrection is not the only, or even the most profound, kind of doubt that we have to wrestle with. A person can believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, that the tomb was empty, and that he appeared to his followers, and still not understand that reality as an object of confidence and trust. Some kind of revival from death might just be a strange "Believe it or Not"
happening.
The type of faith to which gospel proclamation is to lead is more than belief that an unusual event like this took place. It involves also trust that the risen one, bearing the marks of the suffering he bore for my sake, is the one in whose love and acceptance I can place my final trust, in spite of my failings and doubts. It means to believe his message, "Peace be with you." It means to be able to say to him, in the fullest sense, "My Lord and my God."
Apologetic arguments for the truth of the resurrection have their place and, depending on the congregation, might be presented in connection with a number of the lectionary texts in the Easter season. But this Sunday's text provides preachers an opportunity to speak about this at the most basic level. The point of Easter is not, so to speak, simply that Jesus is risen but that Jesus is risen. The one who brings about forgiveness and reconciliation lives. The purpose of the Fourth Gospel, we're told at the end of our text, is that those who read and hear may "believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, And that through believing ... may have life in his name."
The importance of Jesus, rather than someone else, having been raised may seem obvious to Christians, but it deserves some attention. As one of my colleagues notes in accompanying comments this week, the connection I made at the beginning between the resurrection of Jesus and the possibility of the reemergence of Saddam Hussein may seem pretty tenuous. It is worthy of some thought, however, if we consider a corresponding situation in the first century. The infamous emperor Nero, the first Roman persecutor of the Christians, was overthrown and died in A.D. 68, but there were rumors later in the century that he was somehow going to return, leading an army from the east, to seize power again. That may lie behind some of the imagery of the Book of Revelation that became associated with the idea of the Antichrist.3
The resurrection is an eschatological event: "If Jesus has been raised, then the end of the world has begun."4 It would then be supremely bad news if Nero or some other oppressor, rather than Jesus, had been raised from the dead, for that would suggest that the ultimate future would be Neronian. The resurrection of Jesus, however, is good news because it means that the type of life we see in him is God's final future for the world.
Our text is not just about people passively believing in the risen Christ.
For after announcing peace to them, he says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
The disciples gathered in that locked room -- and the whole church -- are sent on a mission which is really a continuation of the mission of Christ. It is a mission to be carried out in the Spirit of Christ (bestowed in verse 22) by a church prepared to bear the cross for his sake in order to proclaim his mission of peace to the world.
The first implication of that is stated immediately: The church is to forgive sins.
An unqualified message of God's forgiveness is to be proclaimed -- not simply a pious wish that a person's sins will be forgiven if a sinner fulfills some condition. Forgiveness is, of course, ultimately in God's hands, and the fact that the disciples are also told that they have the power to retain sins indicates that true repentance is needed in order for forgiveness really to be effective in a person's life. But as soon as we start attaching conditions, the gospel begins to sound more and more like a kind of modified works righteousness. Unless there is clear evidence of a total lack of repentance, the preacher should not flinch from announcing God's unqualified forgiveness to sinners.
And to be sent "as the Father has sent me" has significance for the way Christians are to try to influence affairs in the public arena. Since I began with the war in Iraq, we might think about some aspects of its aftermath. Many Americans have felt betrayed by France and other former allies because of their refusal to support action against Iraq, and even those of us opposed to the war have to recognize that the positions taken by those nations that didn't agree with the United States had as much to do with their own political and economic interests as with any moral opposition to war.
Assuming for the sake of argument that the United States was right and France wrong (to put it very simply) -- what should our attitude be toward the French in the post-war situation? Should it be to pay them back in kind for their lack of support and exclude them from a significant role in rebuilding Iraq? Or should it be an attitude of reconciliation and an attempt to work in common for lasting peace? State and church are two different realms, but it seems clear to me what the lesson of our text should be for Christians who are concerned about this aspect of the condition of the world.
When Jesus came back, he announced peace. It was, indeed, a peace "not as the world gives" (John 14:27), but it should not be thought of only as a "religious" peace, which is less than what the world needs. The gospel for this coming Sunday provides a number of possibilities for speaking about the truth of the resurrection and its significance for individuals and for the world.
Notes
1 An example is found in the conclusion of Tertullian's "The Shows" -- Vol. III, p. 91, of The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Eerdmans, 1978).
2 Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand [Mentor, 1950], p. 44)
3 For example see. N. Turner, "Revelation," in Peake's Commentary on the Bible (Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1962).
4 Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man(Westminster, 1977), p.67.
Additional Reflection on John 20:19-31
What an experience the disciples have just had, as Jesus appeared among them! They're still sitting around, basking in the afterglow, when Thomas shows up.
He plops a grease-stained, white paper bag down on the table. "Okay, let's see what we got here. Peter, tuna on rye; Andrew, chicken salad on white; now who was it ordered the liverwurst?"
"Uh ... Thomas, don't bother with that now. You're not gonna believe what's happened ..." And they proceed to tell him all about their encounter with Jesus.
It turns out they're absolutely right. Thomas is not going to believe what's happened. He wasn't there. He missed it. He didn't see it with his own eyes: "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
Poor Thomas. He's the only disciple who's gone down in history with an adjective permanently affixed to his name. "Doubting Thomas," they call him.
That reputation, I think, is undeserved. You really can't blame Thomas for being a little skeptical. After all, resurrection isn't exactly the sort of news you hear every day. And besides, Thomas is grieving, just as much as the rest of them have been grieving.
It's a very common thing for grieving people to go into denial. They think they glimpse their departed loved one: coming around the corner of the hallway, or sitting in a favorite chair. Maybe Thomas has had some of those flashbacks. Maybe he's struggling hard, himself, to separate fantasy from reality. Maybe the only way he can keep his head above water is to act supremely confident, even arrogant: "Unless I see him ... Unless I touch him ... I will not believe."
We live in a culture that places great value on firsthand experience. No longer is it enough to merely watch a "talking-head" announcer deliver news from the battlefield. We demand a bleary-eyed embedded correspondent, broadcasting live from the middle of a sandstorm. The satellite connection may be dicey, and the several-seconds' delay annoying: but we'll watch with rapt attention, because we're seeing for ourselves.
Seeing is believing, as they say. Seeing is believing ...
Thomas has doubts, and he's not afraid to express them. For that, he's been cast, by some, as the poster-child of atheistic unbelief. But that's not fair. One thing you can say for Thomas: he may have doubts, but he keeps coming back.
If Thomas had truly disbelieved what his companions told him, he wouldn't have come back. He would have disappeared, made himself scarce, blended into those hordes of Passover pilgrims: and made his way, from there, back home. He would have taken up his former occupation, and probably never thought much about religion again.
