Sermon, Easter 2 (B)

 The timing of today’s Gospel is important – because we so often focus just on Thomas that we might miss some nuance… 

 

Sure, when we hit the exciting MY LORD AND MY GOD! part, we’re a week after the resurrection. 

But let’s go back to the beginning. 

 

That day. The same day of resurrection. The same day that Mary has declared to the disciples the miracle of the empty tomb, who has delivered the first Easter sermon – I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!!

 

The first night, they’re all stunned and shocked and back for dinner and trying to figure out whether or not they can believe what Mary has said to them. Because at this point, they HAVE NOT SEEN THE LORD. 

 

They are the Doubting Disciples at this point. (Sounds like a rock band, doesn’t it? Hmm.)

But there they are. Doubting. Or, more accurately to the Greek, they are not-believing. They don’t yet have the faith that will come. They are the un-faithed – their practices, if we can make faith a verb, they are un-faithing. 

 

And – to this group comes the Lord, they see him, they receive His gift of peace, He breathes on them – clearly not a COVID-protocol Gospel story. – and – most importantly – HE SENDS THEM. 

As the Father has sent me (with peace and grace and Spirit and love)  - SO I SEND YOU!

Talk about a Faith-ing!

 

Now, it’s interesting, we don’t know what else happened in that room, what they spoke with Jesus about, how long he was there, when he left – no, we just hear that at some point later, Jesus is gone. 

And… Thomas comes back in – we don’t know why he wasn’t there in the first place – maybe he’d just popped out for some olives, maybe he was gone for a few days? Who knows. 

 

But we do know that he has NOT received the same gift and blessing and Spiritual breath that the others received. He has not yet received the faith that was literally gifted to the others. So he remains not-believing. Un-faithed. 

And – a very important part of this – Jesus NEVER condemns those who are un-faithed… who are doubting… who are unbelieving. He just invites them to the journey. 

 

Yet, Let’s get back to Thomas. He’s been out and about, he’s been doing his thing, still without the gift of faith, but still loyal and a part of the community. And that matters. 

 

Because Thomas is there, with the disciples. The one who was separate from the others, in that the Resurrected Christ hadn’t been revealed to him yet. BUT – still there. Still part of the community. Not shunned, not mocked, not further excluded. But still as much a part of that group of folks as he was before. 

 

Community is important. It’s a key component of the faith. It’s why we have an entire book just on the Acts of the Apostles. That’s a biblical biographic memoir of our earliest community of Jesus folllowers. 

And they detail not just how they experienced their own spiritual journeys, but also as a means for US to bring faith to others. In the passage we hear today, we’re reminded of what it means to be IN a community. Folks are sharing all they had that all may prosper – living true definition of abundance (which means enough, not extravagance). Could not be a true community with disparity between haves and have-nots. It’s not about making ourselves poor, but about using what we have to ensure that everyone has enough, and has their basic needs met. 

 

So! Back to the Upper Room. The disciples are hanging out. Well, more Hiding out, a week later. Still afraid. Still grieving. Still just… there. Existing. Not living. 

 

And a week later, they’re still there. they can’t go on, they can’t move forward, they are STUCK.

Stuck in their fear – stuck in their agony – stuck in their grief. Stuck. 

Not exercising their ministry, just immobilised. 

 

They’ve received the gift, the Spirit, the peace – and the command to GO – but they’re stuck. 

 

This invites us to ponder on where WE are stuck. What’s our Upper Room? What doors are WE locking? What is our grief, our pain, our fear? 

 

And - Who are we keeping out by this… 

 

Are we limited by buildings – books – “we’ve always done it that way before”s? 

 

Or are we seeking new ways to build community of faith? Are we engaging in ways to share the faith with others – to reach out to the not-believing and un-faithed that they might see the Good News of God with the eyes of their souls? 

Hmm. 

 

And what does it mean for us to be the faith-filled people that we are?

 

Because we ARE faith-filled. We have not seen but we have come to believe – by the gift of Jesus and the blessing of all those who have come before us who have helped us to know! And to trust! And to believe! And to be blessed, and to be a blessing.

 

Blessed are they who Believed because they had seen.

AND Blessed are they who have not seen, but have come to believe. 

MY LORD AND MY GOD! Alleluia!! 

 

And the faith continues – because un-faith isn’t a life-long blockage. Thomas went on to do some really impressive things – like take the Gospel to the entirety of what we now know as India, establishing churches, preaching and teaching about Jesus, sharing the faith that has been shared with him. He’s taking the “MY LORD AND MY GOD!” as far as he can. Thomas – busy guy!  He’s breaking out of the door of the Uppoer Room, while not abandoning community. 

 

And Jesus invites US then to continue doing the same… to leave the Upper Room of our hearts, to go out into the world, to live faithfully. 

 

To have those moments where our hearts jostle out a MY LORD AND MY GOD! Even though *we* have not seen the body, or put our hands in the wounds. 

 

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. COME to believe. It’s a journey, with ups and downs, the proverbial 2-steps forward and one step back. Please note, by the way, that 2 steps forward and one step back is a cha-cha. So our faith journey can be a joyous dance! If we let it. 

 

And that can be part of our ongoing Easter celebration. To dance in faith. To live the faith. To share the faith. To journey wherever and whenever God calls us to declare the Good news to the World: MY LORD AND MY GOD.

For we are blessed. And we are commissioned. And we are gifted. And we are sent: to the world that needs good news. To the world that wants to celebrate. To the world that yearns for peace. To the world that God loved so much that Jesus came and came BACK to!

 

We are sent to the world, with strong and weak and strengthening faith – to not doubt but believe, to have life in the name which sustains us, to cry aloud as a prayer: MY LORD AND MY GOD!

Alleluia!