The Second Sunday of Easter ---- 27 April 2013

{The congregation was rather small today, because many of the "regulars" were busy cooking and preparing for the Church's annual Church supper at the German Canadian Club's Saxonia Hall. I helped set up the tables yesterday along with many, many folks. I'll looking forward to the fried chicken, cabbage rolls, and fruit flans that the supper holds.}

"Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."

·        This sermon will be more personal than usual. I don’t always like to speak of my own ideas or actions since they don’t always say much about the Gospel… but this might be different.

·        When I hear the story of Thomas and his desire for proof of the resurrection, I think of other, rather dissimilar things.

·        I was baptized when I was 10 or 11 days old. That was the custom then. My grandmother wanted to baptize me in the sink in the hospital room for fear I might die. My mother talked her out of it.

·        Years later, I took my first Holy Communion and I had high expectations. When I used to look around after people received Communion, they appeared so intent. I guess I figured they were seeing Jesus. So I expected that when I received for the first time, I’d see Jesus and angels and heaven.

·        Well, that didn’t happen. I don’t remember if I was disappointed or not. I was a kid, what did I know?

·        I don’t expect such things now. I hope I’ve grown up some since then. I received no visions when I took my vows in the monastic community or when I was ordained or when my wife and I were married. There were all times of grace, but not of visions. The same goes for the birth of my children. And –just so you know- I didn’t receive any special visions or revelations when I was installed as your pastor.

·        Maybe it’s better that way. If there had been visions and revelations, I probably wouldn’t have been able to speak about them. I’d probably also have become incredibly arrogant and have a wildly inflated sense of self-importance, basking in the things I’ve seen and been told.

·        Turning to Thomas, did he ask for proof because he wanted to be part of the “special” crowd? Was he setting a “God trap”? You know, saying something like “I won’t believe unless this or that happens.”, setting conditions for faith and setting a trap for God to fall into. Or was he just being human? I’d like to think it was the second. After all, this resurrection of Jesus is a hard event to wrap our heads around.

·        Jesus does not criticise Thomas for being sceptical. He freely offers to do what Thomas said he needed to believe. As it is, Thomas never puts fingers in the nail marks or his hand into the spear wound. Seeing was enough.

·        What about those who did not and do not see? Like us. John writes: 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." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

·        Is that enough? It was enough for the evangelist and he wished to assure us that those who came to faith after and long after Jesus departed from his disciples’ sight were no less believers and disciples than those who were in the room on Easter evening to meet the resurrected Jesus.

·        Still is that enough for US? Once we grow up, it might be. It may be difficult to leave behind our expectations of constant consolation and a sensible presence of God all around us. Those things are possible, but can it be possible for the human mind and spirit to constantly sustain them? I’m not sure it is.

·        So we live by faith, day by day. 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." If any passage of Scripture was written to each of us, this is the one. We are the ones who have not seen and have believed.

·        And we have seen Jesus. We hear him when the Gospels are read. We know him in the breaking of the bread, as Luke puts it. We see him in our sisters and brothers of the faith. Matthew tells another way we see Jesus:  “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” 

·        Jesus Christ is waiting to be uncovered all around us. And there’s one more place we haven’t spoken about: Jesus Christ lives within us. His life is ours and our lives are his. Never forget that Christ lives in you. Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

·        All Scripture was written for us, but this comes home today especially.

·        Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.