Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen.
I have often thought about this lesson from St. John’s Gospel because I think that it has a lot to say about the life of the average Christian. Now, you may wonder what such a miraculous event as Jesus’ appearance to His disciples in the midst of a locked room after His crucifixion has to do with any of us today in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four, and that is a fair question. But I hope it will become apparent as we consider this morning’s lesson on this Quasimodo Geniti Sunday.
First, I just want to say that I think Thomas gets a bit of a bum rap from this pericope. Often you will hear him referred to as “doubting” Thomas but, as I have said before, none of the other disciples get the same kind of pejorative nomenclature attached to them. For instance you never hear of “denying” Peter, “nudist” Mark, or “arrogant” James and John, do you? Also, I don’t think that nickname is very fair considering the fact that, literally, all of the disciples were doubting the resurrection of the Lord, at least until He showed them His hands and side. Why else would they have the room in which they were staying “locked”, or as the Greek word “κλείω” (KLY-oh) more accurately represents, they had the doors barred, shut up tight, making entrance into that room completely inaccessible to anyone without the consent of those on the inside. This tells us two important things; first that Jesus’ appearance among them was not a result of some sneaky breaking and entering, and second that the mindset of the disciples was one of collective doubt and fear.
And hadn’t they all heard the various accounts of some of their brothers and sisters interactions with the resurrected Jesus? Hadn’t Peter and John astonished the others with their story of the empty tomb, or Mary told them about her conversation with the risen Lord whom she mistook for a gardener, or the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, hadn’t they regaled everyone present with the opening of their eyes to their risen Lord’s identity in the breaking of the bread? Hadn’t all of these disciples locked in this room collectively heard many accounts of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead just as He has told them would happen? Why then were they so fearful and full of doubt? Why didn’t they boldly go out and proclaim the things that they had seen and heard?
In that very question is where we see what this lesson has to say for each of us today, some thousands of years after the death and resurrection of our Lord. Why indeed? Why didn’t the disciples go out? I would argue that it was at least somewhat because of the reaction they got from one of their very own; Thomas said “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.” If they could not convince Thomas, who himself had witnessed Lord’s miracles and heard His teachings, what hope did they have of convincing anyone else? It seemed like a losing proposition; because the devil, the world, and the sinful flesh are all strong opponents of the Lord and, let us not forget, there were those who would likely have killed them in the same way that they killed their Lord and master.
And I think that is the deep connection that each of us, indeed every Christian, has with those disciples as they considered all of the things that were taking place in their lives. Luther, in one of his many sermons on this passage, makes the point clear; “The disciples sit shut in and dare not go out for fear of the Jews. [Just so,] the heart is grieved and uncertain.” What does this mean? Well, in the midst of suffering have you ever heard someone tell you that “God loves you”? I am sure you have, and I am sure that you have very likely expressed that very sentiment to someone struggling with grief of their own. But when we are suffering it doesn’t really seem like God loves us, does it? It is an uncertain proposition that we are being given; if God loves us, why are we suffering so much? If God is really here among us, why do we still have to fight against the enemies of the faith? If they have all been defeated, why do we still struggle with them? These questions and uncertainties are not all that different from the questions and fears that the disciples in our Gospel lesson this morning felt and were dealing with in their lives. And they had seen the risen Christ, and heard His words promising His resurrection from the dead! So, Thomas’ doubting demeanor is not all that unexpected in retrospect now, is it? And, just like Thomas, I think all of us would say that our faith would be a lot easier to swallow in times of difficulty and suffering if only God would reveal Himself to us. If only we could see the risen Christ, if only we could touch Him, then we could be certain that our faith was on the right track, we could be sure of our trajectory, and we would have no more questions about the One in whom we believe, right?
