April 11, 2021: Behind locked Doors
John 20:19-29
Rev. Rhonda Blevins
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
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The Sunday after Easter crowd. Let me get a good look at you. I love Easter Sunday, the pageantry, the crowds, the flowers, the energy of it all. I also love the Sunday after Easter. The relaxed pace, the more intimate gathering, like the comfort of settling in with family after company leaves.
And in this more relaxed, intimate gathering of family, some returning for the first time in months, I want to have a family conversation. Less “message” and more “musing” this morning.
We are at a turning point as a people and as a church. The conversations are turning to “how do we navigate the transition from COVID to post-COVID.” Some things I’m reading suggest these next few months may be the most difficult for churches as the novelty of quarantine has worn off, the rally around the church subsides, and perhaps most notably, as people within the church have different responses—different timelines—for returning to community life.
So we stand at a juncture. How will we navigate the treacherous waters between COVID and post-COVID together? The good news is, we get to choose. Like the old children’s book series, we can “choose our own adventure!”
So think back with me for a moment over the past year: the run up to the lockdown, the lockdown, Easter without in-person worship (and your pastor’s feeble attempt at becoming a televangelist). Remember back to the days when all of us, save for essential workers, were told to stay home. We stayed behind locked doors for fear of coronavirus.
In our scripture lesson today, we pick up with the story on the evening of that very first Easter Sunday. We find the disciples behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, the Bible tells us. Best we can tell, they were all there except for Judas (who was, er, no longer with them) and Thomas. We don’t know where Thomas was, but he wasn’t with them at that time.
Now, remember, it’s still Easter Sunday. Earlier that day, Mary Magdalene has made her way to the tomb to tend the body of Jesus when she finds the stone rolled away and the body missing. She runs to tell Peter and John, they find the tomb as she had described it, then they leave. Mary stays at the tomb, and that’s when the resurrected Jesus appears. She goes to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”
So as the disciples are gathered later that same day (behind locked doors), what do you think they’re discussing? What do you think might be on their minds? Are they talking about the empty tomb? About Mary’s (perhaps ludicrous) sighting of the resurrected Christ? And then Jesus appears to them! He speaks to them; he breathes the Holy Spirit on them. And later, when they are with Thomas they tell him, “We have seen the Lord!”
Thomas finds this impossible to believe. I mean, to his credit, their story falls outside of reason. Thomas needs empirical evidence. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” In other words, “Prove it.”
So one week later, the disciples were gathered again in the house, and this time Thomas was with them.
I want to pause here and mention how profound that seemingly mundane point is: the disciples were gathered again in the house, and this time Thomas was with them.
It’s only profound when you think about what might have happened after Thomas refused to believe without empirical evidence. The other disciples could have judged him. They could have belittled him. They could have excluded him from the gathering. They could have even expelled him. I mean, Thomas didn’t believe their story. He seemed to think they were either crazed or lying.
Another result of Thomas not believing their story is that Thomas could have distanced himself from his seemingly crazed or lying friends. He might have dodged their invitation: “You guys are meeting up tonight? Oh man, gee, I have to, er, wash my, uh, loin cloth tonight.” He could have even submitted his resignation, “Dear Disciples, Please accept my resignation from the band of disciples. Serving with you has been the honor of a lifetime. Sincerely, Thomas.”
So, it really is profound that Thomas was with the other disciples, behind locked doors, one week after he refused to believe their story about seeing the risen Lord. What’s profound is that they were finding a way to remain in community with one another despite their different experiences and their different beliefs.
Here’s where the “family” talk comes in this morning.
Like Thomas, many of you may feel disconnected from other disciples in the church. It’s been a season for that, as we’ve all been locked behind closed doors for some part of this past year. And if you’ve chosen to stay home as you’ve watched others return to in-person worship, you may have started to wonder if there’s a place for you among the Chapel disciples anymore. And maybe you’ve gotten your vaccine and your COVID concerns are lessened, but there’s something else holding you back. A few folks have talked to me about social anxiety creeping in after having not been around others for a good, solid year now.
