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“THE REST OF THE STORY”
Some might think that the big day is over…Easter has come and gone with all its pomp and splendor. The orchestra is gone, some of the new faces we met on Easter morning are not here and some of our regular members are taking the morning off, resting up from the big celebration of the resurrection. It was a great Easter Sunday and many of us might agree that we couldn’t keep that pace of musical production that so beautifully described the death of our Lord through the voice of Mary, nor would we want attend the 6:30 AM service at the cemetery once again. No, I would imagine that many of us might just like the idea of going back to our normal routine. So it is the 2nd Sunday of Easter, the Sunday after Easter, the head of staff is taking some well-deserved time off and he has brought in the 2nd string to lead worship. So here I am, so here you are and here we move back into our regular order of worship. This Sunday I can see the order of things coming together, the group is getting ready for the Fellowship Fair. Ron is out there in the narthex greeting members and friends as they come into church, God’s Kingdom teachers are here preparing for all of God’s children to come to their classrooms. Life at Oak Grove is back to normal because as Presbyterians we feel a little uncomfortable with all those angels coming and going as we read in last Sunday scripture reading, the crying at the tomb is just too much emotion for us. We like things in order. That is why the two scripture readings we read today are just perfect for our response after the joyous resurrection. In Acts, we saw how the disciples refused to give up, they were on a roll. They were back at work. After they were in prison they continued on with their teaching. When questioned by the council their only response was … “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you have killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior. We are witnesses to these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” These are mighty strong powerful responses of their faith for men who had just locked themselves in an upstairs room after the resurrection. What happened, what made them so strong in their faith? This story taken from Acts is probably what some might call the “end of the story”. So what is the beginning? What put the strength into these poor weak disciples? Let’s go back to the gospel of John and look at what happened after Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene. She goes back to the disciples and tells them that she has seen the risen Lord. She also found these disciples hiding out behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. A sharp contrast of what we just read in Acts. The fourth gospel writer has the disciples gathered together. Worship began when Jesus entered the room; Christ is present with us here today. “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name”, Jesus says, “there am I in the midst of them.” When ever we gather together Christ is with us. At the beginning of committee meetings, session meetings, or a prayer group a prayer is offered with the assurance that the Spirit of Christ is present in the room. Pastor Bill has begun a practice for the session meetings of lighting the Christ candle…reminding us that Christ is in our midst. I know that feeling, I come back from a conference all energized ready to share the new ideas I’ve learned. The excitement is hard to translate or to share. The response I get is a flat “I-don’t-get-it” stare. The spiritual high takes a hit and soon the spirit is deflated. I become frustrated that those around me can’t see why I’m excited and I know they become frustrated in just listening to me. So it was with Thomas and the disciples. The disciples were on a different wave length, their spiritual high was an out of mind experience. We have seen the Lord! They expected Thomas to follow along and share their excitement. Thomas on the other hand was irritated, frustrated, and spoke his mind. “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.” Stay out of Thomas’ way…he is not a happy camper. Now this is such an outstanding story, one that could be easily carried through the generations …Why did John use this story? He was the only gospel writer who did? What was it that John wanted his readers to learn? Just a few days later Jesus comes to the disciples again. This time Thomas was with them. Here is the optimistic point of the story, “they were all together”. All of them even the doubting Thomas, the one who could not believe, the one who had to have proof, the skeptic. Even Thomas was still a part of this community. He was not thrown out, was not set apart. No, he was there part of the gang. And this time when Jesus appeared, Thomas saw him and he believed, and in fact, he offered the first real confession of faith by saying to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” The word doubt is certainly linked to Thomas and I think he has taken a bum rap. If we look at Thomas and his doubts we would Jesus offers to give Thomas exactly what he demanded. The word doubt is certainly linked to Thomas and I think he has taken a bum rap. If we look at Thomas and his doubts we would loose the full content of this passage. Jesus gives Thomas exactly what he demanded. Thomas is not shamed, not forgotten, not rebuked. This story does not focus on doubt and skepticism but on the grounds of faith. It is in this offer of Jesus to Thomas that Thomas speaks the most powerful and complete confession, “My Lord, and my God.” I believe John’s words are for us today. We do not have the first hand experience that the disciples had and we are believers. The verse: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” This is not a judgment or a reprimand by Jesus but a reassurance for future generations of believers that being there first hand is not a prerequisite for faith. God is revealed in the resurrected Christ. We were not there but each and every day we see God’s presence with us. So when we sing “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” we can answer YES, we were there through Spirit of the Risen Lord. The gospel of John has come full circle. The evangelist started his gospel with the words, “The Word was with God, and the Word was God” John 1:1. Thomas sees God fully revealed in Jesus, My Lord and my God. Here comes the pinnacle of the story. In my study Bible the title to verses 30 and 31 is entitled, “The Purpose of This Book.” John is making sure if we had not understood his message in the other 19 chapters, here is the summary. The tone of this passage is also different, no more narrative language-this is direct. John really wants us to get this message. He tells us Jesus did more God-revealing signs than are written in this book so we would believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it. The truth of this scripture passages lies in its power to make the presence of God in Jesus available to the faith community, to all of us here, and to the next generation. And now you know….the rest of the story. Amen.
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