Acts 2:14a, 22-32 (NRSV)
Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the multitude, "You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know-- this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,
"Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying ,
- `I saw the Lord always before me,
- for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
- therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
- moreover my flesh will live in hope.
- For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
- or let your Holy One experience corruption.
- You have made known to me the ways of life;
- you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses."
- `He was not abandoned to Hades,
- nor did his flesh experience corruption.'
Psalm 16 (BCP., p.599).
1 Peter 1:3-9 (NRSV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith-- being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire-- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
John 20:19-31 (NRSV)
When it was evening on the day of Resurrection, 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."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But 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.
Blog Reflection
One of the fads on Facebook that has become an addiction for many people, and in some ways myself, is the Buzzfeed surveys. If you answer a particular set of questions, you can find out things like What Disney Cartoon Character you are. Other possibilities are What Religion Are You? How many 80's movies you have watched. One survey was what kind of Christ you are. The answers were quite interesting. If you answered the questions in a particular way, you could learn that you are the Medic Jesus who heal people. You might be the Preachy Jesus. The types of surveys and answers are all over the map. I play a few behind the scenes, but I make it my business not to post the answers I get, except for a few. And my reason for doing that, is because I don't want those surveys and the answers I get to become the means by which I identify or define myself. Nor do I want others to use them to identify things about me. I feel that my identity is first and foremost an adopted son of God, by the redemption of Jesus Christ. Whatever my sexual orientation or gender identity is, my national origin, language, etc., they are all labels the become opportunities for me to be compared and/or designated certain opportunities based on those. All of those are nothing compared to the opportunities I am given because of the difference the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ has made in my life.
When the Risen Christ appeared to those first Disciples while Thomas were not present, they experienced the saving grace of God that changed their lives forever. They were filled with sorrow for all that had happened on Good Friday. They were locked behind closed doors for fear of being arrested because they were previously with Jesus. They heard the stories of Mary and those who were at the tomb when Jesus rose from the dead. But, they just did not believe it. If all of that were not believable, suddenly the Risen Christ appeared with the words: "Peace be with you." Those first Apostles ran away when He was nailed to the Cross. Peter denied Jesus three times. All Jesus was concerned with, was bringing God's peace upon those scared, sad and discouraged Disciples.
Thomas represents in all of us that doubting moment. The doubt that is not satisfied by the words that came to him about the Resurrection. Thomas wanted to see the Risen Christ for himself. Thomas was the skeptic. He's the skeptic that plays the devil's advocate in the middle of a meeting. Everyone wants to finish up and go home. The skeptic wants to see that which satisfies her/his curiosity. But, Jesus comes even to those who have doubts. The Risen Christ is alive and calling even the skeptics among us. "Peace be with you. See my hands and my feet. Touch me and see." Thomas cries those wonderful words "My Lord and My God" as a statement of faith. The faith that became his sight. Because he doubted and later believed, those who have not seen, but believe through the words and actions of others are blessed indeed. Our identity as children of God is confirmed through the faith of others who like us doubted, and were later shown God's blessings in their lives.
We are living in some times of real doubts. The civil unrest in the Ukraine and the threat of more violence from Russia. The news that we still have not seen unemployment insurance renewed, or the minimum wage raised leaves so much doubt about what kind of future low income and middle class people have. Very little has been done to reduce the gun violence that threatens our schools, communities of various peoples, and neighborhoods. The rhetoric by Christianists towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people continues to be violent, even with all the progress we have made towards marriage equality and more. The terrible ruling by the Supreme Court this week with regards to Affirmative Action in Michigan. The way in which women are victimized as second class citizens with regards to work, equal pay and reproductive health care.
The problem is, we still live in an age and world where the dignity of every human person is the least of our concern. Instead of loving our neighbor as ourselves, we are loving money, power, prestige, popularity and the ability to draw attention to ourselves. We do not want to share our country with the many immigrants who want a chance to make a life for themselves. We want to keep an "other" so that we feel like we have power and control over things around us. We walk by sight, not by faith.
Jesus comes to us, alive and offers us peace in the midst of our chaos. He comes to invite us to touch him through the wounds of prejudice, indifference, and oppression and see that our broken humanity can and will be healed through God's transforming grace. The Risen Christ beacons us to see beyond our doubts, stereotypes and preconceived notions and see Jesus offering us peace, healing and reconciliation. Jesus offers us the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of our sins through His Death and Resurrection, with the opportunity to start over again and again.
As Easter Week ends, and we continue through this wonderful season in the Church; we have the opportunity to meet the Risen Christ and love Him in one another. We can embrace one another by forgiving each other and being forgiven. We can be restored to friendship with God through God's mercy in Christ, and find our way back to being true Disciples full of hope and peace.
Peace be with you.
Alleluia! Christ is risen
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Amen.
Prayers
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery
established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all
who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body
may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 224).
Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the
world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among
them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they
may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 816).
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so
move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the
people of this land], that barriers which divide us may
crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 823).
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