But that's not what happens. "A week later," John tells us, "[Jesus'] disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them." Thomas is with them -- that's to his credit. He's not on his way back to Galilee after all. It's almost as though he's waiting for something. It's almost as though he expects history to repeat itself: for Jesus to pay another visit.
Well, that's exactly what does happen. Once again, they're all crowded, chock-a-block, into that little house, the doors are locked, and suddenly Jesus stands among them. "Shalom, peace be with you," he says (just like before). Only this time, Jesus' first words are for his doubting disciple, Thomas: "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
Doubt's certainly got a bad reputation. In the eyes of many, it's the polar opposite of faith, the enemy of faith. Ask the common person, "What's the opposite of faith?" and you're likely to get a one-word answer, "Doubt."
Other words could just as well suffice. Martin Luther King, Jr., used to say the opposite of faith isn't doubt, but fear. Others have said the opposite of faith is really apathy, or indifference. You could make quite a convincing case, I think, for either alternative.
The simple truth is that doubt is not so much the adversary of faith, as its companion, its sidekick, its alter ego. Doubt is not so much the worthy opponent of a warrior-faith, blocking the road with sword and buckler, as it is the shadow the warrior casts. No one can outrun his or her shadow. By the same token, no person of faith can outrun doubt.
Doubt can actually be seen as a step along the road to faith. We've been learning a lot of things, in recent years, about how faith develops, particularly in adults -- and the one finding all those studies point out is that faith-development does not stop with adolescence, but continues all our lives.
We used to think faith was fully developed, if not at the age of confirmation in the teen years, then by age 18 or 21. According to that old-fashioned view, the faith most of us adults took on as teenagers is essentially the same faith we hold today.
If adults drifted away from their faith for a time, that experience was known as "backsliding." The only remedy, in that case, was to reverse the backward slide as quickly as possible -- or else risk the even more chilling alternative of "losing one's faith." (Once faith is lost, according to this view, it's all but impossible to win back.)
But that's not how life really is. What we now know, from the insights of Christian psychologists and educational theorists, is that faith-development continues through adulthood. Very often, doubt is part of that development. It serves as a sort of a foil to faith: the sharpening-stone, if you will, that renders faith's blade sharp.
Faith is never utterly certain that all doubt is vanquished. If it were, it wouldn't be faith at all, would it? "A God you could understand," teaches the Roman Catholic novelist, Flannery O'Connor, "would be less than yourself." No, a robust faith acknowledges the existence of doubt, but consciously decides to let go of it: and to lay hold, instead, to the thing that is far superior, a relationship with the risen and living Lord, Jesus Christ.
You and I can observe Thomas reaching that sort of self-discovery as, after touching Jesus' wounds, he falls at his Lord's feet and declares, "My Lord and my God!" That confession of faith is not arrived at lightly or thoughtlessly; it's the product of hard questioning and persistent struggle. Yet once arrived at, this decision is firm. It's not some secondhand faith that has merely been handed on from a previous generation; rather, it's the believer's own. It's Thomas' own. He's claimed it.
The Spanish poet Miguel de Unamuno once said, "Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself."
In order to truly believe, Thomas needs to reach out. He needs to touch Jesus' hands and side. We ought never to fault him for his caution, his pragmatism, his desire for evidence on which to found his faith.
-- Carlos Wilton
Team Comments
Carter Shelley responds: George, as you yourself state, the linking of Jesus' return with the possible notion of Saddam Hussein's return is spurious at best and suggests none of us had a really compelling topic to propose for this week's Immediate Word; however, your final paragraphs raise issues that are important, immediate, and true to the Gospel lesson for this week. In my preaching this week I plan to focus on either the emphasis on forgiveness and peacemaking you suggest using our foreign relationships with countries like Germany and France and with the United Nations as examples of putting our faith where our Lord's call is - not in triumphalism and victory but in peacemaking at all levels: our individual emotions as they pertain to this war and other concerns that trouble us; our familial relationships in places of brokenness that we alone cannot heal; our economic, racial, and religious divisions that alienate and separate us from one another in the United States and in the larger world.
The emphases you place in the second half of your materials offer insights into John 20:19-31 that allow for sermons emphasizing theological insights often overlooked in the rush to condemn or discuss Thomas.
I appreciate your raising once again the important distinction between law and gospel with the emphasis upon the latter. We humans know all about law. One doesn't have to be a psychologist or a psychiatrist to know most of us have things about ourselves we want to hide, because we do not believe we will be acceptable or lovable if others know us in total. This sense of wrongness seems innate for most human beings, and for Jews and Christians goes by the name of sin and shame. We humans know all about law. It's the gospel we have a hard time comprehending and accepting. Most Christians pay lip service to the grace and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ without fully assimilating this reality into our lives. Most Christians do not know what it really means to be forgiven, accepted, and loved by God, because we are so hard on ourselves and on others that the good news of Jesus Christ doesn't sink into our hearts, minds, and souls in a way that truly moves us and liberates us. When Jesus offers Thomas the wounded hands to touch, the reality of all God has accomplished in Christ may begin to dawn, but I doubt Thomas got it all in that instant. Grasping Jesus' hand and God's purposes is a lifelong venture for Christians to pursue. It's not that the information and opportunity are incomplete; it's that we ourselves have so much to overcome in ourselves in order to be open to God's forgiveness and revelation.
For folks who want to put the primary emphasis on Thomas this week, here are some thoughts I propose:
1) Thomas serves as our stand-in in this instance, because we also were not present when Jesus first appeared to his disciples
2) Thomas wants concrete, visible proof as would any self-respecting 21st century scientist
3) When Thomas does encounter the resurrected Christ, Thomas knows Jesus as the rabbi from Nazareth with whom Thomas lived but also as "My Lord and God," one who is far more than Thomas knew before. Thomas is the only one to make such a declaration of faith.
4) Thomas doubting in this instance is understandable, because doubting is normal, typical behavior for human beings; however, it's only through doubting that Thomas gains a deeper insight into who Jesus really is.
Related Illustrations
Jesus was dead. He was dead and buried. It was expedient that he should be dead and buried. Caiaphas had explained that to himself and to others over and over again. It is expedient, he said, that one man should die for the sake of the people. Jesus is expendable. Caiaphas suffered from the illusion that being human is relatively unimportant. And so Jesus was dead.
What happened then wasn't so remarkable, really. God simply raised Jesus from the dead. He merely walked into the tomb that we call insignificance and absurdity, and meaninglessness, and other such names as that -- he merely walked into this tomb and raised Jesus from the dead.
There was nothing very spectacular or remarkable about this. God revealed himself to be the same God who created the heavens and the earth and called his creation good; the same God who led his people out of Egypt to be a light to the nations; the same God who affirmed David in his weakness; who called forth the prophets; who kindled the heart of John the Baptist; and who reached out to touch his tiny children in the person of Jesus Christ.
