The Second Sunday of Easter --- 12 April 2015

John 20:19-31

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "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." 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 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." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 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.

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

• I don't know if you are, but I'm tired of hearing about Thomas and his doubts. That's a constant theme on this Sunday, and although it's a good one, I don't want to work with that this week.
• Instead we'll talk about scars.
• Scars – we all have them and for any number of reasons. The scars we have come about through any number of ways - accidents, mistakes, illnesses, surgery, whatever. I myself have scars from surgeries, from a very new spatula in a kitchen, from acne (which is one reason I wear a beard), and from various cuts and slices with sharp instruments.
• Of course, I'm only speaking of physical scars here. There are mental and emotional scars that we're not even going to consider today.
• No matter what the cause, scars are reminders and signs of past lessons. They are physical marks of where we've been and what we've done, for better or for worse. In many cases, they are a small price to pay for some vital life lessons.
• Scars are also signs that healing has taken place. Our scars are not open wounds, but are the left-overs of the body's natural way of healing our wounds. Science even says that when a broken bone heals, the broken space becomes stronger.
• So it is for us in our lives on earth. We bear scars, whether with pride or with shame, but we carry them all our lives – the healed reminders of our history.
• As the Gospel of John says today, the resurrected Jesus did not have scars to show. John wrote After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When Thomas joined the rest of the disciples the next Sunday – the week after the resurrection – Jesus says to him "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
• It appears that Jesus' wounds are open. They are not bleeding, but they are the way that the disciples recognize him and one of the proofs that he is not a ghost or disembodied spirit. It seems that he will forever be “The Crucified One.”
• What caused the wounds of the Crucified One has passed. What those wounds mean will always present. His love and compassion, his willingness to go to such lengths for our lives, his willingness to share his own life with the world are all reflected in his wounds. This obedience to the will of the Father is also seen.
• The wounds of Jesus show us that death is defeated, that death does not have the final word, but that life and love do have the final word. Those wounds show us that the world does not belong to Caesar or any earthly power, but that the world belongs ultimately and finally to God.
• Although Jesus will never suffer again, why he sacrificed so much is not in the past; it is forever in the present, for us and for all the world.
• Jesus' gentle treatment of Thomas and his scepticism, his willingness to be touched and have his wounds probed is another expression of his compassion for all humanity. He knew and knows how unbelievable his resurrection can be and when faced with unbelief, he responds with a gentle admonition: Do not doubt but believe.
• Here we are, about 2000 year later than the events told of in the Gospel of John. Still the compassion and concern of Jesus for the life of his disciples – and we are among his disciples in this time and place – is shown in the words of the Gospel: 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.
• In those words, he is with us still. In the community of the disciples, the Church, he remains with us. In the sacraments that are his Word made flesh, he is present. All this is done, not for our guilt, but for our lives, that through believing you may have life in his name.
• We've all heard it before, but this portion of the Gospel was addressed specifically to us. Jesus is speaking about us when he tells Thomas: Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.
• This is the Good News in our own time, and it was written so we might believe and have life, for Jesus said earlier in John's Gospel: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.