But that isn’t how it works. Jesus doesn’t physically present Himself to us in order to calm our fears and allow us to, as Thomas so desired, stick our fingers in the holes in His hands and shove our hand into His side. But that, however, doesn’t mean that our Lord is not present among His people today. I love that the very first word that St. John records as coming from the lips of the Lord to His disciple’s ears is the word “Peace”. Remember that Jesus’ words, since He is God incarnate, are efficacious, that is that they have the power to do exactly what they say. Just as He spoke creation into existence, so His word of peace brings just that to His troubled and frightened disciple’s hearts. But I like to think about the why of things as well. So why exactly, is this Jesus’ first word to His disciples? Because He knew that was exactly what they needed! They needed to have peace in their hearts to overcome the fear and dread that they were feeling on account of all of the unexplainable and world changing events that were taking place in their lives! They needed to hear this word that did not accuse, but comforted them in their time of great spiritual turmoil and need. They needed to be reassured of their standing before the Lord whom they had failed time and again. And Jesus gives them exactly that, and He gives it to them perfectly!
But that does not change their situation. No, to be sure the Jews still hated them just as much as they hated Jesus. Luther, in the same sermon I mentioned earlier, goes on to say this; “Amid this fear, Christ comes and greets the heart and fills it with joy, and the heart is strengthened so that it need not fear what it feared before.” So you see, dear Christian, just how your Lord works now, don’t you? Yes, you too live in a world that hates you for your faith, because it despises the One in whom that faith is placed. The Christ of God cannot be abided by the devil, the world, or the sinful flesh because these three cling so tightly and vehemently to the sin that corrupts and destroys, and the Christ comes to rid His followers of it. Christ’s death destroys sin, death, and the power of hell, which all have a tight grasp on the world and those who are of it. Jesus’ death does not change the world’s disposition toward those who would follow Him, but His word of peace changes the hearts of His disciples so that they might more confidently face those enemies in the knowledge that they are powerless against the One who overcame death and the grave in their place so that they might no longer be bound to them.
So what does this mean for you, today? The exact same thing. For today your Lord’s Word of forgiveness is nothing other than “peace” being proclaimed into your ears. His blessed Sacrament, to which you are invited by the Lord of Life Himself, is the physical manifestation of that very peace. For there you receive the very body and blood of Christ, not by sticking your fingers and hands into His wounds, but by receiving them on your lips in, with, and under the bread and wine. His Words, His flesh and blood, are all present for you here today differently, but in a very similar way, to that which the disciples received. So, just as Christ’s words uplifted and sustained them in their fear and dread, so too His words are given you today to bring you peace, comfort, hope, and joy. Luther goes on to make the connection between each of us and the disciples in our lesson this morning; “Just as the disciples here were shut in because of the implacable hostility of the Jews, which does not cease, and yet the disciples are changed within, [even so the] heart is made confident and secure. Now they no longer fear the Jews as before. This Christian faith, which gives peace to the heart, [not] when affliction is absent but when it is most severe…Where does this come from? From faith in Christ. For if I believe that by His resurrection He has conquered sin [and] death and that He abides with me, so that I shall lack nothing, then I cannot become timid.”
How beautiful this passage of the Scriptures is for us today! Even as we struggle in a world that seems hellbent, literally, on removing God and Christ from every facet of life, the peace which our Lord speaks into our hearts each and every week comfort and uplifts us for the battles and backlash that we are certain to face as a consequence of living out our faith in a world hostile to the God who created and sustains it. So know, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, even then these words remain true; “God loves you”. His love, which sent His only Son to die on the cross in your place and mine, does not end when trials come your way. In fact, His love is greater in the midst of those trials and temptations as He guards and protects you from evils far greater than you can imagine. And while the situation in which you find yourself may not change, the Lord’s words of comfort and hope will change your hearts and strengthen and encourage them even as the afflictions continue on. For you have Christ who died and rose again! You have forgiveness for all of your sins! You have salvation, won for you by the shedding of His precious and holy blood! You have the beautiful, encouraging, and wonderful Easter proclamation that fills your hearts with peace and joy on your lips even today; Alleluia, Christ is risen! May this rallying cry give you all the peace that you need to face every trial, fear, and temptation in your lives today and every day until that time when your Lord call you to abide with Him in eternity.
Amen.