A Faith That
Touches
By Rev Steven R
Mitchell
Mountain View
United, Aurora, CO 4/12/2015
Based on John
20:19-31
Have you ever done something that so filled
you with guilt and shame that the only way you could deal with it was to totally
shut down. Something that you said or
did but haven’t been able to forgive yourself for; possibly beat yourself up
continually over it for years down the road?
Have you ever wronged someone so badly that you can not to this day look
them in the eye? I suspect that is what the disciples were
feeling after Jesus had been arrested and executed. Think of Peter who had vowed to die for
Jesus, and then when put to the test denied ever knowing him. Or, of how the other disciples running away
when the soldiers came to the garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. I suspect they were hiding behind closed
doors not just out of fear of being arrested themselves, but that the story of
the locked doors also speaks to their feelings of shame and guilt as well.
In
this morning’s Gospel reading we find a continuation of the Easter Sunday story. In the first part of this chapter, Jesus
appears to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, she runs to the disciples and
tells them that she has seen and talked with Jesus. They do not believe her. Now it is evening. The disciples are safely behind locked doors,
in hiding, not believing Mary’s story that Jesus was not dead. After all, her report of talking to Jesus
must stem from some sort of psychotic hysteria.
Then mysteriously,
Jesus appears among those safely behind locked doors and brings belief to all
the disciples except Thomas who was not present. When Thomas shows up, the disciples tell him
that Jesus had been visiting with them.
Thomas, does not believe their story and goes so far in his resistance
to say that before he will believe this outlandish story, he would have to
personally touch the wounds that Jesus had from his crucifixion. A week later, as scripture reads, Thomas was
with the rest of the disciples who were still hiding behind locked doors when
Jesus appears to them again. Jesus specifically singles out Thomas and
invites him to prove to himself that He, Jesus was indeed in front of him. Immediately Thomas exclaims, “My lord and my God!” Now all of the disciples have had the
opportunity to see Jesus post resurrection.
The resurrection
stories about Jesus are very confusing to our modern society. They demand that we ignore hard science for
supernatural events. Much of today’s
generation says to the church, “Come on
guys, do you really think I’m so naïve as to believe what you are telling
me? Nobody comes back from the dead.” Or do they?
Yet over the past couple of decades, there has been a major increase in
the fascination of Vampires and of Zombies.
Both of these creatures deal with the activities of the undead.
As an example, in
the movie, Young Frankenstein, the
grandson of Baron Von Frankenstein, young Fredrick Fronkenstein, (he didn’t
wish to be associated with his crazed grandfather) takes up the family business
of trying to create life from dead tissue.
So with the help of his assistant Igor [who like young Fredrick changed
his name from Egor to Igor], they find a freshly executed criminal and prepare
the body for a transplant of the brain of the deceased Hans Delbrook, a brilliant
scientist.
As Igor attempts to
steal this brain for his employer, lightening flashes, scaring Igor and he
drops the jar which contains the brain.
Igor quickly grabs the closest jar, which contains another brain and
takes it to the young Fronkenstein, at which time the Dr transplants this brain
into the body of the seven foot corpse.
After the Dr. completes his experiment and brings the body back to life,
the new creation is determined to have a flawed brain, at which point Igor
admits to not bringing professor Hans Delbrook’s brain, but rather the brain of
someone named “Abby Normal.”
Let me say first
off, that these stories about Jesus’ life was written for those who already
believed in Jesus as Christ, not to those who didn’t. These Gospels were not written as
evangelistic tools for swaying non-followers of Christ. These stories were written so those who
believe in Jesus might learn more about him, designed to strengthen and
encourage those who follow Christ.
As Western
Christians, who live in a world that demands empirical evidence in order to prove
an event to be factual, stories like this still come up short in convincing some
of us that a physical resurrection could actually happen! We as a culture have come to equate truth as needing
to be physically factual. We in the church love Thomas. In fact we have given him the title of
Doubting Thomas! He is the incredulous nonbeliever who hides inside every believing
Christian – the questioner in us that resists easy answers to hard questions of
faith, who always wants a little more proof. Feasting on the Word, yr B, Vol. 2,
pg 400 Serene Jones However, if we look to this story as one that
speaks about the unique character of “resurrection faith” and its relationship
to doubt, then we can start to understand how this story can be our story as
well.
We have in this
story, a group of people who are riddled between guilt, fear, and doubt as they
hid for their lives behind closed doors.
Guilt for deserting Jesus in his greatest hour of need; fear that they
too might be killed as followers of a man who had been pronounced a criminal
against the state and the religious community; and doubt about the future of
the movement that Jesus had been teaching, a movement about a world that could
be lived out through love. Then Jesus
shows up, somehow gaining passage through closed, locked doors. These men do not recognize Jesus until Jesus
speaks to them saying, “Peace be with you. As God
has sent me, so I send you.” Then
Jesus breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit. In that instant, Jesus is giving them
forgiveness and commissioning them to go on with “the work.” A week passes by, a second time Jesus, passes
through closed doors and this time goes up to Thomas and offers Thomas the
proof that is needed before Thomas can believe.
An interesting observation
is that the disciples, after encountering Jesus a week earlier were still hiding
behind closed doors, nor do they immediately recognize Jesus in his second
visit. When Jesus went specifically to
Thomas, it is only Thomas who says, “My
Lord and my God!” We did not hear
this kind of proclamation from any of the other disciples. So I wonder who the real “doubters” might
be. How
often are we like the disciples or Thomas in particular, demanding proof that
Jesus is alive and yet do not recognize the presence of Jesus when Jesus is
right in front of us?
Referring back to
the movie Young Frankenstein, there
is a scene in which the young Dr, finally accepts his birthright and identifies
himself no longer a Fronkenstein, but rather a Frankenstein. With this claim to his blood line, he then
goes to the creature that he has created, the creature that has become known as
the “monster” and proclaims to the creature that he is not unloved, unwanted, or
evil as the world labeled him, but rather is worthy of love and is accepted and
loved by the one who created him.
Then they learn a
song and dance routine to prove to the world just how lovable the monster can
be. Yet, this wasn’t enough; there was
no transference of what the creator possessed to that which was created. In a final act of desperation, the Dr hooks
himself and the monster together through a machine and performs a transference
of a part of the Dr to the creature and vice versa, thereby allowing a part of
the Dr to stabilize and normalize the creature into a whole human being.
This is what the
Easter story is saying to us in Jesus going to his disciples behind closed doors. It is the story of Jesus once again seeking
out his flock, those who are filled with guilt, with fear, with doubt, yearning
for him. In that encounter Jesus gives
strength, direction, and the ability to move beyond the perils of daily
living. This story about Jesus’
resurrection cannot be based on empirical evidence, but rather through
experiential encounters. It is Jesus who
refuses to let heart’s hide in anguish behind the dead bolts of guilt, or fear,
or doubt, these feelings that can block a relationship with God.
It is a story about
Jesus coming again and again to those of us who are scared and confused in a
world which is full of hate and death.
It is a story of a Jesus who offers himself to those who long to see
him. It is our story of faith in the one
who comes through locked doors touching anyone who is yearning for the peace
that comes through pure love. Amen
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