Second Sunday of Easter

Second Sunday of Easter – Year B (RCL) 2009
Acts 4: 32 – 35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1: 1 – 2: 2; John 20: 19 – 31
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish, Portland OR
Sunday, April 19, 2009

A FAITHFILLED DOUBTER

Let us pray: Holy God our hearts are full of the joy of this season in the church, and in the world. All around us signs of new birth and renewal greet our eyes and our ears. Often in the midst of this celebration our hearts can turn to other concerns, which leave us anxious, fearful or unsure of the promises of renewal. Yet, you return to the locked rooms of our hearts and burst in with your blessing of shalom. Fill us with this gift of your peace that emanates from the breath of your Spirit. Keep coming to us, Holy Redeemer; keep raising us from the dead. Help our Alleluia’s resound with the true joy of your presence in our resurrected lives and the hope of new and unending life in you. Amen.

(SUNG) SHALOM HAVERIM, SHALOM HAVERIM, SHALOM, SHALOM
L’HITRA OT, L’HITRA OT
SHALOM, SHALOM

In “liturgical lingo” the second Sunday in Easter is often referred to as “low Sunday”. This title some believe has to do with the placement of this Sunday in relation to the penultimate celebration in the Christian calendar which was observed last week that of the Resurrection – while others will argue that it refers to the large drop in attendance figures from those who were simply “churched out” over the events and celebrations of Holy Week; and the disappearance of those whom “mi sainted Irish Mither (may she rest in peace) used to describe as “A & P Catholics”; i.e., “ashes and palms”. The celebration of this 2nd Sunday in Easter is also referred to as St. Thomas Sunday and as “Quasi Modo” Sunday. That title comes from the first line of the Latin text of the traditional Introit for this Sunday, which began with that phrase and is translated as “As newborn babes”, from the 1st Letter of Peter’s 2nd Chapter which the Church used to refer to those newly baptized the previous week at the Vigil service. Those of you more familiar with Quasi Modo as the character from the Victor Hugo Novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame might remember that the central character was found on the doorsteps of the Cathedral on the Sunday after Easter and was named after this day. The “St. Thomas Sunday” moniker refers to the fact that in all three of the years of the liturgical cycle for lectionary readings the passage from the author of John’s Gospel dealing with the appearance of the resurrected Christ in the locked room when the Twin Thomas is present is used on this Sunday. So, we might rightly refer to this as “doubting Thomas Sunday”. If we did, though we might not want to be so negative or pejorative in our descriptions of this telling of Thomas’ experience with the Risen Savior.

From many faithful believers – Thomas (or in Greek, “twin”) gets the short shrift from the events of this Gospel story. The author of John’s Gospel in this pericope tells us first of the events on the evening of the Resurrection. Ten of the disciples have gathered themselves in a house and locked the doors “for fear of the Jews.” Despite their fear and vigilant security measures – Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘peace be with you.’ The author then tells us that after saying this Jesus shows them the marks from his hands and side. Only after this are we told that “the disciples rejoiced when the saw the Lord.” Now even though the other ten disciples do not demand that they must see the markings of Jesus’ physical body; the scars from the hands and side of the Christ – it is not until they actually see them that they become convinced that Jesus is with them in body as well as in spirit. Thomas may demand that he will not believe until he touches those scars – yet none of them is able to acknowledge the reality of this resurrected savior among them until they encounter the manifestations of his physical body; his scars, his voice or his breaking of bread and sharing of food with them. The primary emotional experience for those who encounter the risen Christ in these post resurrection experiences seems to be fear. Whatever there is about this Jesus’ appearance after emerging from the rock hewn tomb; something about it keeps others from freely recognizing the teacher, rabbi and friend with whom they freely mingled and mixed in the villages and cities healing the sick and scandalizing the religious authorities of the day. This resurrected Christ embodies a sense of calm and deliberate peace that is communicated each time we experience an encounter with those who witness the miracle of Jesus of Nazareth’s crucified body in the fifty days before the Pentecost moment and the coming of the Holy Spirit.


(SUNG) SHALOM HAVERIM, SHALOM HAVERIM, SHALOM, SHALOM
L’HITRA OT, L’HITRA OT
SHALOM, SHALOM

One week (or literally translated eight days) after the Easter empty tomb experience, the disciples have again gathered in the house; the doors, though not locked are still closed, and this time Thomas is with them. Again Jesus appears in the midst of them and says, “Peace be with you.” This “peace” with which Jesus greets the disciples to relieve their fear is the peace of the Hebrew “shalom”. This shalom blessing has become a central piece of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori’s priesthood, episcopacy and now primatial ministry. Listen as she explains a deeper meaning of this “peace” or “shalom” which comes to us from our Hebrew ancestry. “There's a wonderful Hebrew word for that vision and work – shalom. It doesn't just mean the sort of peace that comes when we're no longer at war. It's that rich and multihued vision of a world where no one goes hungry because everyone is invited to a seat at the groaning board, it's a vision of a world where no one is sick or in prison because all sorts of disease have been healed, it's a vision of a world where every human being has the capacity to use every good gift that God has given, it is a vision of a world where no one enjoys abundance at the expense of another, it's a vision of a world where all enjoy Sabbath rest in the conscious presence of God. Shalom means that all human beings live together as siblings, at peace with one another and with God, and in right relationship with all of the rest of creation. It is that vision…where the specter of death no longer holds sway…to say "shalom" is to know our own place and to invite and affirm the place of all of the rest of creation, once more at home in God.[1]

We might remember that earlier in the author of John’s telling of the Gospel narrative we have other encounters among Jesus, Thomas and his fellow disciples. In the eleventh chapter after Jesus tells them that Lazarus has died and that they will go up to Bethany; Thomas says to his fellow disciples; “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Again in the 14th Chapter, in Jesus’ farewell discourse he tells the disciples that in the mansion of God there are many dwelling places and that he goes to prepare a place for them and that he will return and take them to himself so that where he is, they may be also. Jesus’ tells them that they know the way to this place where he is going and it is Thomas who states for them that they do not where Jesus is going and so “how can we know the way?” This leads Jesus – in this author’s narrative to deliver another of the great “I am” statements – when he says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Thomas then becomes in this Gospel telling the major voice that gives revelation of the true nature of Jesus the Christ – revealing early knowledge of Christ’s inevitable death – providing revelatory information about eternal life – and by issuing in our reading this morning the clearest statement of insight in the entire Christian testament of Jesus’ relationship to God and humanity when he responds to Jesus’ invitation not to doubt but to believe and says; “My Lord and my God.”

So here it is, my friends the second Sunday of Easter and Jesus’ hope for the future of the ministry in this world, in the Church and in the lives of those for whom he gave his very life are cowering in the locked room of their house for fear. (Hmmmmm) here comes that theme again! What exactly might they fear? The author tells us “for fear of the Jews”, and what does that mean? Perhaps the temple authorities who had demanded the blood of their friend to appease their jealousy and judgment? Perhaps it means the very people of their families and loved ones or friends and neighbors whom they fear might be mocking them for their support of the Messiah who was executed at the hands of the great power of Rome? Perhaps it is the fear mentioned by the author of Mark’s Gospel reading from last Sunday, and that sentence reads: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement has seized them; and they said nothing to any one for they were afraid.” My assertion is that they fear what will be expected of them if what Mary tells them is true. My guess is – all that Jesus had told them about their ministries, their work and their reward was beginning to crystallize and they began to gain some concept of what impossible work was in front of them; and they were afraid – they were very afraid. The irony of this Gospel story is that it was not the Roman soldiers and angry Jewish authorities who were trying to reach the disciples in their locked house; it was not the family, friends and neighbors who were trying to get at the disciples to taunt and mock them for their foolish devotion to a meaningless messiah. Rather it was Jesus – the risen and somehow changed teacher and rabbi who was trying to reach them and by that reaching, was able to break through the locked chamber and bid them the blessing of Shalom to calm their fear. In the midst of that fear – despite the locked chambers of their hearts and the locked doors of their house – Jesus enters and breathes on them and empowers them with the strength of the Holy Spirit – and it is only by the power and by the grace of that Holy Spirit – that they will be able to be free of the fear and full of the future.

(SUNG) SHALOM HAVERIM, SHALOM HAVERIM, SHALOM, SHALOM
L’HITRA OT, L’HITRA OT
SHALOM, SHALOM

Amen.


[1] The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts-Schori in a sermon delivered at The National Cathedral, Saturday, November 4, 2006 on the occasion of her Investiture as the 26th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA).