MAY 1, 2011  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father Almighty, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, AMEN

The text for our meditation this morning is the Gospel Lesson for this Second Sunday of Easter. There we read these words:

John 20:19-31 (ESV) 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them 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 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." 24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name

In the Name of Jesus we begin, AMEN.

Has something ever happened to you which seemed to be just too good to be true? I’m sure it has, at least at one time in your life or another. How did you act? Did you believe it immediately? or did you question it? Did you happen to ask yourself: why me? why now? why this? what’s really going on? what strings are attached? It is natural for us, we are even encouraged for purposes of self-defense, to doubt or question things which seem too good to be true.

Imagine this example. For years, April 15th, "tax day", has been a day of dread for you. For more years than you care to remember, you have had to face the fact that you still owed money to the government, and then you have had to figure out a way to pay what you owed. But this year is different.

On April 14th, the day before "tax day", you receive a phone call from your tax preparer with good news and bad news. The bad news is that you still owe, some but not much, to the federal government. The good news is that you are due a refund from the state; and the even better news is that the refund is larger than what you owe the IRS.

How do you respond to the news of this phone call? Well, it was just too good to be true! You almost do not know how to act. For the first time in years you do not have to worry about trying to figure out a way to pay good ol’ Uncle Sam. And yet, there is something inside you that just does not want to believe.

You see, it’s just too good to be true! In fact, it did not become a concrete reality for you until the next day when you hold the papers in your hand, and you sign the check, and sign on the "dotted line" on the tax forms. Then, and only then, did it become a reality for you.

And that’s the way it is. When we are faced with something that seems just too good to be true, it doesn’t become a reality for us. We don’t want to believe it. We are skeptical. It simply cannot be that good, and so we demand proof evidence.

This is what we find in our Gospel text today. It is a familiar story; one we’ve heard over and over again. In fact, it has taken on a name for itself: the story of "doubting Thomas".

On the evening of that day of resurrection, the disciples were in seclusion, locked in a room because they were afraid the Jews would come and do to them what they had done to Jesus. And suddenly, Jesus came and stood among them. He showed them the open wounds in His hands from the nails and His side from the spear.

That very morning the women had told them that the tomb was empty, and Peter and John ran to see for themselves. But it was just too good to be true, and so they were filled with fear. But now that Jesus had shown Himself, it became a concrete reality in their hearts, minds, and lives. He is risen! He is risen indeed! We have seen Him, and we testify to what we have seen!

But St. Thomas was not there, and so they told him this good news. But for St. Thomas it was too good to be true. He wanted proof. He wanted evidence. He would not believe this too-good-to-be-true news until he himself saw Jesus, and could put his finger into the nails holes in Jesus’ hands, and put his hand into the wound in Jesus’ side which was made by the soldier’s spear. Then and only then would this news of resurrection become a concrete reality in the mind and heart of St. Thomas.

Our Lord Christ showed understanding and mercy toward this one of His chosen ones. One week later He appeared again to the disciples; this time when St. Thomas was present. Our Lord did not ridicule nor berate Thomas; for He completely understood the human mind and emotions of His disciple, for in His humanity our Lord was like Thomas in every way, and experienced everything that Thomas experienced, only without sin.

And so Jesus tells St. Thomas, "Look at My hands. Stick your finger in the nail holes. Look at My side. Put your hand here where the spear was. See that it is I, the One with whom you lived and followed and worshiped. Do not doubt any longer, but believe what you have heard, and now what you see and touch that I was dead, but am alive again, just as I said!"

St. Thomas found his evidence and proof not in worldly flesh, but in the gracious invitation of the risen and glorified Christ to come into contact with His holy body. This was not a mere invitation to shake hands. Rather, this was the Lord’s invitation to St. Thomas to experience the wounds of death which paid the price for his sins and to commune with His resurrected body. This was Thomas’ proof!

Our Lord is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He knows your human weaknesses and frailties just as He knew Thomas’. And so, like St. Thomas, He gives you His divine invitation to receive His evidence and proof. The evidence and proof He gives is not seen with the eyes of this world, but only with the eyes of faith.

And there is no greater proof or invitation than His words to come to His Holy Table and join in His heavenly banquet. Here He is both the host and the food. Here, like St. Thomas, He invites you to come into a most real contact and communion with His risen and glorified body.

As He invites you to come and eat His body, that which He gives you is nothing less than the very flesh which St. Thomas felt as he thrust his hand into His risen Lord’s side. It is nothing less than the very body which hung on Calvary’s cross, and which walked triumphantly from the tomb.

And as He invites you to come and drink His blood, that which He gives you is nothing less than the very blood which ran from His hands and feet as the nails pierced His flesh. It is nothing less than the blood, mixed with water, that poured from His side which was opened by a Roman spear.

Here in this meal, your Lord invites you to commune with Him in a most real way, just as He invited St. Thomas. If you want evidence and proof, you need look no further than this altar rail, where together we kneel in the unity of a common confession of faith, and eat and drink the meal which the Lord Himself gives.

These are only found in Christ’s Holy Church. Here He gathers His people together and feeds them with His Holy Word and His Blessed Sacraments. Our evidences are found here, in His Church, specifically as we gather around our Lord and humbly receive from Him the gift of life and salvation.

When things in this world seem too good to be true, they probably are. But in God’s house where the people of Christ meet their risen Savior, it may seem too good to be true, but it’s not! For Christ, your Lord, is risen from the dead. And to you He says come! come and touch Me! come and hold Me! come and commune with Me! For that which was dead, lives again! Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

+ To God Alone the Glory +