St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
April 16, 2023
Year A: The Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
Unlocking Our Hearts
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Well, in my not totally unbiased opinion, we had a wonderfully joyful Easter Day here at St. Thomas’ Church!
Our church staff put in even more hard work than usual, making sure that we would have everything we needed – hundreds of bulletins, a spotless church and Parish Hall, Easter eggs hidden for the hunt, and more.
Thanks to the hard work of our Flower and Altar Guilds, this old holy place looked and smelled beautiful.
And, actually, it still does, doesn't it?
Wanda and the choir outdid themselves yet again, offering a feast of glorious music.
And, speaking of feasts, the Wardens’ Breakfast provided an abundance of delicious food, feeding, I’m told, more hungry people than ever before.
And, at 10:00, I had the great privilege of baptizing a dad and his two daughters. Josh, Maya, and Josie took the plunge into new life with Christ and we welcomed the newest members into our fellowship of faith.
I mean, come on, right?
What could be better?
And, did I mention that lots and lots of people joined us for both of Easter Day services – and that the church was just about at capacity at the 10:00 service?
We welcomed back old friends and greeted some people who had never been here before.
All of us gathered here together to celebrate the good news that Mary Magdalene discovered early on the first Easter Day at the empty tomb, when the Risen Jesus called her by name – “Mary” – and she heard, and she saw, and she knew:
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
And then on Monday morning we packed the church again to celebrate the life of our dear brother Jim Piper, sending him off to heaven on a wave of Alleluias – Alleluias that have been echoing in my head and heart all week long.
Well, by now, out in the world, Easter is pretty much over with – maybe there are just a few pieces of the least popular candies stuck to the bottom of some Easter baskets – or, maybe, there’s no sign at all of last week’s celebration.
Even here in church, the crowds have thinned...somewhat.
But, it’s still Easter – it’s Easter all the way to Pentecost.
It’s still Easter for us.
And, in today’s gospel lesson, for Jesus’ disciples it’s still the first Easter.
Although the disciples have received Mary Magdalene’s report, they’re not rejoicing, not at all.
We’re told that they’re hiding behind locked doors. These Jewish followers of Jesus aren’t afraid of “the Jews” as a group but they are understandably terrified that the authorities who had brutally executed Jesus are coming for his friends next.
Plus, it’s possible that the disciples might not have received Mary Magdalene’s report that Jesus had risen as entirely good news.
I mean, most, if not all of the disciples, had abandoned Jesus at his greatest moment of need. Peter even denied knowing him – not once but three times.
So, if Jesus really has risen from the dead, it’s possible that Jesus might be displeased with his friends, to put it mildly.
So, notice when Jesus appears in the room – locked doors are no obstacle for him – his first words are, “Peace be with you.”
That must have come as quite a relief to his frightened and guilty friends.
“Peace be with you.”
And then Jesus shows them the wounds.
It would seem that Jesus does this not so much to convince the disciples of his identity – no one present expressed any doubts – but to show that the Risen Jesus is the same Jesus they had known and loved – the Risen Jesus will forever bear the wounds that he endured.
The Risen Jesus is the same Jesus they had known and loved but he is also transformed – the wounded and Risen Jesus is able to enter locked rooms – the wounded and Risen Jesus is able to enter the locked rooms of our hearts.
Of course, there was at least one notable absence on that first Easter night: Thomas.
We’re not told why Thomas wasn’t behind locked doors with the others, so we don’t know.
It could be that he was just off on some routine task – running an errand or caring for a family member or getting some rest.
Maybe.
But, the little we know about Thomas suggests that he was a man of courage.
So, I imagine this courageous man just disgusted with himself and the other disciples – just sick to his stomach that he failed his Lord and ran away to save his own skin while Jesus cried out in agony from the cross.
I imagine Thomas off in the wilderness somewhere, yelling at the night sky, asking God why this suffering and death was allowed to happen, why this teacher and healer of love and forgiveness was rejected and abandoned by just about everybody, including by Thomas himself.
I imagine that Thomas’ heart was locked tight.
And so, when his fellow disciples tell him the good news – the best news of all time – he doesn’t buy it – maybe because he doesn’t trust these guys who he knew were not exactly reliable but maybe because he doesn’t dare believe, doesn’t want to risk heartbreak yet again.
And, yet, Thomas shows up a week later.
And so does Jesus.
Jesus, the un-locker of hearts, offers Thomas exactly what he had asked for – go ahead, touch the wounds – but actually Thomas had already received what he needed most, “Peace be with you.”
And, in reply, Thomas says, “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas may have said more than he understood, but he knew the good news – the best news of all time:
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Today, there are lots of people whose hearts are locked pretty tight – and often for good reason.
Like Thomas, perhaps, so many people have been disappointed by life, disappointed by their own actions or inactions.
Like the disciples, so many people are understandably frightened by our broken and often brutal world, dreading what is yet to come.
But, an easy to overlook detail in today’s gospel lesson is that it’s the disciples who share the Good News with Thomas, kind of like the Good Shepherd seeking out the one lost sheep.
Jesus is the un-locker of hearts and we are his apprentice locksmiths – sent out to share new life and love – called to breathe peace through our actions and words - inspired to welcome people like we did in a big way last week, and must do all the time.
Easter is just getting started and, with the state of the world, we sure do have our work cut out for us.
There’s no time to waste.
So, with God’s help, let’s boldly proclaim:
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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