God raised Jesus from the dead to the end that we should be clear -- once and for all -- that there is nothing more important than being human. Our lives have eternal significance. And no one -- absolutely no one -- is expendable.
-- Martin Bell, The Way of the Wolf
----------
Christianity is a battle, not a dream.
-- Wendell Phillips
----------
After an organ transplant, doctors must use anti-rejection drugs to suppress the immune system or else the body will throw off the newly-grafted member. I've come to see the Holy Spirit as something like that, a power living inside me that keeps me from throwing off the new identity God has implanted. My spiritual immune system needs daily reminders that God's presence belongs within me and is no foreign object.
-- Philip Yancey, "Reaching for God," in Plus magazine, 12/2002, p. 14.
----------
Belief is not something you do or don't possess. It is something you misplace and recover a thousand times over.
-- Renita Weems, "Open to the Unexpected," in The Other Side, Sept.-Oct. 1999.
----------
There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergy. There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so.
-- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
----------
Beside my chair in my office is a framed piece of calligraphy with a sentence from Saint Exupery's book, The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince). It reads: "L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." "What is essential is invisible to the eye." I feel the closer we get to knowing and living the truth of that sentence, the closer we get to wisdom.
-- Children's TV personality Fred Rogers, in a commencement address at Marquette University, May 20, 2001
----------
The principal part of faith is patience.
-- George Macdonald
----------
Put your hand,
Thomas,
on the crawling head,
of a child,
imprisoned in a cot,
in Romania.
Place your finger,
Thomas,
on the list of those,
who have disappeared in Chile.
Stroke the cheek,
Thomas,
of the little girl,
sold into prostitution,
in Thailand.
Touch, Thomas,
the gaping wounds
of my world.
Feel, Thomas,
the primal wound,
of my people.
Reach out your hands,
Thomas,
and place them at the side of the poor.
Grasp my hands, Thomas,
and believe,
when you feel me
in the world's pain,
and in the world's glory
-- Kate McIlhagga in Human Rites: worship resources for an age of change, compiled by Ward and Wild.
----------
One detail in the Easter stories has always intrigued me: Why did Jesus keep the scars from his crucifixion? Presumably he could have had any resurrected body he wanted, and yet he chose one identifiable mainly by scars that could be seen and touched. Why?
I believe the story of Easter would be incomplete without those scars on the hands, the feet, and the side of Jesus. When human beings fantasize, we dream of pearly straight teeth and wrinkle-free skin and sexy ideal shapes. We dream of an unnatural state: the perfect body. But for Jesus, being confined in a skeleton and human skin was the unnatural state. The scars are, to him, an emblem of life on our planet, a permanent reminder of those days of confinement and suffering.
I take hope in Jesus' scars. From the perspective of heaven, they represent the most horrible event that has ever happened in the history of the universe. Even that event, though, Easter turned into a memory. Because of Easter, I can hope that the tears we shed, the blows we receive, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones, all these will become memories, like Jesus' scars. Scars never completely go away, but neither do they hurt any longer. We will have re-created bodies, a re-created heaven and earth. We will have a new start, an Easter start.
-- Phillip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, p. 219
----------
If when the doors are shut, thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of thine;
We know today what wounds are, have no fear.
Show us thy scars, we know the countersign.
The other gods were strong, but thou wast weak;
They rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds but thou alone.
-- Edward Shillito
Worship Resources
By George E. Reed
OPENING
Hymns:
Christ Is Risen
Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose
Songs:
The Steadfast Love of the Lord
Surely the Presence of the Lord
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The Risen Christ is with us. Alleluia!
PEOPLE: WE HAVE NOT BEEN FAITHFUL DISCIPLES.
Leader: The Risen Christ says, "Peace be with you."
PEOPLE: BUT WE HAVE BEEN UNFAITHFUL DISCIPLES.
Leader: The Risen Christ says, "Peace be with you."
PEOPLE: THE RISEN CHRIST IS WITH US. ALLELUIA!
COLLECT/OPENING PRAYER:
O God who raised Jesus from the dead: Grant us grace to receive the peace he brings to us and send us out to be faithful disciples of our Lord; in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
Lord, you greet the disciples who deserted and denied you and gave them your peace. You sent them out to forgive as you had forgiven them. We have also denied and deserted you, yet you give us your peace. Send us out, also, to share your good news of grace and love. Amen.
RESPONSE MUSIC
Hymns:
Dona Nobis Pacem
O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing!
(Especially useful is the alternate text as found in The Presbyterian Hymnal # 117.)
Songs:
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
I Call You Faithful
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION/PARDON
Leader: Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, stands among us. Let us confess to him our sins.
PEOPLE: Lord Christ, you came to save the world by giving yourself. We often try to save ourselves at the expense of others in the world. You came to bring forgiveness to all God's children, but we often are reluctant to forgive those who have hurt us. You were willing to be obedient even to death on the cross, but we often balk at anything that might cause us to be uncomfortable. As you greeted with peace those early disciples cowering in fear in the upper room, so greet us with your peace and forgiveness and send us out to do your mission.
(Silent confession)
Leader: Hear the good news. Christ came not to condemn but to save. The Risen Christ is with us and grants us peace. In the Name of the Risen Christ, you are forgiven. Alleluia!
PEOPLE: In the name of the risen Christ, we are forgiven. Alleluia! We will follow our Lord out into his mission.
GENERAL PRAYERS, LITANIES, ETC.
We praise and worship you, O God, for you are the one who has constantly sought us to share your love with us. You walked with our first earth parents in the garden during the cool of the day; you called Abram to be the ancestor of a great people who were to be a blessing to all humanity; you called your children out of Egypt and gave them your Torah to guide them in right living; you have sent your judges, prophets, and seers to share your word with us. Finally you sent Jesus, and when we failed him, you raised him up and he brought us peace.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
Lord, we confess that we have not been your faithful disciples. We have not loved you with our whole hearts, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have been more concerned with being accepted by our neighbors than in being obedient to you. We have judged ourselves by the world's standards instead of letting you judge us by yours. Forgive us, we pray, and raise us up to faithful service.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us and open our eyes to the presence of the Risen Lord who comes and speaks peace to us. As he forgives us all our failures of discipleship, help us to forgive those who have failed us. Give us grace to share your peace with all those we come in contact with so that they may know of your love and grace.
Unite our hearts and spirits with your great loving heart and spirit. Use our prayers and love as part of your care for those who are in need this day. Especially we pray for.... Grant peace and wholeness, grace and salvation to all your children.
We thank you for all the blessings of this life. We thank you for this world and all it provides for our pleasure. We thank you for family and friends and, most of all, for Jesus and our place in your family. We thank you for.... Receive our prayers, for we pray in the Name of Jesus who taught us to pray together saying
Our Father ...
