Second Sunday of Easter 19th April, 2020

Image by Bruno van der Kraan on Unsplash

In this morning’s Gospel, we read about two appearances of the risen Lord to the disciples. The first, is St John’s account of the first appearance he made to them after his Resurrection. In his account of this appearance, St John simply says that Jesus showed the disciples his hands and side but, in St Luke’s account of this appearance, we’re left in no doubt that Jesus showed the disciples his wounds, the marks of his crucifixion, to convince the disciples that they really were seeing Jesus himself, and not a ghost. We know this because Jesus says to them,

“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

 After which he shows the disciples his hands and feet.

The second appearance of the risen Lord we read about this morning, happened a week after this first appearance and is the well-known story of ‘Doubting Thomas’. St John tells us that Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, and that he simply didn’t believe what the others had told him. He wanted to see Jesus with his own eyes, and not only see, but touch Jesus’ wounds before he would be willing to believe that Jesus had really risen from the dead. A week later, Thomas gets his wish and, perhaps not surprisingly, Thomas’ response is to acclaim Jesus as his Lord and God. Jesus’ reply is that it is those who believe without seeing that are blessed.

The underlying theme of this story, of course, is faith. And faith, as the Letter to the Hebrews tells us,

“… is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

 It’s a trust that the things we believe are true, that the things we expect, or wish for, will happen when we have no visible evidence for our belief in those things, expectations or wishes. And Jesus said it’s those who have this kind of faith who are blessed.

I think though, that this Gospel story, or perhaps the way we usually read this story, is a little unfair on ‘Doubting Thomas’. St John tells us that Jesus’ words about faith were addressed to Thomas, but if we take St Luke’s story of the meeting between Jesus and the other disciples into account, it wasn’t only Thomas who had doubts. All the disciples needed to see Jesus’ wounds before they would believe he’d truly risen from the dead. So, whilst Jesus may have been speaking to Thomas at this time, his words would have applied just as much to the other disciples too. And I think these Gospel stories and the accounts of Jesus’ post-Resurrection appearances generally, tell us something very important about our lives as Christians and about our faith, as it’s lived out in the world.

As Christians living in what at times can be a very harsh and cruel world, doubts and questions about our faith, go hand-in-hand with our faith. When we see suffering in the world, for example, it’s only natural for Christians, who care about the suffering in the world, to ask ‘Why?’ ‘Why do people have to suffer? There is nothing wrong with asking that question because, in essence, it’s the question Jesus asked in Gethsemane;

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus’ faith was firm, he was determined to do the Father’s will, whatever that meant. But he was asking if there was another way that could be done, one that spared him the suffering of the Passion and the agony of the Cross.

And whenever there is trouble, turmoil and distress in the world, as there is at this present time, it’s only natural for Christians, who care about what goes on in the world, to ask ‘Where is God in all this?’ and to wonder how such things further God’s will and purpose. It’s very difficult for us, with our very limited perspective of time and space, to see things on the eternal, cosmic scale that God sees them, so it shouldn’t be surprising that we don’t see, and don’t understand, and ask questions. Jesus, as fully God and fully human, understood this perfectly, and he spoke about our inability to understand these things, and our tendency to question, or even lose our faith when these things happen. But urged us not to lose faith, whatever goes on in the world around us:

“And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

It can be very difficult for us to understand what God is doing when individual people, or the world generally, are going through troubled times and there is great suffering, because our eyes and ears don’t provide us with any evidence for what God is doing. So it’s not surprising that these are the times when doubts and questions may arise in our minds and hearts. We know the disciples didn’t understand, and they lost faith when Jesus was arrested and put to death on the cross. Their understanding came, and their faith was renewed and strengthened, only after these things had happened, and it all stemmed from them seeing Jesus’ wounds, the visible marks of his suffering. Only then did they begin to realise what Jesus’ suffering and death had all been about and what God had done through his suffering and death.

We can’t see or touch Jesus’ wounds today, but those wounds tell us that God can and does work in and through times of great suffering and distress. Jesus’ wounds tell us that God does work in and through times when, to all outward appearances, he seems to be absent. It might be difficult for us to see and understand, but these are the times when we’re called to endure, to go through these times and remain faithful – to be amongst those who are blessed with faith even though we can’t see. If we can do that, then we can look forward in confidence to that day when we will see and understand. That day when we meet and see the risen Lord for ourselves.

Amen.

You’ll find the Propers for the Second Sunday of Easter here.

Easter Sunday 12 April, 2020

Among the things I’ve spoken about in the ‘Thought’s for the Day’ I’ve been writing since our churches were closed, is how we can perhaps liken our present situation to that of the people we read about in the Scriptures. We can liken our situation to that of the people of Israel when they were in exile and could no longer worship in the Temple. And we can liken it to that of the disciples as their lives and expectations changed, so radically, during the last week of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. 

Although they didn’t know it at the time, the disciple’s lives and expectations were to change in an even more radical way on Easter Day. Jesus had been with them, every day, for three years and suddenly, he was gone, he was dead. Then, even more suddenly, he was alive again. But, even so, the immense joy the disciples must have felt when they finally realised what had happened, that  what Jesus had been telling them all along had been true, didn’t mean that they didn’t still face some very difficult times and had some very difficult changes to go through.

Jesus was alive, but now he wasn’t with them all the time. And they’d only see him for forty days before he was taken from their sight for the last time. That didn’t mean Jesus was no longer with them, he’d promised he would be with them always, until the end of time, but they had to get used to having Jesus with them whilst being physically absent from them. They had to learn what it meant to be not only disciples of Jesus, but Apostles of Christ, without the physical presence of their Lord.  And that, of course, is what Christians have had to do ever since.

Even so, these days are particularly difficult for us as Christians. We’ve been used to the physical presence of our fellow Christians, especially when we’ve gone to church to worship the Lord. But now, suddenly, we’re cut off from those things. Through setting aside set times for prayer, and through modern technology, we can, and are, are still coming together spiritually, but that is not the same thing as being with one another in church. So, we’re having to learn what it means to be a Church, without being physically present to one another.

We are all missing that presence, I’m sure. Everyone I’ve spoken to says they are but, what many people are saying too, is that they’re finding the things we are still able to share through technology, to be very meaningful and that what we’ve had to do in the present situation, has given them a very deep sense of appreciation for what we have when we can come together in church to worship the Lord.

And today, Easter Day, is the day above all days when we should worship the Lord. Easter Day is the greatest day in the Church’s year and for us, as Christians, the most joyous day of the year. But this will be a very strange Easter Day for us. It will be an Easter Day unlike any other any of us will have ever known. For me, this will be the first Easter Day I’ve not been in church to celebrate and give thanks for the Lord’s Resurrection since I returned to the Church in 1980. For some of you, it will be much longer than that since you were absent from church on Easter Day; some of you may not even be able to remember the last time you weren’t in church on Easter Day.  So, it will be a very strange Easter Day and a difficult one in many ways. But we can perhaps learn something from today’s Gospel readings.

The lectionary gives a choice of two Gospel readings for today. One is from St John’s gospel and the other is from St Matthew’s Gospel. In St John’s Gospel we read about Mary Magdalene who, having at first mistaken the risen Lord for the gardener, recognises him when he calls her name. But Jesus tells her not to cling to him. In St Matthew’s Gospel we read that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, meet Jesus and they take hold of his feet and worship him. St John gives the impression that Mary wanted to hold on to Jesus, perhaps to embrace him, but he tells her she can’t do this.

St Matthew though, suggests that Jesus is happy to allow the Mary’s to touch his feet in worship. Later in the Gospels we read that Jesus encourages Thomas to touch him so that he might doubt no longer but believe. Thomas response, of course, is to acclaim Jesus as his Lord and his God. The Gospels suggest then, that the risen Jesus could be seen and recognised, he could be touched in worship and to elicit worship, but he couldn’t be clung to or held on to; he couldn’t be physically embraced in the way he once could.

And it’s the same for us today too. In the words of Scripture, through our liturgies, the sacraments,  and in our prayers, we can glimpse enough of Jesus to recognise him as our risen Lord, our Saviour and our God and, in recognising him as that, to worship at his feet. But we can’t hold on to him and embrace him in a physical sense, we can only do that in a spiritual sense, in the power of the Holy Spirit. And, whilst it would be much better to be able to do this together in church where we could also meet the Lord in the sacraments, we can still read the Scriptures, take part in the liturgies and pray, at home.

This will be a very strange Easter Day, but wherever we are, we can still give thank for our Lord’s Resurrection and worship him with a sense of joy that comes from our faith and confidence in the great Easter Acclamation:

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

You’ll find the Propers for Easter Day here.