My Lord and My God

Jann Martin April 15, 2007

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John 20:19-31

Gospel Lesson

¹⁹ Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." ²⁰ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

²⁴ Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." ²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." ²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹ Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

³⁰ And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.(1)

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.

Can you imagine how frightened the disciples must have been? They followed Jesus for three years. They listened to his teachings, talking about the lessons in the Torah and also the message He brought from His Father in Heaven. He taught of love and caring for your fellowman. He healed the sick and lame. Thousands of people came from everywhere to hear Jesus preach and heal.

They were caught up in the excitement of being in the presence of Jesus. They gradually felt like He was the promised Messiah, the Son of God. Who else could have done so many miraculous things? Then after supper on Thursday they went to the garden to be with Jesus as He prayed. They were tired and fell asleep, disappointing Jesus that they could not stay awake and pray with Him. Then all of a sudden Judas came with many soldiers and took Jesus away.

Now they are fearful for their own lives and what the rulers and people might do to them. They stayed back and watched as Jesus was crucified. They sadly laid His lifeless body in a borrowed tomb. What were they to do now? What had the last three years meant? They thought they had the leader that was to save them from oppression. What about the voice of God saying that Jesus was His beloved Son, how could He be dead?

Mary Magdalene had just told them that Jesus was not in the tomb. That she had talked to Him and He was very much alive. They were hiding behind closed doors and talked about what the future had in store for them. They were afraid of the soldiers and religious leaders, possibly also their families and friends. What must everyone think? They had been spreading the news that Jesus was their promised Messiah, the one who had come to save them. Now He was dead.

The disciples had locked the door out of fear. We too lock the doors on our houses. Are the locks on our doors and windows there to keep out a robber? Or are they there to give us a sense of peace? Police have said that if a robber really wants to get into a home they can find a way. So, the locks are probably really for our sense of well-being.

In reality the disciples probably didn't have to lock their doors. There is no account of anyone coming after them. Instead they had locked Jesus out. Then suddenly Jesus was there with them in the locked room, He was trying to get to them to give them peace, to forgive them and to give them the power to go out and share the Good News. They couldn't believe their eyes. He was really standing there with them. They could see the wounds on His hands, side and feet. How could He be standing there with them? He was dead. Then they began to remember that He had told them that on the third day He would rise from the dead and return to them. They must have all begun to talk at once in their excitement. He said to them "Peace be with you." again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

This was when they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. When they received the Holy Spirit they were the first to be commissioned to take the Word of God out to all people. They were to use what Jesus had taught them over the last three years and teach as many people as they could about His love and healing presence. They were to teach others how to share His love and to spread it as far as they could.

This is the same Holy Spirit that is given to each of us. We can feel that Holy Spirit in our hearts. If we stop and listen, the Holy Spirit will guide us. That voice we hear when we are quiet is God talking to us, trying to help us in our decisions, trying to guide us down the right path. We just have to learn to listen more intently and follow the advice we are given.

When Jesus first appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not with them. When he returned to the group later, Jesus had gone. Thomas said he wouldn't believe that Jesus was really alive unless he saw Him in person. Then just as suddenly as before, we hear in this morning's lesson, "And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, 'Peace to you!'" 27Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." ²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹ Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

The disciples probably didn't realize that they were locking Jesus out, just like we probably lock Him out of our lives without realizing it. Just as with Thomas and the rest of the disciples we can't really lock Him out. Jesus can find a way to get into our lives. When we least expect it He will make His presence known.

I've often said I wished that God would write me a note to let me know what He wanted me to do in a situation. As a friend pointed out not to long ago, He really did write me a note. It was in the form of a want ad in the Observer and now I'm serving Him here at Faith Community.

So don't underestimate God and the many ways He can reach out to you. He is always there and can't wait for you to turn to Him and say "My Lord and my God!"

Amen.

1. The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

©Jann Martin 2007