A LITANY FOR PEACE
Leader: We lift up to you, O Lord, your children in need.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift those who are ill in mind, body, or spirit.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who have been denied a fair share of this earth's resources.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who are dying and those in grief.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who are victims of war and violence.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who are oppressed and downtrodden.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who feel estranged from God.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up ourselves as your disciples.
PEOPLE: GRANT US PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST, AND A SHARE IN YOUR MINISTRY AND MISSION.
Children's Sermon
By Wesley Runk
John 20:19-31
Text: Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29).
Object: Different items that prove who you are, like your driver's license, your ordination certificate, and others that you may have.
Good morning, boys and girls. These are exciting times that we live in, aren't they? (let them answer) Almost every week something different happens that is really important. (name some things that have happened in your town this week) But as exciting as it was in our town, I want you to think about how exciting it was around Jerusalem a little over 2000 years ago. You remember about Jesus being crucified on a Friday and then resurrected on the following Sunday. What day was it that Jesus was resurrected? (let them answer) That's right, Easter. That was a great day for the whole world and we celebrate it every year because Jesus promised the same thing would happen to all of God's children.
Not everyone believed Jesus had been resurrected. Not everyone believes you are who you say you are. A lot of times you have to prove that you are you. A lot of times you have to have proof that you are the person you say you are. In my billfold I carry my driver's license and I have to show it to people at the bank or in stores when I want to buy something or cash a check. (show them your driver's license) When you come into my office I have my ordination certificate hanging on the wall where people can see that the church says that I have completed all of my training to be a pastor. I also have a marriage certificate that says I am married to (name of your spouse). I also have a social security card with a number that no one else has or ever will have. Lots of times I have to prove who I am.
One day, almost two weeks after Jesus was resurrected, he had to prove to one of his disciples who he was. Soon after Jesus was resurrected he met with most of his disciples. It was on a Sunday morning and Jesus appeared where they were staying. He brought them peace and visited them in his resurrected body. They were thrilled to see him alive and they were so happy they hardly knew what to do. All of the disciples were there except one, Thomas. When they told Thomas that they had seen Jesus, Thomas thought they were trying to fool him, and he said that unless he saw Jesus with his own eyes he couldn't believe that Jesus was alive after dying on the cross. One week later Jesus came back again, only this time Thomas was there. Jesus knew that Thomas said he would not believe unless he saw the hands of Jesus and the marks that the nails had made in his hands. After Jesus greeted everyone, he walked towards Thomas and held out his hands for Thomas to see. Thomas saw the prints of the nails and confessed immediately that this was the real Jesus. Jesus didn't carry a driver's license and he didn't have a social security card, but he had the marks of the nails in his hands. He proved to Thomas that he was the real Jesus.
Do you need to see the marks in the hands of Jesus to know that he was crucified and resurrected? (let them answer) Jesus knew that this could be a problem for some people after he returned to heaven. That is why the witness of the believers for more than 2000 years is important. The Church of Christ is a witness of millions of people who believe that Jesus is the resurrected savior. We can't see the marks but we believe like many before us that Jesus died for our sins and gave us new life. Amen.
The Immediate Word, April 27, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
We have clearly moved into the "post-war" phase in Iraq as initial steps are now being taken to establish a provisional government. The Iraqi people are understandably frightened. Transitions from a known leader, even an evil one, to an unknown future cannot help but create fear. It is also an anxious time for the American people as we consider what continuing role we will play in the Middle East.
In this week's installment of The Immediate Word team member George Murphy explores the lectionary gospel text for April 27, 2003, John 20:19-31, and uncovers some important insights for these disquieting times. There are also additional textual resources provided, timely and rich illustrations, and comments from other team members. As always this installment also includes helpful worship resources and a creative children's sermon.
We always welcome reader response and comments. We would be particularly interested in hearing about your worship resources needs. Are the worship materials we are providing meeting what you need for your services? Let us know how we can better serve you with these important materials.
If He Comes Back ...
By George Murphy
John 20:19-31
As coalition forces moved into Iraq, many Iraqis were somewhat reticent about denouncing Saddam Hussein publicly. This wasn't too surprising, even for those who really were opposed to the dictator. What if he weren't dead? What if the war stopped short of removing him, or he was somehow able to return to power? Given his past actions, it isn't hard to imagine what he would do to anyone who had abandoned or betrayed him.
Of course Saddam Hussein and Jesus of Nazareth were worlds apart in the ways in which they treated people. But if Jesus' disciples, on the day after his death, considered the possibility that he might somehow return, they might have been more than a little worried about how he would deal with them. They had all deserted him in his hour of need after making brave statements about their loyalty. Their usual spokesman, Peter, had denied that he even knew Jesus. If Jesus could return, they might think, surely then he would deal with those who had put him on the cross. And what might he say to those who had abandoned him? Perhaps, "A fine bunch of friends you are. You can go to hell along with all those others who didn't believe in me. Now I'm going to recruit some real disciples."
What he actually said was, "Peace be with you." And we're told that "then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord."
In the gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter, John 20:19-31, the risen Christ, bearing the marks of the cross, comes not to denounce those who have failed him or to take revenge on his enemies, but to proclaim peace, shalom, to his fearful and dispirited disciples. The second part of the text, with the story of "doubting Thomas," continues the same theme. While Jesus admonishes Thomas for his refusal to believe without observational evidence, he does not simply condemn or reject him because of his refusal to accept the news of the resurrection on first hearing.
Others will have their choices, but I think that this text is the most profound of the biblical stories of Christ's resurrection appearances. It speaks not only of the reality of the resurrection but of its meaning for those who hear of it. It displays the pattern for Christ's coming to all people, to the whole human race whose sin made the cross necessary. This is the Easter message that needs to be proclaimed to all who live in fear (sometimes inculcated by certain ways in which Christianity is presented) of judgment and condemnation for their failings. It is his response to doubt. And it is also the pattern for the way in which the church is to carry out its ministry in the world.
But let's back up a bit. Some Christians might be offended by any sort of comparison, such as the one with which I began, between Saddam Hussein and Jesus. As I noted, they are 180 degrees apart in their relations with others. The Iraqi was (is?) a user of others par excellence, while Jesus is, in Bonhoeffer's phrase, "the man for others."
But it's important to remember that we have the advantage of seeing Jesus in the light of his resurrection and with the whole apostolic witness to him. His contemporaries, and even his close disciples, seem consistently to have misunderstood what he was about before Easter. If Jesus was thought to be in some sense a claimant to kingship, why shouldn't he have been expected to behave the way ancient kings and modern dictators usually do and eliminate all opposition? (Solomon is a good example.) One of the parables attributed to Jesus has a king who acts in this way (Luke 19:27). Jesus had to rebuke James and John when they wanted to "command fire to come down from heaven and consume" a village that had refused to receive Jesus (Luke 9:51-56), and it isn't clear that at that point they got the message. And there are several biblical passages that suggest that God will destroy his enemies and those who have been unfaithful.
