The text this morning is from the Gospel according to John, the 20th chapter:
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! And because He is risen, He says peace be with you. That’s how Christ greets His disciples. Peace be with you. Eighteen different times in the Gospels Jesus talks about peace. And overwhelmingly, it’s not something for which you work, but something that is given to you.
In this world, at this time, there is more peace now than ever has been. We are more at peace now than ever before. Yes, there is violence out there. Yes, there are countries at war. Yes, there are even our families serving over in the armed forces who are putting themselves in danger. It may not feel all that peaceful, but on a grand scale, we are more at peace now than ever before. Think of the great wars of the 20th century. Think of World War I and World War II. How horrendous these war, how greatly they effected the entire world. The wars we face now, the battles we fight are nothing compared to the impact of those times.
We are generally at peace. We’ve worked for it. It’s been a long, hard fight, but we’ve worked for it. We’ll never be totally at peace because there’s always sin in the world, but we’re closer to peace than we ever have been before. Peace though has not been achieved. We don’t have peace, it’s not accomplished, but it’s closer.
Yet, that’s still not the peace which Jesus is talking about. It’s not. The peace which the world gives is not the peace that Christ would give. The peace of the world tells us that everybody getting along with one another and tolerating each other and celebrating each other, that’s peace. But that’s not peace. That’s lying. I mean, some of it, perhaps is good, but the reality is that the world can never really get along, we can’t ever all be at peace, because certain groups make truth claims. Islam and Christianity both claim to be the one true religion; they can’t both be right. Dogs will always chase cats and they’ll always chase mice and they’ll always chase my cheese. Peace sounds so nice, but it’ll never happen from the world, despite everything seeming hunky-dory.
We need a greater peace. We need the peace that Christ talks about, and we need it now. Again, this is how Jesus greets His disciples, especially after the resurrection. This is the first thing He says them, “Peace be with you.” But what’s He talking about? What peace is He talking about? Is He saying, “Let war be no longer with you?” If that’s the case, Jesus was a loony because not 40 years after He was resurrected, Jerusalem fell under the Roman oppression and thousands were slaughtered. If Jesus were talking about tolerating everybody, well, would He have told His disciples that they should bring a sword when they went out from Jerusalem?
So, what kind of peace is He talking about? It’s the same kind of peace that comes when the pastor raises the host and the cup above the altar and chants, The Peace of the Lord be with you always. It’s the same peace that he’s talking about when he says, The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to smile upon you and be gracious unto you, the Lord look upon you with His favor and give you peace. It’s the same peace when he says, In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It’s the same peace that accompanies a particular sign in all of those cases. It’s the same peace that’s shown in the sign of the cross. Over the communion elements. Over your bodies. Over your heart.
Thomas may not have completely known what he was talking about when he said that he wouldn’t believe until he saw, but I do think Thomas gets a bad rap. To be honest, Thomas had been hiding out for three days already. How can he believe that his Lord is alive after he saw Him die? How can he believe this when he’s had to get into the cupboard under the stairs every time a shadow lingered too long outside his window? How can he believe it when his who world has been turned upside down?
You see, all Thomas is really looking for is peace. He wants Jesus to be resurrected, he wants to believe that, but there’s no peace for him at the moment. Interestingly, if you follow his train of thought, Thomas is showing us that peace comes, faith comes, not by his own action, but by the very marks of the crucifixion. You want peace? It comes through hammers driving nails through the bones. It comes as whips break open backs and make the muscles little more than hamburger. It comes as thorns are pressed so hard into the skull that it not only draws blood but it scrapes the bone. It comes as the heart get swollen, as the lungs get flooded, as the legs get tired, as dehydration sets in. It comes as a spear perforates the lungs, the heart, and anything in its way. That’s peace.
It doesn’t look like it. God has chosen the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. But, the cross is peace and Thomas knows that much. He heard Peter’s confession. He heard that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He knows this. He believes this. Thomas may, in fact, be the most skilled theologian of the disciples, yet we give him a bad rap. Thomas is understanding that the cross brings peace, and unless the man who claims to be Jesus has those marks, those scars, there is no peace to be had.
And that peace is true. That peace brought Thomas to his knees in faith. Jesus appears and says, See, Thomas, here are my scars, here is your peace. And Thomas believes, he believes in this Jesus, for He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Believe this. Jesus doesn’t rebuke Thomas for his lack of belief, rather points out that many will come who have not seen and yet believe, and then John follows it by saying right away that you, you are one of these, you are one who is benefitted by those who did see, those who did touch, and those who wrote it all down so that you can believe. Thomas is a good guy, just looking for peace.
And so should you be. And it’s here. It’s in the name of God. It’s in the Lord’s Supper. It’s in His blessing, His benediction. The peace of the Lord is here. This is not peace as the world gives, but peace that comes through faith. This is peace to comfort the worried soul. This is peace to still the troubled heart. This is peace to the new widow. This is peace to the parents holding their stillborn baby. This is peace to those who suffer racism. This is peace who have no where else to go. This peace is literally Jesus. Jesus to the new widow. Jesus to the would-be parents. Jesus to the grieving, the suffering, the dejected, the oppressed. Jesus to the lonely, the broken-hearted, the repentant. The peace of the Lord is Jesus.
Jesus is the peace of the Lord in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus is the peace of the Lord in the name of God. Jesus is the peace of the Lord in the benediction. Everywhere you find “peace,” you find Jesus because Jesus is peace. He restores the lonely to relationships. He promises the dead shall be raised. He comforts loss with the promise of return. He promises the oppressed there is no Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, black nor white in the kingdom of God. Jesus is the opposite of the troubles of this world because He is literally the peace of the Lord. And He is with you always.
That’s what Thomas wanted, the peace that passes all human understanding. That’s what he needed. And he got it. Jesus appeared to him and the twelve and gave to them their much needed peace. They would not fear the Jews, for all they can do is kill the body, not the soul. They would not fear the Romans, for all they can do is persecute their religion, yet their Caesar shall bow his head in deference to the King of Kings. They would not fear spreading the message, for Christ promises to always lead them. They would not fear anything for they would have the peace of the Lord forever. As you do.
This peace comes to you through the forgiveness of sins so you no longer torment yourself. It comes to you through the promise of the resurrection, that you might have hope. It comes to you in the promise of strength through the Supper that you might endure. It comes to you in the prayers you offer, knowing your Lord hears you. It comes to you in the hymns we sing, for every song is a prayer prayed twice. It comes to you in all things because the Lord is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! And because He lives, you know that the peace of which He speaks is real. It is great. And it is true peace that shall last forever for our Lord is risen from the dead forever, and so shall you be. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment