Good morning, Friends!
It’s always a little bit of a challenge to know where to pick up and begin again on the first Sunday after Easter.
You’ve got all this buildup, and all of this celebration, and all of this great music and stuff. And you come back here a week later and you wonder, “OK. What happens next?”
Actually, if you think about it, the people who wrote the Bible had pretty much the same problem.
In Matthew, it says that the women came to the tomb. They found it empty, they met the angel, and they were told the Easter message: “Do not be afraid. I know that you’re looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said he would. Come here, and look at the place where he was lying. And then GO, and tell all his friends that he has risen from the dead. And behold, he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there…” So, they went.
In Mark, it says they went to the tomb, and saw the messenger, heard the message. And then it says that “they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid…” So, they zipped it. They were scared.
In Luke it says that when the women brought back the message of the risen Christ and told it to the apostles, that the apostles didn’t believe them. “It seemed like an idle tale, and they didn’t believe it. . .” So, they paid no attention to Easter.
But then, in Luke, you get the unique story where two of Jesus’ friends go walking along the road towards the village of Emmaus. And while they were walking down the road, talking to each other about what it all meant to them, it says that “Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him…” (verses 15-16)
And Jesus asked them what it was that they were talking about, and why it was that they were so mopey. And they said, “Are you the only one who hasn’t heard what’s been going on for the last three days?” And Jesus said, “No. Really? What’s been going on? You tell me…”
And so they told Jesus the Easter story, as if he hadn’t heard it himself, and as if he didn’t know anything about what had happened. And then Jesus smiled and said, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it necessary that the Christ should suffer and go through all these things and enter into his glory in this way?“
And then Jesus told them the whole story, of what God was doing and what had happened. But Jesus did it, without telling them who he was.
And then, it says, they got to the village where they were going, and he sat down at the supper table with them. And it doesn’t say how – maybe it was the thanks he gave, when he broke the bread – but only then, at the supper table, did they finally recognize him. And then – he disappeared again!
And they said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us, as he walked along the road beside us, and talked with us?” Then they went running back to Jerusalem.
While they were busy telling the news to everyone else, suddenly Jesus was with them again. And they were scared, but Jesus showed them that it really was him. And he opened their minds to understand everything they’d never understood before about Jesus in the scriptures.
And he said, “Your job is to be witnesses to all of this…”
John is always a little different. John always has a different point of view, and John remembers different details.
Last week, we heard how Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She found it empty, and she ran back to town. She found Peter and one of the other apostles, and she shook them awake. She said, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
You see, Mary thought someone had taken Jesus’ body, and maybe thrown his body onto a garbage heap somewhere. She was horrified!
So the three of them went running back to the cemetery and sure enough, the tomb was empty. Nobody knew what to think! Then the two men went back to town, but Mary Magdalene stayed there, crying her eyes out.
It was still before dawn. Still O-dark-30. And then out of the darkness, Mary heard something she never expected to hear again. A voice called to her – “Mary!”
And she knew that voice. It was Jesus, calling to her by name. She turned around, and ran to the voice, and practically squeezed the life out of him.
Jesus had to untangle her after a minute. And he told her to go back to town, and tell everyone that he was on his way, heading back to the Father.
And she ran back to town and told them, “I have seen the Lord!”
Now we come to the next part of the story, which is a part I really enjoy.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
And with that he breathed on them and he said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas (who was also known as the Twin), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:19-33
I just love this story, for a whole lot of reasons. To me, it feels real. In the days right after Easter, people were scared out of their wits.
Jesus had been arrested. He was rushed through a trial, beaten and killed. The authorities meant for everyone to be completely intimidated. Even after the Apostles heard that Jesus was alive, they didn’t quite believe it. They were too scared to do anything.
They met in secret, in a locked room, where they hoped that nobody would discover them. They weren’t out spreading the good news. They were hiding their light under a basket, and they were doing a really good job of it. They knew that they could be next. It was not a comfortable feeling.
It was while they were terrified, when they were still in hiding, that Jesus came to them. He didn’t knock on the door. Remember, it says that the doors were locked. But somehow, he was right there, in their midst.
Remember that saying that Quakers love so much – “Where two or three of you are gathered in my name, I am there among them. . .” (Matthew 18:20)
It’s one thing to hear that in a quiet, safe Quaker meeting, where nobody’s going to come and bother us. It’s another thing to hear Jesus say it, when you’re hiding for your very lives, when the police are looking for you, and you know what might happen.
Jesus came to them, when they were hiding and afraid. And the very first thing that Jesus said to them, the first words they heard from the Risen Lord, were: “Peace be with you.”
What a gift! Peace. Peace they couldn’t even understand yet. The peace of Christ. Peace that takes away fear. Peace that was beyond all understanding.
And then, John says, Jesus showed them his wounds, in his hands and his side. Jesus showed them that it was him, not some kind of a statue or a dummy. His hands were torn. His side had been stabbed by a Roman spear.
It would have been as hard for them to believe, as it’d be for us. We think we’re smarter now, but they saw how Jesus died. And yet – here he was, alive again. They didn’t know what to think, except joy. John says that they rejoiced, which is probably one of the biggest understatements in the entire Bible.
They went crazy! They were laughing and cheering and hugging each other. If you’ve ever seen a bunch of athletes, hugging each other, jumping up and down, that’s probably what it was like.
Peace, and amazement, and unbelievable joy.
And then Jesus said again, “Peace be with you.” Jesus really wanted that message to be delivered. It’s like, peace is at the heart of what Jesus wants, for everyone.
And then, he gave them all a job, a commission. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you. . .”
That is something that ought to take our breath away. When we read through all four gospels, when we read about all the things Jesus did – healing, teaching, feeding people, setting people free, standing up to religious authorities, touching people who were unclean – all that, and more.
“Now,” Jesus said, “that’s all on you. My job, the job my Father gave me, is your job now.”
Whoa. It’s not enough that they’re scared for their lives. It’s not enough that Jesus is alive. But now, before they’ve even had a moment to calm down again, Jesus is saying, “Teach what I taught you. Do what you saw me do. Speak with the same words that I would use. Forgive the way you saw me forgive.”
And then, as if all THAT wasn’t enough, it says that Jesus breathed on them. And he said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. It’s the spirit of forgiveness. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they’re forgiven. If you don’t share that spirit of forgiveness, then they’re still bound and tied by their sins.”
In Matthew, Jesus says to go and make disciples and baptize everybody. In Mark, Jesus says to go and share the good news with the whole creation. In Luke, Jesus says that we are witnesses.
In John, it says that our job is to do whatever Jesus did, and to forgive everyone, and set them free.
But John isn’t done yet. A week later – a week after Easter – today! – they’re gathered again. Same place, the doors are still locked.
On Easter Sunday, one of the twelve, a guy named Tom, wasn’t there for some reason. But a week later, Tom was there.
And again, Jesus showed up. He didn’t knock. He was just there in their midst.
And again Jesus said, “Peace be with you. . .” Like that’s the most important thing that he has to share. And he said to Thomas, “Touch me. Go ahead. Touch me. Reach out your hand. Don’t doubt, but believe.”
Those words “doubt” and “believe” need a little more attention. Jesus is telling Thomas, “You can trust me. You can trust your life to me. I’m here. I will never let you down.”
Jesus respected Thomas feelings. But he said, “You need to move past that. You need to grow. You need to find your faith. You touched me. I’m real. Now BUILD on that trust.”
And then Jesus said, “You believed, because you saw me; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That’s every one of us. Jesus was blessing every one of us. Even though we weren’t there for that first Easter morning, even if we weren’t there for all these things, Jesus is blessing us. He gives us the same Holy Spirit. He gives us the same responsibility – do whatever Jesus did, and forgive everyone.
And as it says, “Don’t live your life in doubt. Don’t be going backward and forward all the time. Move ahead! Walk out in faith. Take a fresh step of faith every day. I will be with you. I’ll be by your side. Don’t be faithless. Be blessed. Be filled with faith.”
That’s what Easter means.
And then, John ends with this amazing statement: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.“
It’s not over yet. It’s still going on. Easter wasn’t the end of what Jesus did. It’s only the beginning.