One Week Later...

 

A preacher visits an elderly woman from his congregation. As he sits on the couch he notices a large bowl of peanuts on the coffee table. "Mind if I have a few?" he asks.

No, not at all!" the woman replied.

They chat for an hour and as the preacher stands to leave, he realizes that instead of eating just a few peanuts, he emptied most of the bowl.

"I'm terribly sorry for eating all your peanuts; I really just meant to eat a few."

"Oh honey, that's all right," the woman says. "Ever since I lost my teeth all I can do is suck the chocolate off them."

Today’s Scripture reading is from John 20:19-31:

¹⁹ That Sunday evening, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.  ²⁰ As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! ²¹ Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” ²² Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  ²⁴ One of the twelve disciples, Thomas, was not with the others when Jesus came. ²⁵ They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”  ²⁶ Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”  ²⁸ “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.  ²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”  ³⁰ The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His Name.

This is the Word of God, for the People of God…Thanks Be To God. 

“One Week After Easter."

Seven short days ago, we celebrated the resurrection!  And here we are.  One week after Easter.  How was THIS week for you?  Is the excitement of our Risen Savior still in you?  Has it begun to fade?  Has it vanished all together? 

There comes a time when we must live the resurrection.  That is not always easy.  There are days when we prefer to just stay in bed, pull the covers over our head, and close out the world.  Some days it seems easier and safer to lock the doors of our house and avoid the circumstances and people in our world.  Sometimes we just want to run away, hide, and not deal with the reality of our lives.

Every time, however, we shut the doors of our life, mind, or heart, we imprison ourselves.  For every person, event, or idea we lock out, regardless of the reason, we lock ourselves in.  That’s what has happened to the disciples in today’s gospel reading.  It is Easter evening, the first day of the week, the day of the resurrection, the day they saw the empty tomb, the day Mary Magdalene announced, “I have seen the Lord.” The disciples are gathered in the house, the doors are locked with fear.  

A week later, they are in the same place.  It is the same house, the same walls, the same closed doors, the same locks.  Nothing much has changed.

Jesus’ tomb is open and empty, but the disciples’ house is closed…the doors tightly locked.  The house has become their tomb.  Jesus is on the loose, yet the disciples are bound in fear.  They have separated themselves and their lives from the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Their doors of faith have been closed. They have shut their eyes to the reality that life is now different. They have locked out Mary Magdalene’s words of faith, hope, and love. They left the empty tomb of Jesus and entered their own tombs of fear, doubt, and blindness.  The barricaded doors have become the great stone sealing their tomb.  They have locked themselves in.  The doors of our tombs are always locked from the inside.  All this, and it has ONLY been one week.

I wonder, one week after Easter, is our life different?  Where are we living?  In the freedom and joy of resurrection or behind locked doors.  How is our life different after Easter?  If the answer is “it isn’t,” what are the locked doors of your life, heart, and mind?

When John describes the house, doors, and locks he is speaking about MORE than a physical house with walls, doors on hinges, and deadbolts.  He is describing the interior condition of the disciples. The locked places of our lives are always more about what is going on inside of us rather than around us.

What are the closed places of your life?  What keeps you sealed in the tomb?  Maybe, like the disciples, it is fear. Maybe it is questions, disbelief, or the conditions we place on our faith.  Maybe we find ourselves like Thomas…the only disciple left out.  The only disciple with nothing but words to go by.  The one disciple most like us today.  Thomas spent that entire week wrestling alone with his doubts.  Yet, Jesus does not lecture, chastise, or discipline him for doubting, instead Christ wishes him peace, and in His mercy, He gave Thomas that which he needed the most to move beyond his doubt.  

Perhaps it is sorrow and loss reaffirming in you to lock yourself behind closed doors.  Maybe the wounds are so deep it does not seem worth the risk to step outside.  For others, it may be anger and resentment.  While some just seem unable or unwilling to open up to new ideas, possibilities, and change.

But Jesus is ALWAYS entering the locked places of our lives.  He comes EASTERING in us.  Often unexpected, maybe uninvited, and sometimes even unwanted He steps into our closed lives, closed hearts, and closed minds.  Standing among us He offers peace and breathes new life into us.  When we unlock the doors, He give us all we need (sufficient grace), so we may walk into a new way of being.  We witness this is happening ALL THE TIME.

Throughout the storms of life, strangers become friends.  While a Pastor heals after a miraculous surgery, individuality is giving way to unity!  Hope lies in the midst of destruction.  Christ stands among His people saying, “Peace be with you.”  Breathing life into what looks lifeless.  In the midst of everyday living, Christ enters saying, “Peace” even when the winds of change are blowing.”  

On Monday morning after five months of flawless planning and praying, my husband and I received the news that our daughter Gracie would not be coming home with us in the beginning of May…all proceedings/legalities of the adoption had fallen through with no hope of agreement.  We stood in silence crying.  Sorrow and confusion threatened to close our doors.  Yet Jesus stands in the midst of that sorrow.  “Peace be with you.”  His breath carries us through each day and calls me to testify of this merciful act this morning.

Regardless of the circumstances, Jesus shows up bringing, offering, and EMBODYING PEACE.  Regardless of everything, Jesus comes giving, offering, and EMBODYING LIFE.  Life and peace are resurrection reality.  

