SERMON BY BISHOP JASON ZINKO,

MANITOBA NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO SYNOD, WINNIPEG, MB

JOHN 20:19-31

19When 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.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So 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.”

26A 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.” 27Then 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.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Christ is risen! Hallelujah!

This is important news for us to celebrate. At the heart of the Season of Easter is this message that Christ is alive. And we praise God for this gift and blessing for us.

Only a week ago, we celebrated as we again witnessed Jesus’ new life in the face of death. Pastors across our synod brought messages of faith, hope, and joy about what Jesus’ resurrection means for us and how this shapes our lives as disciples

here and now. And central to that new life is the promise that comes to us in the waters of baptism. We are named and claimed in those waters. We are forgiven and made whole in those waters. And we are tied to Christ in those waters so that we will share in the new life that we have seen in Christ.

I hope that you were able to hear those messages last week. If you haven’t, I encourage you to connect with one or more of the recordings from last week on websites and social media around the synod to hear that message said in different ways.

Today, I want us to hold on to that promise of new life as we explore what it means to be the body of Christ in the world in response to that gift. I would like us to stand firm in that Easter message as we ask how our lives change in response, and as we discern where God is leading us today. Our gospel lesson helps us to frame these questions and give us clues about what is most important.

The story of ‘Doubting Thomas’ is probably familiar to many of us. In fact, if you have been attending church for a while, you might recognize that this is the only reading we ever hear on the Sunday immediately after Easter Sunday. Every year for who knows how long, we have heard the story of the one disciple who boldly asks for irrefutable proof before he would believe that Jesus is actually alive – and Jesus response that ‘blessed are those who believe without seeing.’

Many of you have probably heard every possible explanation and teaching on this story.

We’ve been told not to be a doubter like Thomas; to use his example of why we should believe without having proof. Of course, that message usually overlooks the fact that two of the disciples already saw the empty tomb; that they all ignored the stories of the women at the tomb, including Mary’s encounter with Jesus; and that they were locked in the house for the 2nd week in a row after already having seen Jesus and been given a blessing and sent out.

I’ve also preached this sermon in the past by saying that Thomas’s request wasn’t actually an act of doubt, but an act of faith – that he wanted, and needed, the same personal encounter with Jesus that the other disciples got. In other words, he wasn’t really different from the others. That also overlooks the fact that two of the disciples already saw the empty tomb; that they all ignored the stories of the women at the tomb, including Mary’s encounter with Jesus; and that they were locked in the house for the 2nd week in a row after already having seen Jesus and been given a blessing and sent out.

Are you picking up a theme here?

The problem isn’t actually about our ability to believe or have faith. Luther’s Small Catechism tells us that we cannot by our own understanding or strength believe in Jesus or come to him. Our faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit calling us, gathering us, enlightening us, and keeping us in faith with Jesus Christ.

The problem in this story is that even after Jesus shows up on Easter and tells the disciples how to faithfully live their new lives, they seem to forget it happened. They act as though everything had come to an end and that God had given up on what God was doing through Jesus and through them. They lock themselves away for a week until Jesus comes again.

I wonder if we are much different.

I wonder if our churches have just celebrated Easter and new life, but are not able to break away from the locked rooms where we feel safe and secure – even if it means sacrificing the charge that Jesus has entrusted to us. I wonder if we are so anxious and tired from these last 13 months of COVID that we don’t have the energy or imagination to go where the Spirit is sending us. I wonder if getting back to normal or restarting our old lives isn’t more appealing than walking in a new life.

Don’t get me wrong, going back to the way things were is really tempting. We would know exactly what to expect. It would be comfortable and allow us to keep doing the things that we have done before.

But it would also be a lie. Our world has changed. It has actually been changing for a long time, but we have been able to ignore it up until now. But now, some things have died. Some things are not coming back the way they once were. To insist that we will return to exactly the way things were is partly delusional, but it also demands that we lie to ourselves about the reality of death and our need for new life.

For some, this will cause unspeakable grief and anxiety. It is important to recognize that and to give time to grieve. But that grief must give way to the new life that Jesus is breathing into us right now. Our fear must be transformed so that we are able to go where Jesus sends us and to be those who forgive in Jesus’ name.

We have an opportunity to see and hear Jesus face to face when he joins us in our grief and doubt. In the midst of our fears, we have Jesus bringing peace and encouraging us in faith. We have God’s Spirit in us – going with us as we carry on the ministry that Jesus has called us to.

With any luck, this will lead to one more type of death – a death to ourselves so that we can be made alive in and through Christ. After all, this is the purpose of the church. We do not exist for ourselves, for our wants, or for our traditions and habits. The church exists so that as we are sent, we can share the Good News of life in Jesus name and come to believe in him.

In the new life of resurrection, Jesus sends us out as his followers to continue the mission and ministry that God sent Jesus to start. The Spirit continues to empower believers – to empower us – to carry on that work. The Spirit sends us out to minister to our communities, our neighbours, our friends and family, to complete strangers – all in Jesus’ name.

If nothing else, today’s reading shows us that the very last thing a resurrected life should look like is a bunch of people hiding in their cozy familiar space hoping for the good old days. A resurrected life means throwing open the doors and walking into the world knowing that God is already there in front of us, calling us to continue Jesus’ ministry to all of God’s creation.

I hope that we will live into the gift of new life – as individuals and as a congregation. I hope we will be bold and trust that God sends us, leads us, and empowers us to be disciples wherever we go. And I hope that as we grow as disciples, we will know more each day just what a gift this new life that God gives us really is.

Blessings to you this Easter and as you live out the new life we have in Jesus’ name.

Amen.