The doors of the house where the disciples had met
were locked for fear of the Jews. This was the cultural experience of the first
Christians on that first Easter.
Fear. They were afraid. And yet, none of them had been arrested
alongside Jesus in the garden. Despite
his identity being questioned, Peter is not mistreated by the restless
public. It was clear that Jesus was the
one victim and example the Jewish leaders wanted to make. If you publicly shame and destroy the leader,
the followers will abandon the cause.
Better that one man die for the people than all Israel suffer, said the
High priest. So, given this information
why were they afraid?
The fact that
some of the disciples were absent must have caused alarm. Was Thomas betraying their location, like
Judas? Crucifixion under the Roman
occupation was an effective tool to control deviance, to maintain authority and
order. What they did to the human body
was gruesome, bloody torture. Living
under violent oppressors for decades, seeing random violence and the
destruction of Palestinian bodies, having their land and resources taken from
them they were a helpless and hopeless people. Intimidated into paralysis. But Jesus had helped the people and given
them hope. Hope for freedom and
peace. But they had taken him from them
too. Violence and hopelessness breed a
high level of fear. The disciples had a
reason to be afraid. They had
experienced the betrayal and death of their leader. They were leaderless, lost, and possibly in
danger. What if they were labeled as
deviants and seen as a threat and sought for arrest or even death?
We understand fear.
Despite FDR’s statement, there is nothing to fear but fear itself, we
continue to live in it. Since 9/11
Americans have lived under a constant state of anxiety-producing fear,
documented most prominently by sociologist D.r barry Glassner in his book “The
Culture of Fear: Why Americans are afraid of the wrong things.” We live in fear. The fear of attack. The fear of violence. The fear of disease. The fear of accidents. The fear of terrorists, gunmen, and violent
criminals. Fear of the other, the
non-white, young adult male. Fear of the stranger, the foreigner. Fear drives daily politics. Who is threatening us this week? If it bleeds
it leads. News is full of violence,
making it seem common and local and universally threatening. What is the level of concern you have for
safety? The local police are conducting
building safety and active shooter trainings for churches. We will attend one of these in two
weeks. Our doors are not locked. But many people are suggesting that it is
foolish of us not to do so. And I
believe they are right.
Most of the time, when we hear this gospel story, we
focus on doubting Thomas. I think his
doubt is not the real matter. His
absence from the group is. Why wasn’t he
with them? Where was he all week? What does it mean that Thomas is both present
and absent in this story that shows the disciples huddled together in
fear? Was he somehow less afraid? Was he
hiding somewhere else? During his
absence, Jesus appears among them. He
shows them his wounds. They are forced
to confront their fear of crucifixion and the taste of disgust that accompanies
their fear. They rejoice that they have
seen him. They evidently leave the house
and find Thomas. This is the first sign
that their life as Jesus’ people will continue.
I think this is why Thomas is absent.
So that they have a legitimate reason to leave the house, to seek him
out and tell him the news. It restores their mission—to invite others to come
and see Jesus! A week later, Thomas is with them and Jesus
appears again. Like Thomas, Jesus is
both present and absent in the story. He
shows up where and when they need him to be present. He shows up so that others might also come
and see. But more than his mere
presence, he gives gifts. Peace and the
Spirit breath of life. Jesus passes on
to them his own breath, his own spirit—that which gives life to his body he
gives to them. We all breathe the same
air. And in this way we are joined to
one another. Jesus gives them a spirit of peace. Can you imagine not feeling anxious or afraid
or worried or concerned about safety?
Can you imagine feeling confident and brave? Can you imagine risking your own safety to do
Jesus’ work? One of my colleagues was
arrested on good Friday at a nonviolent protest at Lockheed Martin. Others face threats because of their public
witness. What gives them the courage?
Somewhere between hiding in fear behind locked doors
and the liberal and generous and public testimony about Jesus’ resurrection and
the radical sharing of all their possessions, so that no one among them had
need—something had happened to them.
Between John 20 and Acts 4, they become a different group of
people. No longer hidden, locked,
afraid, they are boldly telling others about Jesus and publicly claiming their
loyalty and faith in him. What happened
to them? The body and the Spirit of
Jesus happened to them. The Thomas
problem is how the gospel writer tells us that Jesus’ resurrection appearance
was not a collective illusion or trauma induced hallucination. It was real, happened more than once, and to
specific individuals. Jesus is both
present and absent as the crucified and risen Christ. Why? He is free. Free from death’s power, and therefore free
from fear. Only someone with faith and
hope in the resurrection from the dead can be truly free from fear. From locked doors to public sharing---this is
what the body and spirit of Jesus does to the disciples. He frees them from fear to love with power
and joy. What is he doing with us? He gives us his body and spirit today. He is present. We hear his voice. Receive the holy
spirit. Blessed are they who have not
seen and yet have come to believe. He’s moving us out of safety and comfort to
confront the world with love and peace.
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