Encountered, Taught, Interpreted

April 8, 2018. The Second Sunday of Easter B

John 20:19-31 [Jesus appears to Thomas]
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.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, 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 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.”
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.” 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.” 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 believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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.

When we open the Bible and read it or hear a Bible reading, there in an encounter, a lesson, and an interpretation. We may encounter God and learn something about God and come to a better understanding of God, but more important is that in the Bible, God meets with us, God teaches us something about us, and our lives are interpreted by God so that we better understand ourselves.

The Word of God is alive, and so it makes us alive. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is speaking to us as we read or sing or listen to His Words today. And so, we read a Psalm and we make it our prayer because it speaks of our own experiences in life. For example, the 23rd Psalm gives us great comfort and strength because we know that even in the midst of life’s darkest times, God is with us to guide and protect and bless us. When God calls a prophet, we know that God is calling us, too. When Jesus appeared to St. Paul on the road to Damascus, we feel that Jesus is appearing to us and calling us to be his disciples. And when God calls to Adam in the Garden of Eden, “Adam, where are you?” we know that God knows our sin and we feel ashamed and want to hide from his judgment and wrath.

In the Bible God is teaching us about life. We humans want to control things as if we were God, but God teaches us what human life really is. It is a life that is not meant to be filled with hate and sin and fear, but is meant to be filled with love and service and joy and worship.

We try to interpret the Bible, but when we interpret it properly and correctly, then we see that the Bible interprets us. The Bible shows who we really are. In other words, we get something personal out of reading the Bible. It is not just academic. It becomes a personal experience. For example, when we read the Ten Commandments, whether in the Book of Exodus or in the Catechism book, the Ten Commandments look at us and judge us, or perhaps show us how to live a life pleasing to God. Have you ever read a passage that made you afraid? Have you ever heard a sermon that made you wonder about your salvation? When our sin is exposed, the Word of God is like a mirror.

The Catechism teaches us that the Law of God is like a Curb, a Mirror, and a Guide. As a curb on either side of a road it keeps society out of chaos, as a mirror it shows us our sin, and as a guide book it gives advice on how to live our lives. The Bible is a mirror. We see Adam and Eve and know that it is our own story. We too would have eaten the delicious-looking fruit. At the time of Noah, we would probably have been justifiably drowned in the Great Flood with all the other great sinners. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai for 40 days, we would have danced and feasted in front of the golden calf that Aaron made. We may have confronted Goliath with full courage and faith in God, but we understand David’s fascination with Bathsheba.

In today’s Gospel reading we meet someone who is very much like us. We meet Thomas. He is a mirror image of us. John 20:24 says, “Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.” Thomas’s nickname is “the Twin.” In Greek it is “Didymus” which means the “Twin.” Bible scholars have wondered for centuries who his twin might be, but no one knows. The best answer is what preachers for centuries have always known. His twin is you and me. He is a mirror image of us.

Now don’t you start thinking that you would be different. “Oh, I would never have doubted Jesus. I would have believed the disciples who said he was alive. I would have faith.” You might want to say that after you have come to faith, but even after coming to faith and living for a long time as a Christian believer, there are times when we have doubts just like Thomas. When the problems and sins and fears and uncertainties of life surround us, doubt is natural because we want to be sure.

When we want to make sure of something, we want to see proof. What is the proof about God? There is the beautiful creation—but scientists with their microscopes and telescopes do not see God. Then there are the miracles of Jesus—but the Jews at the time of Jesus did not accept these signs. In some churches there are healings and speaking in tongues—but that does not convince me. And I do not trust the ever-changing emotions of my heart. To be really sure about Jesus, we need to see our twin Thomas and make sure about Jesus in the same way Thomas did.

Thomas was a doubter, but he knew what he wanted to see; he knew what he had to see. He would not be satisfied with only an alive Jesus. He had to see the death marks. He had to see and touch the prints of the nails and the wound in Jesus’ side. Thomas knew that if Jesus was going to be his living “lord and god,” then Jesus must die to be his savior. There could be no resurrection without crucifixion. There could be no saving life without a saving death. It was the marks of death that convinced Thomas so that he could confess with confidence, “My Lord and my God.”

That is the mirror-image that we must see. We must see that Jesus died for us. We may not physically put our fingers into the holes in his hands, but the cross in our church is the sign of his death. Because we cannot touch Jesus, he makes contact with us. Jesus touches us with his holy Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Altar. The sign of the cross is placed on our foreheads and over our hearts in Baptism. These are the signs that constantly change our doubt into faith so that we can say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God.”

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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