Second Sunday of Easter – John 20:19-31
First Trinity Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, IN

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So, it’s the 2nd week of Easter. Fun fact – every year it’s the same gospel reading – doubting Thomas. I think we always need the reminder. When we tell folks Christ is arisen, we’re going to get some push back. There are a lot of atheists out there. Or folks who don’t like the church. And that’s ok, we’re not looking for a fight. But what if it’s church folks who push back? Would you be surprised to know that a lot of folks in the pews are skeptical? [???] How do we deal with that? [???] Maybe it makes us nervous. Like doubt is a disease that might rub off. Or maybe we’ve got some doubts and keep them to ourselves. We don’t want folks to give us weird looks. No one wants to be like doubting Thomas. They might take away our Lutheran card.

But here’s the thing. Thomas might just be the most faithful disciple of all. So, the other disciples are telling Thomas all about Jesus visiting them in the locked room. Locked. If Jesus is risen, what have they got to be afraid of? Well, Roman soldiers looking for the rest of Jesus’ gang. Guilty by association. Remember how Peter freaked out when a little girl pointed and said, “Isn’t he one of Jesus’ friends?” So, clearly Thomas isn’t the only one with doubts here. But Jesus doesn’t call them out. Instead, he breathes the Holy Spirit upon them. He says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

What’s he sending them to do? [MAKE DISCIPLES, BAPTIZE, TEACH] Spread the good news. Jesus is risen! [HE IS RISEN INDEED!] And guess who they get to tell first? Thomas! This should be easy. He’s a disciple. Surely he’ll be glad to hear, right? Nope. Thomas says, “Until I see and touch the marks in his hands, and stick my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Do you think the disciples are shocked? But maybe it’s only fair. Remember last week, what happened when the women ran to tell the men the same thing? They didn’t believe. They thought it was just idle talk. So maybe Thomas deserves a little credit. He doesn’t disrespect anyone. He just lays out his terms.

A few days pass. They’re all together in the same room. Locked, of course. Old habits die hard. Lo and behold, Jesus comes back! And he invites Thomas to see and touch his wounds. Which have to be pretty gory – remember, Jesus was pierced with a spear. How gaping is that wound! I figure it’s like one of those movie scenes that we watch through our fingers. I BET Thomas doesn’t want to touch that. “No, no, Lord, that’s ok. And can you put a bandage on that thing?”

So, a few things here. First, it says a lot that Jesus came back. He didn’t have to. He could have kept the other disciples on the hook to keep trying to convince Thomas. How frustrating would that be? But Jesus loves Thomas. He gives Thomas what he wanted, without even being asked. That’s pretty gracious. Of course, he does poke at Thomas a little bit. He says, “Have you believed because you’ve seen me? Blessed are those who have NOT seen, yet come to believe.”

And that’s another thing. Thomas knows what it’s like to wrestle with faith. It matters a lot to him. So much so, that he speaks up and tells the disciples what he’s really thinking. He knows it’ll bother them, but he can’t keep quiet about it. That takes courage. I mean, when the whole gang comes to you with a single story, that’s a lot of pressure to say yes. You don’t want to make waves. Does the one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church feel like that sometimes? [???] Why aren’t we friendlier with skeptics? What have we got to be afraid of? Clearly it won’t keep Jesus away.

And here’s one more reason to like Thomas. Thomas won’t let them forget about Good Friday. How quickly does Easter drown out Good Friday? Easter’s the big celebration. The goal. The empty tomb and the cross without Christ. How many folks want to speed past the trauma and get to the happy ending. Because who really wants a crucified Jesus? It’s disturbing. God lets God’s only child suffer and die. But Jesus was the sinless one. That’s not fair. That’s not how this is supposed to work. And if God can just abandon Jesus like that, then what hope have WE got?

Some of you may have heard me tell this story. When we train for ministry, we have to do something called CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education). Usually it’s in a hospital, where you learn to care for patients. It’s also about learning how to not lose your mind when you’re faced with someone’s deep grief and anger and you can’t fix it. That can mess you up, because we want to fix things so badly. I still have to do my CPE. Probably in a couple years. Anyway, I have a best friend from seminary who pastors a church in North Dakota. For years we’ve called each other every week to check in. I remember when she did her CPE. It was a trauma center. And I remember she always sounded exhausted because they called her in at all hours. There’s always another trauma. So, it was Wednesday of Holy Week. They called her for a pediatric trauma case. She spent all night with the family and it wiped her out. On Maundy Thursday she actually went to worship, but she cried the whole time. On Good Friday, they told her that the child was declared brain dead. She didn’t go to worship that day. It was too much. It’s amazing that we talked on Saturday. We barely started talking when she suddenly had to go. She told me about it later. The child’s organs were made available for transplant, so they were going into surgery right then. And here’s what she told me. When they do this, first they pause in the OR for a time of silence. Then they read a statement from the family that tells who this donor really was. Then they pray for the life that these organs will give. My friend had to go give the statement.

She told me it was a hard and beautiful thing. You don’t really get over the loss. But even in death, you can see life.

Maybe that’s why Thomas insists on seeing Jesus’ wounds, because that’s where he finds good news. He doesn’t want a clean and sanitized Christ. He wants a Christ that hurts and bleeds and dies, because we hurt and bleed and die. And if this kind of God can raise a Christ like that, then why can’t this God raise us too? Because we need to be raised. Right here in this valley of tears. But there is no resurrection without a cross. No Easter without a Good Friday.

And maybe what we really need to see right now are Jesus’ wounds as well. Because in his wounds we see our own. The injustice we suffer. Our sin and brokenness. Jesus doesn’t pretend like it’s not happening. He testifies with his own body that it’s real. And he wants us to see that there’s not a single thing about us that he doesn’t willingly, gladly take upon himself, because that’s what love does. We have died with Jesus on the cross, so that we know we’ll be resurrected with him, and Jesus always has the last word.

So Jesus breathes his Holy Spirit into us. To tell others about the God who brings life out of death. To cling to the God who makes a way in spite of all evidence to the contrary. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” To dare to hope that even suffering and death can be a gift from God that defies the power of the world. We may be wounded but we will not be broken. After all, the body of Christ is going to show some gaping wounds. But in these, others will see their own and know God sees them too. Therefore, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Amen.