Scripture John 20:19-31
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 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 (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he 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.”
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.
Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen
Let us pray....
Message Marks of Faith
Although we have spent a week since Easter Sunday in 2024, this morning, our reading picks up right where we left off last week, on the first Easter Sunday.
The women had gone to the tomb to tend to Jesus’ body, but they did not find Jesus’ body when they arrived. Instead, they were informed he had resurrected. The women may have gone back to tell the men the news – we are not sure. Some of the Gospels say the women told the men; the gospel of Mark says they were scared and kept the news of the resurrection quiet.
Later that Easter day, the men were hiding together...they were afraid of being arrested and put to death like Jesus. They were unsure of what move to make next...should they sneak away in the middle of the night and return to their former lives, the lives they were leading before they met Jesus? Should they wait together to be captured and put on trial by the government?
It is telling that the writer of John said the doors were locked for fear of the Jewish leaders...the disciples had stood by and watched Jesus be arrested, put on trial, and killed. They were afraid they would be next.
But, then Jesus appeared. He breathed the Holy Spirit onto the Disciples. He told them they now had the power to forgive the sins of other people. So, Jesus not only was resurrected, but he was working to prepare the Disciples as they were about to take on the responsibility of leading the Christian movement.
Thomas missed Jesus’ first post-resurrection visit. He had trouble accepting the truth of the resurrection. We can relate to his doubt...it is difficult for us to believe things we cannot see and do not understand. Thomas also said something that many of us can relate to...he made a statement, an ultimatum, that was extreme. He said, “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.” Thomas stated he both needed to see and touch Jesus to believe that he was resurrected. Thomas was a literal thinker, and he could not believe based on what he was told by others—he had to see for himself.
So, the next time Jesus appeared to his Disciples, Jesus made a point of asking Thomas if he wanted to put his fingers in Jesus’ wounds. Jesus was willing to give Thomas what he needed to believe in the resurrection...so his eyes and his hands could attest to the reality that Jesus was no longer dead.
After Thomas accepted the reality of the resurrection, Jesus said: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This is where the rubber hits the road – in the 2000 years since Jesus’ resurrection, millions of people have believed in Jesus and in his resurrection without seeing it for ourselves. We are the blessed people who believe without seeing.
In several of the stories about Jesus’ resurrection and the start of the Christian church, we read that the Disciples were scared and hiding in rooms together. When they were unsure about everything that was happening, they took comfort and solace in one another. This continued after they started to accept the reality of Jesus’ resurrection – the Disciples still lived together as they waited for the next events in their spiritual journey and life journey to come. They lived and worked together as the church grew and shifted. Even when the Disciples were sent out into the world to evangelize and spread the Good News of Jesus, they did not go off alone. Instead, they paired up with other believers and stayed in the homes of believers in the towns they visited. Practicing Christianity was always done in groups.
Our faith is inherently social. Jesus did not come to earth and keep the reality of who he was a secret. He was not a rugged individual who kept his views and his faith to himself. Instead, as soon as he left the wilderness after his time of prayer and temptation, he started gathering a group of disciples. When Jesus’ was not able to be with those disciples, they relied on each other. When they were sent out into the world to evangelize and tell others about Jesus, they went in pairs and in groups. When churches began to form around the Mediterranean region, and then gradually expand their territory throughout the world, they were made up of people who supported each other, shared their resources, and worked together to create communities modeled on the teachings of Jesus.
Those communities became the Christian church. Over the centuries, the church has evolved. It started with groups gathering in each other’s homes. As more and more people became Christians, they gathered in barns, catacombs, and synagogues. Eventually, buildings were built in some places to house churches. No matter where they met, the church was the people who did the “meeting.” The people of the church are called to be in relationship with each other.... we come together to be the church. Some of us are biologically related to each other, but most of us are not. Instead, we make us the family of God, the community of Christ, by choosing to be part of this group of people who are Trinity Chrisitan United Church of Christ in beautiful Skippack, Pennsylvania.
When the Disciples were terrified and were hiding in the upper room together, they could only count on God and count on each other. As part of Trinity Church, we also know we can count on God and count on each other. We are called to support each other as our lives change and as unexpected events arise. When illnesses or accidents occur, we are the people who are called to support each other.
Jesus was very intentional about how he gathered his disciples. He gathered a group of people that was large enough to be strong for each other when events became unpredictable. Let us work to be those supportive friends and cheerleaders for each other during the days of our lives. Amen.
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