We would have to ignore many statements in the Bible in order to picture God's judgment in a sentimental "no-fault" manner. The wrath of God is a reality. But while God has wrath, God is love (1 John 4:8). That is a statement about the character of God and about the way in which God deals with the world.
It is helpful to make a distinction like that of Luther between God's "proper work" and God's "alien" or "strange" work. The former is activity that corresponds directly to God's character, work of love, mercy, and blessing. It is, to speak very loosely, what God "really wants to do." On the other hand, God's alien work of condemnation and destruction is work which is alien to God's character but which has to be done in order to do the proper work. It needs to be one component of preaching, but not for its own sake. When divine wrath and judgment are spoken of, it should be in such a way as to bring people to an awareness of, and faith in, divine love, mercy, and forgiveness.
Unfortunately these priorities have often been reversed. The image of a vengeful God and the idea that Christ will return in wrath to judge the world have been major components of much of Christian thought down to our own day, and preaching today still emphasizes such images. Jesus may have ridden into Jerusalem on a humble donkey, but next time, the message suggests, he'll be driving a tank. (I could cite a T-shirt I saw a few years ago, though its language may be offensive to some Christians: "Jesus is coming back, and boy is he pissed!")
The idea of the Last Judgment is certainly biblical -- but how is it to be presented?
Telling Christians about how unbelievers will be condemned may spur them to evangelistic efforts, but it may also encourage gloating over the potential fate of "those others."1 The threat of punishment may enforce obedience, but it's unlikely to bring people to love God. We might recall how, as a monk, Martin Luther was terrified by the image of Christ as the relentless judge that was common in the late medieval church. "Love God?" he said later. "I hated him!"2 There is another side of the biblical picture of judgment -- the sheep rather than the goats. There is the basic gospel message that Christ came to save the world rather than condemn it, and that those who put their trust in him need not fear condemnation.
Whatever is said about law, sin, and judgment should be intended to point people to this reality. And that is the direction in which our text points.
For Jesus says, "Peace be with you," to those who had deserted him. He invited Thomas to strengthen his weak faith and (in the next chapter of John) restores Peter who had denied him. And legends that Pontius Pilate later became a Christian are - well - implausible legends. But perhaps they have the right spirit.
Because the gospel is about forgiveness and acceptance. The resurrection of the crucified is not payback time.
Some preachers may feel that I'm overstating the obvious here. They realize that their central message should be John 3:16 and not "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." But many of us know how easy it is to slip into the preaching of law when gospel doesn't seem to produce any effects, and how many Christians of all denominations do in fact think of their status before God as dependent on how well they live up to God's demands instead of on the righteousness of Christ. In the Easter season especially, the simple but profound message that we are saved by Christ and not by ourselves needs to be announced clearly.
The purpose of such preaching is to enliven and strengthen faith. And that brings us to the part of our text that often is emphasized, that dealing with Thomas, who is portrayed as doubting the reality of Jesus' resurrection. He wasn't the only one with this attitude. We're told in Matthew's Gospel (28:17) that even when Jesus appeared to the eleven, "some doubted." And of course there have been many doubters from that time until now.
However, doubt about the factual character of Jesus' resurrection is not the only, or even the most profound, kind of doubt that we have to wrestle with. A person can believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, that the tomb was empty, and that he appeared to his followers, and still not understand that reality as an object of confidence and trust. Some kind of revival from death might just be a strange "Believe it or Not"
happening.
The type of faith to which gospel proclamation is to lead is more than belief that an unusual event like this took place. It involves also trust that the risen one, bearing the marks of the suffering he bore for my sake, is the one in whose love and acceptance I can place my final trust, in spite of my failings and doubts. It means to believe his message, "Peace be with you." It means to be able to say to him, in the fullest sense, "My Lord and my God."
Apologetic arguments for the truth of the resurrection have their place and, depending on the congregation, might be presented in connection with a number of the lectionary texts in the Easter season. But this Sunday's text provides preachers an opportunity to speak about this at the most basic level. The point of Easter is not, so to speak, simply that Jesus is risen but that Jesus is risen. The one who brings about forgiveness and reconciliation lives. The purpose of the Fourth Gospel, we're told at the end of our text, is that those who read and hear may "believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, And that through believing ... may have life in his name."
The importance of Jesus, rather than someone else, having been raised may seem obvious to Christians, but it deserves some attention. As one of my colleagues notes in accompanying comments this week, the connection I made at the beginning between the resurrection of Jesus and the possibility of the reemergence of Saddam Hussein may seem pretty tenuous. It is worthy of some thought, however, if we consider a corresponding situation in the first century. The infamous emperor Nero, the first Roman persecutor of the Christians, was overthrown and died in A.D. 68, but there were rumors later in the century that he was somehow going to return, leading an army from the east, to seize power again. That may lie behind some of the imagery of the Book of Revelation that became associated with the idea of the Antichrist.3
The resurrection is an eschatological event: "If Jesus has been raised, then the end of the world has begun."4 It would then be supremely bad news if Nero or some other oppressor, rather than Jesus, had been raised from the dead, for that would suggest that the ultimate future would be Neronian. The resurrection of Jesus, however, is good news because it means that the type of life we see in him is God's final future for the world.
Our text is not just about people passively believing in the risen Christ.
For after announcing peace to them, he says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
The disciples gathered in that locked room -- and the whole church -- are sent on a mission which is really a continuation of the mission of Christ. It is a mission to be carried out in the Spirit of Christ (bestowed in verse 22) by a church prepared to bear the cross for his sake in order to proclaim his mission of peace to the world.
The first implication of that is stated immediately: The church is to forgive sins.
An unqualified message of God's forgiveness is to be proclaimed -- not simply a pious wish that a person's sins will be forgiven if a sinner fulfills some condition. Forgiveness is, of course, ultimately in God's hands, and the fact that the disciples are also told that they have the power to retain sins indicates that true repentance is needed in order for forgiveness really to be effective in a person's life. But as soon as we start attaching conditions, the gospel begins to sound more and more like a kind of modified works righteousness. Unless there is clear evidence of a total lack of repentance, the preacher should not flinch from announcing God's unqualified forgiveness to sinners.
And to be sent "as the Father has sent me" has significance for the way Christians are to try to influence affairs in the public arena. Since I began with the war in Iraq, we might think about some aspects of its aftermath. Many Americans have felt betrayed by France and other former allies because of their refusal to support action against Iraq, and even those of us opposed to the war have to recognize that the positions taken by those nations that didn't agree with the United States had as much to do with their own political and economic interests as with any moral opposition to war.
