Image: The Doubting of Thomas. From Illuminated Armenian Gospels with Eusebian canons. Shelfmark MS. Arm. d.13.
April 27, 2025: Easter 2C
John 20:19-31
Some of you may remember the old name for this Sunday: “Low Sunday”. While we don’t know exactly why that name was applied, it may have to do with these facts: Remember how many people were in worship last week. Now see how many are in worship this week! Remember the Easter finest many wore last week. Sam even wore a suit and tie! This week, we’re wearing what we usually wear on Sunday. Last week, we had a tomb wall with a rollable stone, thanks to Pastor John and his family. This week, the tomb is in the garage, where it will stay until 2026. The massive preparations, the joy, and the excitement of Easter Sunday simply can’t be sustained each week. In a way, it’s back to normal.
But for the disciples, nothing would be normal ever again.
Of course, they’re sequestered behind locked doors. They’re suffering from multiple traumas. First, their Master and friend had been betrayed by one of their own. Peter had denied being his disciple and the others, except for the beloved disciple, had abandoned him. Then, he had been murdered on a Roman cross. And then, Mary Magdalene had reported seeing him. Peter and the beloved disciple, for their part, had seen an empty tomb with carefully rolled-up linens, but they hadn’t seen Jesus. Little wonder they’re frightened. While John tells us that they’re afraid of “the Jews” (which for the Jewish John probably meant the Temple authorities), there may be one other Jew they’re afraid of.
And that’s the big Jew, Jesus. If the tomb is empty and if Mary’s words are true, that means he’s on the loose. And if he’s on the loose, that might mean he could come back to settle things. When Jesus suddenly appears in the room, their worst fears may have been realized.
But the first word out of his mouth is “shalom”. “Peace be with you.” Not, “You guys screwed me over.” Not, “After all I did for you!” Not even, “We need to have a long talk.” The very best the disciples could have hoped for was that Jesus might have said something like, “You all messed up really bad. But you can see that I’m back now, so I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson from all this. Remember when I washed your feet? We should review that part.” That would be welcoming the disciples back according to the transactional law that we all live by in our day-to-day lives. If my daughter screams, she loses a toy. She keeps screaming, she loses more. When she gets them back, they often come with a little lecture; something like, “Don’t do that again.”
But that’s not what Jesus does. No lecture. No punishment. No, Jesus gives them his peace—his shalom—which is his forgiveness. The disciples aren’t welcomed back on the basis of “Don’t ever do that again.” No, Jesus welcomes back the disciples on the basis of his amazing grace which creates a new kind of life. And in this new life, there’s a mission to accomplish: that of forgiving sins in the way that Jesus forgives them. Jesus has broken through their trauma to equip them with the Holy Spirit and empower them to continue his work of reconciliation.
You might be in a similar place in your own life. You might be fearful of decisions by world leaders or current events. You may have had your own traumatic experiences as the disciples did. Maybe the world just doesn’t make sense to you right now. And in response, perhaps you’d like to just lock yourself away. Haven’t we all wanted to hide from the world sometimes and keep ourselves safe?
But Jesus will not let us hide for long, just as he did not let the disciples hide, including Thomas! Thomas wasn’t with them that first week. His response is understandable. He only wants what the others have seen. He only wants what they have received. There’s something intriguing about this story and it’s not just about Thomas. The disciples seem to need another appearance of the risen Christ as well.
Because they’re behind those same doors next week! Even after receiving the Holy Spirit, even after receiving the power to forgive sins, they are still behind locked doors the following Sunday! But Jesus breaks through again. He invites Thomas to touch the marks of trauma on his ruined hands and his wounded side. He invites him, as well as the rest of the disciples, to rekindle their faith. And he gives us, who have not seen Jesus Christ in that same way, to do the same—to not be one of unfaith, but of faith. He breaks through to the disciples. He breaks through to Thomas. And he breaks through to us, whatever pain we’ve experienced. Whatever heartbreak we’ve suffered. Jesus breaks through to us today, coming to us in word and water, in bread and wine, to forgive our sins so we can forgive others. Jesus breaks past our locked doors and barricaded windows to give us the Holy Spirit, who alone creates faith. Without the Holy Spirit, this is simply an interesting story about seeing a dead man alive again. With the Holy Spirit, these frightened disciples, who would prefer to wallow in their own trauma, become bold witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus and the peace of God that brings reconciliation—even a world that would just as soon sit behind its own locked door.
People of God, we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry on this mission of sharing the peace of Christ. It’s in our congregation’s name, after all. Our purpose—shalom—is in this story from John’s Gospel. As Jesus shares his peace, so we share the peace of God. Why? So that the world can know the peace, reconciliation, mercy, and love that comes only from God. Amen.
© 2025, David M. Fleener. Permission granted to copy and adapt original material herein for non-commercial purposes with appropriate credit given.