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.