They do not necessarily change the circumstances of our life and world.  Tornados will still form, the hungry still need to be fed, and loved ones will die.  But the life and peace of Jesus’ resurrection enable us to meet and live through all this journey has to offer—every triumph and tragedy.  He gives us His peace, His breath, His life, and then sends us out.  We are FREE to unlock the doors of our lives and step outside into His life.

Would you pray with me? 

      Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the freedom we have in You, and for your constant & consistent “eastering” in us.  Please enter into those locked places of our lives and breathe into us your peace.  In the Strong Name of Jesus, I pray…AMEN. 

Closing Blessing:  May the resurrection reality of His Life and Peace be spoken into your hearts today.  In the midst of your journey, Jesus stands, calling for you to step outside into His life.  Unlock the doors, go in peace, and AMEN.

 

Sunrise Travels

This morning’s Scripture reading is from Mark 16:1-8: 

Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. ³ On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴ But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. ⁵ When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, ⁶ but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. ⁷ Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”  ⁸ The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

~*~

The three women had an idea of what to expect early that Sunday morning. What they experienced was another matter all together.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome – the three women whom Mark said witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion – were on their way to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. Even though Jesus had already been anointed at Bethany, these three women wanted to do one last act of devotion and love to Jesus. They wanted one last opportunity to care for the man who had cared so much for them and his other followers.

It is a loving act that these three women came to Jesus’ tomb to perform. Keep in mind that on Friday – three days by the Jewish way of keeping time – they witnessed Jesus’ betrayal and his violent, brutal death on the cross. I think we can excuse the fact that the prophecies about Jesus’ death were the furthest from their mind. These were words that Jesus spoke. He said that on the third day, he would be resurrected. For the women, this truth did not resonate in their hearts. They were focused on the obstacle that was ahead of them. How would they be able to roll away the heavy stone that was placed in front of Jesus’ tomb? They were in mourning and, perhaps, doubted what Jesus said about his resurrection.  Their sorrow may have blinded them.

What they knew was this: their Master, their Friend, their Teacher, and their Lord was dead. On this first day after the Sabbath, these women wanted to care for him in the only way they knew how – by giving of themselves.

You can imagine their surprise when they arrived at the tomb – the same tomb Joseph of Arimathea had used to bury Jesus on Friday – and saw that the stone had been rolled away. This is not what they expected to see. They expected things to be as they were on Friday, but what they witnessed on Sunday morning was the beyond from their expectations. They didn’t expect to see an empty tomb! They expected to see Jesus in his burial clothes and, yet, Jesus was not there!

The three women were still focused on Friday. When they saw the tomb was empty, it wasn’t an immediate confirmation that Jesus was risen from the dead. Their first reaction was one of FEAR. Where did they take Jesus? The women assumed that someone had come to the tomb and taken Jesus’ body overnight.

It wasn’t until they saw the angelic messenger that they realized the reality of Friday afternoon had been eclipsed by the authenticity of Sunday morning. The messenger stood before the women and proclaimed: “He is not here! He is risen!” Sunday has come! A new reality has taken place. Jesus is resurrected. The prophecy of his death and resurrection was true.

These three giving, loving, and compassionate women who had decided to set out to care for Jesus would be the first to learn the most important news ever delivered in human history. They were the first to realize that Friday was not the end of the story, because Sunday is the new beginning. Our story does not end at the cross, but begins with Jesus’ resurrection. This is not a resuscitation of life. It is much deeper. On that Easter Day, Jesus’ resurrection secured the victory over humanity’s sin and death itself.

As we gather for this Easter morning, it is because Jesus is alive that we celebrate today. Betrayal could not keep Jesus from fulfilling the Father’s mission for him. Death could not prevent Jesus from being the Messiah who redeemed humanity and inaugurated the kingdom of God. Hope is alive.  Jesus is alive.

Easter is important. The resurrection is crucial.  For without the resurrection, there is no hope, no potential for faith. There would have been no powerful and life-changing meaning behind Jesus’ words. Without the resurrection, there would be no reason for us to be here today or any day. Jesus’ teachings and life would have just been simply inspirational ideas on how to live a better life, but would be void of His awesome majesty. Even more, Jesus’ death would have been in vain.

But the tomb is empty. Jesus is not here! He is risen! Sunday morning came!

It was a new reality that came on that Sunday morning. We cannot remain a people of Friday afternoon, who cry out “They killed my Lord!” We are a people who shout with loud Hosannas “My Savior lives!”

This is a powerful certainty. By this very act, all who would believe that Jesus lives and secured the forgiveness of sin is given the greatest gift, through faith, of a relationship with the Heavenly Father through the Holy Spirit.  Today, we can place our hope in the fact that Jesus did secure the forgiveness of humanity’s sin, because he lives today and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  Sin and death have no power over us anymore.

A new hope came on Sunday morning. It is a hope that is still beautiful. A hope that is still relevant in a world that believes that faith is not something worth having. We know that is not the case, because our Savior lives!

Today, we are not a people of Friday. Just like the three women who were the first to witness the tomb being empty, we are people of Sunday morning. We worship today in anticipation that something happened on that day, something beautiful and powerful, and it is as life changing then as it is today.

Let us shout that Sunday came!  The tomb is empty! Jesus was not found there. He is Risen! Glory be to God!