But here’s the deal . . . we are ONE church. Whether gathered or scattered, we are ONE family. Like Thomas and the other disciples, we have had different experiences over this past year. We recognize that having different experiences leads to different beliefs leads to different choices. And yet, like Thomas and the other disciples, we remain ONE. You’re not sure you belong anymore? Let me answer that question for you: you belong!
Thomas chose not to believe, earning him the moniker of “Doubting Thomas” down through history. And even though he missed out on the first gathering—this was his community—and he was still an important part of it. And because he was a part of this community, he was there the second time Jesus appeared to the disciples.
And when Jesus appeared, something even more profound happened. Jesus invited Thomas—not in spite of his doubt, but precisely because of his doubt—to touch him.
I want you to think back to the story of Mary Magdalene, seeing the resurrected Christ in the garden on that first Easter Sunday. What did Jesus say to her? “Do not hold on to me.” I mentioned last Sunday that I believe he said this because Jesus’ relationship with his disciples had to change. And now Jesus is doing the opposite with Thomas, inviting Thomas to touch him. Why? The same thing—Jesus’ relationship with his disciples had to change.
To Thomas he says, “Come close to me, Thomas. Step into my personal space. Touch my wounded hands. Let me lift up my clothing . . . here, Thomas, touch me here . . . in this intimate way, in this tender, wounded place. Thomas, touch me in the place of my suffering.”
Remember the “choose your own adventure” stories I mentioned at the outset? This story of Thomas is a “choose your own adventure” story of sorts. We know what Thomas said in response to Jesus’ invitation, “My Lord and my God!” We don’t know what Thomas did. The scriptures don’t tell us. We don’t know if Thomas stepped closer to Jesus. We don’t know if he touched Jesus’ wounded hands. We don’t know if he placed his hands on Jesus’ wounded side. We don’t know if Thomas was able to touch Jesus in this intimate way. We don’t know if Thomas could touch Jesus in his suffering. We don’t know.
Maybe the reason we don’t know, maybe the reason the author leaves this open-ended, is to that we, 2,000 years later, can find ourselves in the story. Maybe the invitation is the same for us today: “Come close to me. Step into my personal space. Touch my wounded hands. Let me lift up my clothing . . . here, touch me here . . . in this intimate way, in this tender, wounded place. Touch me in the place of my suffering.”
What will we do? How will we respond? Will we move into Jesus’ personal space? Can we bring ourselves to experience this intimacy with Jesus, to touch him in this tender, wounded, suffering place? Or do we step back and away, leaving the invitation to intimacy on the table.
We choose our own adventure here. What happens next in the story for us? As individuals? As a church family?
We don’t know if “Doubting” Thomas touched Jesus or not, but Christian tradition tells us that Thomas would go on to offer more than lip service. He is believed to have taken the gospel to India. He is said to have died a martyr.
Church family, we are living in anxious times, but we are not alone. Each generation faces its own challenges, and we surely have our share. But here’s what the story of Thomas can help us understand today:
1. Christian community matters. Sometimes our brothers and sisters can see Jesus when we cannot. Sometimes we can touch Jesus with others cannot. Despite our different experiences and resultant beliefs, we can—we must—remain one.
2. Christ invites us to greater intimacy. The invitation he gave to Thomas is given to us as well. We choose our own adventure. Will we or won’t we step closer? Will we or won’t we touch the suffering?
I love a good adventure! And there’s not another group of Christ-followers I’d rather be adventuring with than you—gathered or scattered—one family of faith.
In the words of Steven Curtis Chapman:
Saddle up your horses, we’ve got a trail to blaze
Through the wild blue yonder of God’s amazing grace.
Let’s follow our leader into the glorious unknown;
This is a life like no other, this is the great adventure!