Mission to Forgive
Quasimotogeniti, April 11, 2010
GOSPEL LESSON: John 20:19–31
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors 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 side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The Easter celebration continues! And so we continue to read the Easter Story. On the first Easter evening, Jesus met with his disciples, but the disciple Thomas was not present. At that time, Jesus blessed the disciples with the Mission of the Father. “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” He also gave them the Mission of the Holy Spirit. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
The disciples told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” The next Sunday when the disciples gathered Thomas was with them. Jesus appeared to them again. Jesus blessed them, and then he showed Thomas how much he loved him. He gave a special blessing to Thomas so that he could believe. “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Because Thomas believed in Jesus, now he too could share in the Mission. He too received the Mission of the Father and the Mission of the Holy Spirit to forgive sin.
When Thomas confessed, “My Lord and my God!” he was accepting the Mission to be his own. Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” In these words we too are blessed. We have not seen the risen Lord. We have not touched his hands or his side. But we believe. And in believing, we too now share the Mission. In our baptism, we have received the Holy Spirit in order to carry out the Mission.
So, what is the Mission? And are we actually participating in it? The mission is to proclaim the Gospel and then to do Gospel work. What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the Good News of what Christ has done for us. The Gospel is the message that Christ died on the cross to forgive our sins. The Gospel is not just the love of God, it is the love of God shown on the cross. It is the death and resurrection of Christ. On the cross, Jesus took our sins upon himself and died in our place. In that way our sin is forgiven. That is the message of the Gospel. It is forgiveness, it is justification, it is righteousness. Therefore there is salvation. It is the Mission of God, the Mission of the church, to proclaim that message and to carry out that forgiveness in everyday life. On the first Easter evening, Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Sins are forgiven when people believe in Jesus as their Lord and their God. Sins are retained; they are not forgiven when people do not believe in Jesus as Lord and God. Our job is not to judge who is a sinner or not, our job is not to decide who to forgive and who not to forgive. Our job is to provide the forgiveness of sins to all who believe. That is our mission.
It is the job of the church to forgive. It is the job of the individual Christian to forgive, also. That is the job of a Christian. It is the Christian life style. We pray that God will help us do that job of forgiving. It is what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And when sins are forgiven, God’s Kingdom comes, His Will is done, His Name is honored, and we are spared from temptation and evil.
What is the opposite of forgiveness? First of all, it is hate. When there is love, there is a bond between people. When there is a sin or some offence or some other problem, it is like there is a wall built up between people. Forgiveness breaks down that wall.
There is a famous passage about love in I Corinthians 13. It talks about what love is and what love is not. I think a lot of the problems spoken in I Corinthians 13 could be solved by forgiveness. Listen to verses 4-7, then listen again with the word “love” exchanged for the word “forgiveness.”
4
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. [NIV]4
[Forgiveness] is patient, [forgiveness] is kind. [Forgiveness] does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 [Forgiveness] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 [Forgiveness] does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.That is the love and forgiveness that God has for us. It is the love and forgiveness that we pray about in the Lord’s Prayer. We pray that God will send his Holy Spirit so that we can love and forgive other people.
The Easter celebration is that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sin is forgiven. The barrier wall of sin is broken down. God’s love is shown to us and eternal life and salvation are given to us. That is power! That is the Easter blessing given to Thomas and all who confess their faith in Jesus Christ.
“My Lord and my God!”
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor