Alleluia Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!
For much of the world, Easter is over. After the ham has been devoured and the Easter Bunny has returned to his den, the joy of our risen Savior comes to a close. But for us who are in the church, Easter is not just a day, but is a season. We Christians know the severity of this event. The course of human history has changed as Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and raised from the dead. Therefore, we celebrate the momentous historical fact not with one week but with a week of weeks — seven Sundays. And still, we have the eighth Sunday of Easter, known among us as Pentecost. That by the ascension of Christ, God sent forth His life-giving Spirit to the church. Today, we see a foreshadowing of the Lord’s Pentecost as Jesus Himself gives His Holy Spirit to the ten who were gathered in order that they may learn from the example of Thomas. In order that they may first not live in fear and unbelief because Christ has been raised from the dead. And second, that the Christian faith is kept in the fellowship with the other disciples.
Let us examine the first claim that “None of the disciples should live in fear or unbelief because our savior is alive.” If you consider all the Resurrection appearances in the gospels as recorded in the final chapters of each, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you will find a similar theme. That either the disciples and the women are scared, or they do not believe that it is Jesus standing before them, as their hearts do not allow them to recognize their friend. Take, for example, last week: our Gospel reading ended like this: “And they (the women at the tomb) said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Yet, we know by the end of Saint Mark’s Gospel that their fear left them as they came to tell the disciples Jesus was risen, but the disciples did not believe it. It was not only Thomas who did not believe, but it was all of them. This is why the door was locked when Jesus first appeared on Easter evening. Also, when Christ appeared to the two other disciples on the road to Emmaus. They left Jerusalem with souls cast down. And it was only after Christ revealed Himself in the Scriptures and in the Holy Communion that they believed in Him. And there is also Christ appearing at the Sea of Tiberius. As Peter and the six other disciples did not recognize Jesus even when He called them ‘my children.’ Although this appearance occurred after Thomas touched our Lord’s side, they have yet to grasp the magnitude of the risen Messiah’s appearance before sinful man.
In this regard, Thomas is full of fear and uncertainty; he is like all the other disciples. As Mark says, Christ rebuked them all for their unbelief. Yet, what Thomas does is unique. For he not only doesn’t believe but he refuses to do so. He refuses to listen to his friends as they recount the marvelous acts of God. He also gives an ultimatum when he says, “Unless I see in His hands the place of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hands into His side. I will not believe.” While the other ten disciples are foolish, Thomas is arrogant.
This does not mean that the disciples’ actions were not sinful, because Thomas’ sins are more noticeable than the others’. For unbelief is a sin against the First Commandment. The disciples who were locked away for fear of the Jews did not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. They were all separated from God. They traveled with Christ for three years, and still they have no trust. And as the Lord Jesus appears to them to bring them back to faith in Himself, Christ’s blessing that He speaks in their company is not for them, for they did not believe without seeing. The blessing of the Lord skips over them and is spoken to us, the church, and the disciples of John’s Gospel: “ Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” These are the only words in John’s Gospel where Christ speaks directly to us.
Therefore, in times of fear, worry, and doubt, you, dear Christian, know that you are blessed. So when accusations come, questions of doubt arise, or you begin to lose hope because of suffering or sorrow. There is one thing that you should know: you have received the blessings that the disciples were not worthy of. None of God‘s blessings can become void. So whenever you open your Bible, turn to John 20 and see that you are blessed.
Now on to our second claim, “The Christian faith is kept in the fellowship of the disciples.” This is precisely what Thomas does not understand because he does not meet with his brothers. He becomes arrogant and prideful, and he loses the faith. While the other disciples, although they are still in fear because of their bondage to sin, do not neglect the meeting of the brothers. No sinful man or woman can believe on their own. Our original sin is so corrupting that we cannot believe on account of our own merit; instead, the Holy Spirit has to be bestowed upon us to even confess Jesus Christ as Lord. And to continue in our confession and to always receive the gifts of the Spirit, Christ instituted His holy church, the congregation of the believers, the members of the body of Christ, also known as the gathering of His disciples. Faith cannot be done on our own. For Christ Jesus, the one who perfectly kept faith for us, even had the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, we should not be alone either. We ought to meet as the disciples did weekly. By giving his disciples the Holy Spirit, the Lord institutes the church. It is not the invention of man for the sake of power and persuasion, but the church is instituted by Christ for the preservation of faith and the strengthening of His people. This is why we gather here as often as the disciples did, every Lord’s day. To hear the word of God preached and taught. To gather in prayer. And to receive the sacrament when our Lord’s body and blood are distributed.
This means that whether our faith is strong or weak, we should come because this is where our Lord Jesus shows us His hands and His side. Because in the eyes of God, all our faith is weak and vulnerable, we all need to see and touch Him in His word, in His holy absolution, and in His body and blood, given and shed for us. And if you know of anyone who is not with the brothers, go to them and say to them, “We have seen the Lord.” And He is coming again to show us His hands and side every time we come into His presence.
We should praise God that He has seen it right to gather us once again. And our Lord is here, so see, touch, and eat.
St. John's and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Parish 