Always With Us: Prove It

John 20:19-31

“Prove It”

Thomas asks for proof that Jesus has returned on the other side of death.

Jesus provides exactly the proof that Thomas needs, without shame and without hesitation.

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Trinity.

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It is april twelfth, twenty twenty six. Our primary reading is from John chapter twenty verses nineteen through thirty one. It's the second Sunday of Easter. On the first Sunday of Easter, Easter Sunday, we always hear stories of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene is always there, the first apostle, the first witness to tell of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene is the first to discover the empty tomb and the first to encounter the risen Christ. This is the first Sunday of Easter, but Easter has many Sundays, because Easter is a season, Easter tide. There are twelve days of Christmas, there are fifty days of Easter, there are fifty days between the joy and wonder of Mary Magdalene and the Holy Spirit descending upon the fearful and grieving disciples, giving them all a collective clue about what they need to do next. Fifty days between the joy of resurrection and the certainty of Pentecost. Fifty days of confusion and not knowing. We will spend the next five weeks during this time of confusion exploring the one certainty of the Eastertide season. Christ is with us. He will be identified in many ways. By his glory, by his wounds, by the way he breaks bread. In many ways we will be reassured Christ is with us. On the first Sunday of Easter, Easter Sunday, we always hear stories of the resurrection. On the second Sunday of Easter, we always hear the story of the disciples gathered together in fear and doubting Thomas, demanding to touch the wounds in order to believe the crazy story his friends have told him of what happened while he was out. We begin our story in a rented room. John 20, 19 says, the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. I'm guessing they were probably re-evaluating their life choices. They were following Jesus the Messiah. How could God let Jesus die? What sense did that make? Were they wrong about Jesus? Was he not the Messiah? What did it mean that Judas turned him in, one of their own? And what did it mean to live without Jesus going forward? The disciples did not think any of this, the arrest, the crucifixion, and the present hiding from authorities was going to play out that way. And in the midst of it, between the crucifixion and the hiding, Mary Magdalene told them, I have seen the Lord. I have seen the Lord. That info does not make this all better. They are still afraid. They are still locked in a room. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, Peace be with you. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you. Then he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you don't forgive them, they aren't forgiven. Jesus enters saying, Peace be with you, brings them the Holy Spirit, and provides a way for them to be forgiven their sins. Jesus joins the disciples in their place of fear. He provides the proof they need that he lives. He equips them with the motivation and protection of the Spirit. He offers them a way of forgiveness so they will not be held back by guilt or shame. Remember, most of the disciples had scattered after Jesus' arrest. It was the women and the beloved disciple at the cross. Peter himself had denied Jesus three times. You had better believe there was guilt and shame in that room. But Thomas was out at the time. Thomas was not there to witness the wounded Christ who was blessing them with a way to keep going. Thomas got back. But he replied, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails and put my hand in his side, I won't believe. No. Thomas is asking to see and touch the wounds of Jesus. The wounds, not the glory. Thomas is asking, is he really here with us in this moment? Is he really here with us in our fear and wounding? Is he really here with us in this broken world? Jesus obliges. He reveals the wounds. Those wounds are no longer a source of pain, but a source of identity. They can be touched. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here. Look in my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe. Thomas is asking, Are you here? And Jesus answers, I am here. Feel my presence. Jesus never shames Thomas for asking to feel the wounds. Jesus appears to Thomas in the form he needs to understand Jesus is really with them, wounded by the world, not in glory. Thomas responded to Jesus, My Lord and my God. Easter tide is a season of confusion, of figuring out what is real and what comes next. You can't rush it. In today's scripture, Jesus joins the disciples in their place of fear. He provides the proof they need to know He lives. He equips them with the motivation and protection of spirit. He offers them a way of forgiveness so they will not be held back by guilt or shame. Jesus joins the disciples so they will know he is still with them and they can get on with what comes next. That is the promise from the beginning of the Easter season till the end. Christ is with us. He provides us the proof we need to know he lives. He equips us with motivation and protection of the Spirit. He offers us a way of forgiveness so we will not be held back by our guilt or shame. Eastertide may have an extraordinary setup, the resurrection. And the resurrection seems to break all the rules we know about how the universe works. But the season itself is completely and utterly human. It's about joy and fear and confusion. It's all about the pain of beginning again, figuring out what to do next. And the assurance of Easter tide is that Christ is with us through it all. He is risen. He provides us what we need to get on with it. This week we are reminded that Christ is with us, resurrected in glory, yet meeting us where we are, as who we need him to be. Amen.

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