Assuming for the sake of argument that the United States was right and France wrong (to put it very simply) -- what should our attitude be toward the French in the post-war situation? Should it be to pay them back in kind for their lack of support and exclude them from a significant role in rebuilding Iraq? Or should it be an attitude of reconciliation and an attempt to work in common for lasting peace? State and church are two different realms, but it seems clear to me what the lesson of our text should be for Christians who are concerned about this aspect of the condition of the world.
When Jesus came back, he announced peace. It was, indeed, a peace "not as the world gives" (John 14:27), but it should not be thought of only as a "religious" peace, which is less than what the world needs. The gospel for this coming Sunday provides a number of possibilities for speaking about the truth of the resurrection and its significance for individuals and for the world.
Notes
1 An example is found in the conclusion of Tertullian's "The Shows" -- Vol. III, p. 91, of The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Eerdmans, 1978).
2 Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand [Mentor, 1950], p. 44)
3 For example see. N. Turner, "Revelation," in Peake's Commentary on the Bible (Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1962).
4 Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man(Westminster, 1977), p.67.
Additional Reflection on John 20:19-31
What an experience the disciples have just had, as Jesus appeared among them! They're still sitting around, basking in the afterglow, when Thomas shows up.
He plops a grease-stained, white paper bag down on the table. "Okay, let's see what we got here. Peter, tuna on rye; Andrew, chicken salad on white; now who was it ordered the liverwurst?"
"Uh ... Thomas, don't bother with that now. You're not gonna believe what's happened ..." And they proceed to tell him all about their encounter with Jesus.
It turns out they're absolutely right. Thomas is not going to believe what's happened. He wasn't there. He missed it. He didn't see it with his own eyes: "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
Poor Thomas. He's the only disciple who's gone down in history with an adjective permanently affixed to his name. "Doubting Thomas," they call him.
That reputation, I think, is undeserved. You really can't blame Thomas for being a little skeptical. After all, resurrection isn't exactly the sort of news you hear every day. And besides, Thomas is grieving, just as much as the rest of them have been grieving.
It's a very common thing for grieving people to go into denial. They think they glimpse their departed loved one: coming around the corner of the hallway, or sitting in a favorite chair. Maybe Thomas has had some of those flashbacks. Maybe he's struggling hard, himself, to separate fantasy from reality. Maybe the only way he can keep his head above water is to act supremely confident, even arrogant: "Unless I see him ... Unless I touch him ... I will not believe."
We live in a culture that places great value on firsthand experience. No longer is it enough to merely watch a "talking-head" announcer deliver news from the battlefield. We demand a bleary-eyed embedded correspondent, broadcasting live from the middle of a sandstorm. The satellite connection may be dicey, and the several-seconds' delay annoying: but we'll watch with rapt attention, because we're seeing for ourselves.
Seeing is believing, as they say. Seeing is believing ...
Thomas has doubts, and he's not afraid to express them. For that, he's been cast, by some, as the poster-child of atheistic unbelief. But that's not fair. One thing you can say for Thomas: he may have doubts, but he keeps coming back.
If Thomas had truly disbelieved what his companions told him, he wouldn't have come back. He would have disappeared, made himself scarce, blended into those hordes of Passover pilgrims: and made his way, from there, back home. He would have taken up his former occupation, and probably never thought much about religion again.
But that's not what happens. "A week later," John tells us, "[Jesus'] disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them." Thomas is with them -- that's to his credit. He's not on his way back to Galilee after all. It's almost as though he's waiting for something. It's almost as though he expects history to repeat itself: for Jesus to pay another visit.
Well, that's exactly what does happen. Once again, they're all crowded, chock-a-block, into that little house, the doors are locked, and suddenly Jesus stands among them. "Shalom, peace be with you," he says (just like before). Only this time, Jesus' first words are for his doubting disciple, Thomas: "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
Doubt's certainly got a bad reputation. In the eyes of many, it's the polar opposite of faith, the enemy of faith. Ask the common person, "What's the opposite of faith?" and you're likely to get a one-word answer, "Doubt."
Other words could just as well suffice. Martin Luther King, Jr., used to say the opposite of faith isn't doubt, but fear. Others have said the opposite of faith is really apathy, or indifference. You could make quite a convincing case, I think, for either alternative.
The simple truth is that doubt is not so much the adversary of faith, as its companion, its sidekick, its alter ego. Doubt is not so much the worthy opponent of a warrior-faith, blocking the road with sword and buckler, as it is the shadow the warrior casts. No one can outrun his or her shadow. By the same token, no person of faith can outrun doubt.
Doubt can actually be seen as a step along the road to faith. We've been learning a lot of things, in recent years, about how faith develops, particularly in adults -- and the one finding all those studies point out is that faith-development does not stop with adolescence, but continues all our lives.
We used to think faith was fully developed, if not at the age of confirmation in the teen years, then by age 18 or 21. According to that old-fashioned view, the faith most of us adults took on as teenagers is essentially the same faith we hold today.
If adults drifted away from their faith for a time, that experience was known as "backsliding." The only remedy, in that case, was to reverse the backward slide as quickly as possible -- or else risk the even more chilling alternative of "losing one's faith." (Once faith is lost, according to this view, it's all but impossible to win back.)
But that's not how life really is. What we now know, from the insights of Christian psychologists and educational theorists, is that faith-development continues through adulthood. Very often, doubt is part of that development. It serves as a sort of a foil to faith: the sharpening-stone, if you will, that renders faith's blade sharp.
Faith is never utterly certain that all doubt is vanquished. If it were, it wouldn't be faith at all, would it? "A God you could understand," teaches the Roman Catholic novelist, Flannery O'Connor, "would be less than yourself." No, a robust faith acknowledges the existence of doubt, but consciously decides to let go of it: and to lay hold, instead, to the thing that is far superior, a relationship with the risen and living Lord, Jesus Christ.
You and I can observe Thomas reaching that sort of self-discovery as, after touching Jesus' wounds, he falls at his Lord's feet and declares, "My Lord and my God!" That confession of faith is not arrived at lightly or thoughtlessly; it's the product of hard questioning and persistent struggle. Yet once arrived at, this decision is firm. It's not some secondhand faith that has merely been handed on from a previous generation; rather, it's the believer's own. It's Thomas' own. He's claimed it.
The Spanish poet Miguel de Unamuno once said, "Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself."
In order to truly believe, Thomas needs to reach out. He needs to touch Jesus' hands and side. We ought never to fault him for his caution, his pragmatism, his desire for evidence on which to found his faith.
-- Carlos Wilton
Team Comments
Carter Shelley responds: George, as you yourself state, the linking of Jesus' return with the possible notion of Saddam Hussein's return is spurious at best and suggests none of us had a really compelling topic to propose for this week's Immediate Word; however, your final paragraphs raise issues that are important, immediate, and true to the Gospel lesson for this week. In my preaching this week I plan to focus on either the emphasis on forgiveness and peacemaking you suggest using our foreign relationships with countries like Germany and France and with the United Nations as examples of putting our faith where our Lord's call is - not in triumphalism and victory but in peacemaking at all levels: our individual emotions as they pertain to this war and other concerns that trouble us; our familial relationships in places of brokenness that we alone cannot heal; our economic, racial, and religious divisions that alienate and separate us from one another in the United States and in the larger world.
The emphases you place in the second half of your materials offer insights into John 20:19-31 that allow for sermons emphasizing theological insights often overlooked in the rush to condemn or discuss Thomas.
I appreciate your raising once again the important distinction between law and gospel with the emphasis upon the latter. We humans know all about law. One doesn't have to be a psychologist or a psychiatrist to know most of us have things about ourselves we want to hide, because we do not believe we will be acceptable or lovable if others know us in total. This sense of wrongness seems innate for most human beings, and for Jews and Christians goes by the name of sin and shame. We humans know all about law. It's the gospel we have a hard time comprehending and accepting. Most Christians pay lip service to the grace and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ without fully assimilating this reality into our lives. Most Christians do not know what it really means to be forgiven, accepted, and loved by God, because we are so hard on ourselves and on others that the good news of Jesus Christ doesn't sink into our hearts, minds, and souls in a way that truly moves us and liberates us. When Jesus offers Thomas the wounded hands to touch, the reality of all God has accomplished in Christ may begin to dawn, but I doubt Thomas got it all in that instant. Grasping Jesus' hand and God's purposes is a lifelong venture for Christians to pursue. It's not that the information and opportunity are incomplete; it's that we ourselves have so much to overcome in ourselves in order to be open to God's forgiveness and revelation.
For folks who want to put the primary emphasis on Thomas this week, here are some thoughts I propose:
1) Thomas serves as our stand-in in this instance, because we also were not present when Jesus first appeared to his disciples
2) Thomas wants concrete, visible proof as would any self-respecting 21st century scientist
3) When Thomas does encounter the resurrected Christ, Thomas knows Jesus as the rabbi from Nazareth with whom Thomas lived but also as "My Lord and God," one who is far more than Thomas knew before. Thomas is the only one to make such a declaration of faith.
4) Thomas doubting in this instance is understandable, because doubting is normal, typical behavior for human beings; however, it's only through doubting that Thomas gains a deeper insight into who Jesus really is.
Related Illustrations
Jesus was dead. He was dead and buried. It was expedient that he should be dead and buried. Caiaphas had explained that to himself and to others over and over again. It is expedient, he said, that one man should die for the sake of the people. Jesus is expendable. Caiaphas suffered from the illusion that being human is relatively unimportant. And so Jesus was dead.
What happened then wasn't so remarkable, really. God simply raised Jesus from the dead. He merely walked into the tomb that we call insignificance and absurdity, and meaninglessness, and other such names as that -- he merely walked into this tomb and raised Jesus from the dead.
There was nothing very spectacular or remarkable about this. God revealed himself to be the same God who created the heavens and the earth and called his creation good; the same God who led his people out of Egypt to be a light to the nations; the same God who affirmed David in his weakness; who called forth the prophets; who kindled the heart of John the Baptist; and who reached out to touch his tiny children in the person of Jesus Christ.
God raised Jesus from the dead to the end that we should be clear -- once and for all -- that there is nothing more important than being human. Our lives have eternal significance. And no one -- absolutely no one -- is expendable.
-- Martin Bell, The Way of the Wolf
----------
Christianity is a battle, not a dream.
-- Wendell Phillips
----------
After an organ transplant, doctors must use anti-rejection drugs to suppress the immune system or else the body will throw off the newly-grafted member. I've come to see the Holy Spirit as something like that, a power living inside me that keeps me from throwing off the new identity God has implanted. My spiritual immune system needs daily reminders that God's presence belongs within me and is no foreign object.
-- Philip Yancey, "Reaching for God," in Plus magazine, 12/2002, p. 14.
----------
Belief is not something you do or don't possess. It is something you misplace and recover a thousand times over.
-- Renita Weems, "Open to the Unexpected," in The Other Side, Sept.-Oct. 1999.
----------
There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergy. There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so.
-- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
----------
Beside my chair in my office is a framed piece of calligraphy with a sentence from Saint Exupery's book, The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince). It reads: "L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." "What is essential is invisible to the eye." I feel the closer we get to knowing and living the truth of that sentence, the closer we get to wisdom.
-- Children's TV personality Fred Rogers, in a commencement address at Marquette University, May 20, 2001
----------
The principal part of faith is patience.
-- George Macdonald
----------
Put your hand,
Thomas,
on the crawling head,
of a child,
imprisoned in a cot,
in Romania.
Place your finger,
Thomas,
on the list of those,
who have disappeared in Chile.
Stroke the cheek,
Thomas,
of the little girl,
sold into prostitution,
in Thailand.
Touch, Thomas,
the gaping wounds
of my world.
Feel, Thomas,
the primal wound,
of my people.
Reach out your hands,
Thomas,
and place them at the side of the poor.
Grasp my hands, Thomas,
and believe,
when you feel me
in the world's pain,
and in the world's glory
-- Kate McIlhagga in Human Rites: worship resources for an age of change, compiled by Ward and Wild.
----------
One detail in the Easter stories has always intrigued me: Why did Jesus keep the scars from his crucifixion? Presumably he could have had any resurrected body he wanted, and yet he chose one identifiable mainly by scars that could be seen and touched. Why?
I believe the story of Easter would be incomplete without those scars on the hands, the feet, and the side of Jesus. When human beings fantasize, we dream of pearly straight teeth and wrinkle-free skin and sexy ideal shapes. We dream of an unnatural state: the perfect body. But for Jesus, being confined in a skeleton and human skin was the unnatural state. The scars are, to him, an emblem of life on our planet, a permanent reminder of those days of confinement and suffering.
I take hope in Jesus' scars. From the perspective of heaven, they represent the most horrible event that has ever happened in the history of the universe. Even that event, though, Easter turned into a memory. Because of Easter, I can hope that the tears we shed, the blows we receive, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones, all these will become memories, like Jesus' scars. Scars never completely go away, but neither do they hurt any longer. We will have re-created bodies, a re-created heaven and earth. We will have a new start, an Easter start.
-- Phillip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, p. 219
----------
If when the doors are shut, thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of thine;
We know today what wounds are, have no fear.
Show us thy scars, we know the countersign.
The other gods were strong, but thou wast weak;
They rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds but thou alone.
-- Edward Shillito
Worship Resources
By George E. Reed
OPENING
Hymns:
Christ Is Risen
Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose
Songs:
The Steadfast Love of the Lord
Surely the Presence of the Lord
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The Risen Christ is with us. Alleluia!
PEOPLE: WE HAVE NOT BEEN FAITHFUL DISCIPLES.
Leader: The Risen Christ says, "Peace be with you."
PEOPLE: BUT WE HAVE BEEN UNFAITHFUL DISCIPLES.
Leader: The Risen Christ says, "Peace be with you."
PEOPLE: THE RISEN CHRIST IS WITH US. ALLELUIA!
COLLECT/OPENING PRAYER:
O God who raised Jesus from the dead: Grant us grace to receive the peace he brings to us and send us out to be faithful disciples of our Lord; in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
Lord, you greet the disciples who deserted and denied you and gave them your peace. You sent them out to forgive as you had forgiven them. We have also denied and deserted you, yet you give us your peace. Send us out, also, to share your good news of grace and love. Amen.
RESPONSE MUSIC
Hymns:
Dona Nobis Pacem
O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing!
(Especially useful is the alternate text as found in The Presbyterian Hymnal # 117.)
Songs:
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
I Call You Faithful
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION/PARDON
Leader: Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, stands among us. Let us confess to him our sins.
PEOPLE: Lord Christ, you came to save the world by giving yourself. We often try to save ourselves at the expense of others in the world. You came to bring forgiveness to all God's children, but we often are reluctant to forgive those who have hurt us. You were willing to be obedient even to death on the cross, but we often balk at anything that might cause us to be uncomfortable. As you greeted with peace those early disciples cowering in fear in the upper room, so greet us with your peace and forgiveness and send us out to do your mission.
(Silent confession)
Leader: Hear the good news. Christ came not to condemn but to save. The Risen Christ is with us and grants us peace. In the Name of the Risen Christ, you are forgiven. Alleluia!
PEOPLE: In the name of the risen Christ, we are forgiven. Alleluia! We will follow our Lord out into his mission.
GENERAL PRAYERS, LITANIES, ETC.
We praise and worship you, O God, for you are the one who has constantly sought us to share your love with us. You walked with our first earth parents in the garden during the cool of the day; you called Abram to be the ancestor of a great people who were to be a blessing to all humanity; you called your children out of Egypt and gave them your Torah to guide them in right living; you have sent your judges, prophets, and seers to share your word with us. Finally you sent Jesus, and when we failed him, you raised him up and he brought us peace.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
Lord, we confess that we have not been your faithful disciples. We have not loved you with our whole hearts, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have been more concerned with being accepted by our neighbors than in being obedient to you. We have judged ourselves by the world's standards instead of letting you judge us by yours. Forgive us, we pray, and raise us up to faithful service.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us and open our eyes to the presence of the Risen Lord who comes and speaks peace to us. As he forgives us all our failures of discipleship, help us to forgive those who have failed us. Give us grace to share your peace with all those we come in contact with so that they may know of your love and grace.
Unite our hearts and spirits with your great loving heart and spirit. Use our prayers and love as part of your care for those who are in need this day. Especially we pray for.... Grant peace and wholeness, grace and salvation to all your children.
We thank you for all the blessings of this life. We thank you for this world and all it provides for our pleasure. We thank you for family and friends and, most of all, for Jesus and our place in your family. We thank you for.... Receive our prayers, for we pray in the Name of Jesus who taught us to pray together saying
Our Father ...
A LITANY FOR PEACE
Leader: We lift up to you, O Lord, your children in need.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift those who are ill in mind, body, or spirit.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who have been denied a fair share of this earth's resources.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who are dying and those in grief.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who are victims of war and violence.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who are oppressed and downtrodden.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up those who feel estranged from God.
PEOPLE: GRANT THEM PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST.
Leader: We lift up ourselves as your disciples.
PEOPLE: GRANT US PEACE, O RISEN CHRIST, AND A SHARE IN YOUR MINISTRY AND MISSION.
Children's Sermon
By Wesley Runk
John 20:19-31
Text: Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29).
Object: Different items that prove who you are, like your driver's license, your ordination certificate, and others that you may have.
Good morning, boys and girls. These are exciting times that we live in, aren't they? (let them answer) Almost every week something different happens that is really important. (name some things that have happened in your town this week) But as exciting as it was in our town, I want you to think about how exciting it was around Jerusalem a little over 2000 years ago. You remember about Jesus being crucified on a Friday and then resurrected on the following Sunday. What day was it that Jesus was resurrected? (let them answer) That's right, Easter. That was a great day for the whole world and we celebrate it every year because Jesus promised the same thing would happen to all of God's children.
Not everyone believed Jesus had been resurrected. Not everyone believes you are who you say you are. A lot of times you have to prove that you are you. A lot of times you have to have proof that you are the person you say you are. In my billfold I carry my driver's license and I have to show it to people at the bank or in stores when I want to buy something or cash a check. (show them your driver's license) When you come into my office I have my ordination certificate hanging on the wall where people can see that the church says that I have completed all of my training to be a pastor. I also have a marriage certificate that says I am married to (name of your spouse). I also have a social security card with a number that no one else has or ever will have. Lots of times I have to prove who I am.
One day, almost two weeks after Jesus was resurrected, he had to prove to one of his disciples who he was. Soon after Jesus was resurrected he met with most of his disciples. It was on a Sunday morning and Jesus appeared where they were staying. He brought them peace and visited them in his resurrected body. They were thrilled to see him alive and they were so happy they hardly knew what to do. All of the disciples were there except one, Thomas. When they told Thomas that they had seen Jesus, Thomas thought they were trying to fool him, and he said that unless he saw Jesus with his own eyes he couldn't believe that Jesus was alive after dying on the cross. One week later Jesus came back again, only this time Thomas was there. Jesus knew that Thomas said he would not believe unless he saw the hands of Jesus and the marks that the nails had made in his hands. After Jesus greeted everyone, he walked towards Thomas and held out his hands for Thomas to see. Thomas saw the prints of the nails and confessed immediately that this was the real Jesus. Jesus didn't carry a driver's license and he didn't have a social security card, but he had the marks of the nails in his hands. He proved to Thomas that he was the real Jesus.
Do you need to see the marks in the hands of Jesus to know that he was crucified and resurrected? (let them answer) Jesus knew that this could be a problem for some people after he returned to heaven. That is why the witness of the believers for more than 2000 years is important. The Church of Christ is a witness of millions of people who believe that Jesus is the resurrected savior. We can't see the marks but we believe like many before us that Jesus died for our sins and gave us new life. Amen.
The Immediate Word, April 27, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
