From the Pastor |
Acts 5: 27-32 & John 20: 19-31
Today’s gospel reading is a familiar story. After his resurrection, Jesus appears… 1st to Mary Magdalene and some women. Then to a couple of disciples along the road to Emmaus. Finally, that evening Jesus comes and appears to a group of his closest disciples… well 10 of them anyway. For some reason… we don’t know why, but Thomas was not with them and will now… forever… be referred to as “Doubting Thomas” even though… let’s face it… NONE of the 11 top disciples believed until they also had seen... But, I don’t want to talk about that today… not about Jesus’ appearance or wounds or Thomas’ doubts… Nope! Last week, I talked about how the Resurrection changed EVERYTHING…. How Easter marks that moment in time when God raised to new life the body of Jesus… marking the beginning of the new creation promised by the prophets… bringing to light the ministry of inclusion… by opening the door for women… for Gentiles and for the many people regarded by society as unworthy… sinners. I spoke about how the challenge for us is to embrace those changes that Resurrection brings. Today, I want us to consider how we do that. There is so much bad news in our world… I mean… Back then… the world was a dark place… full of bitterness, oppression and violence. The effects of anger and hatred were seen everywhere. Distrust, discord, disunity… all those “dis’s” were prevalent. Hatred and distrust of anyone who was different was common place. Wait a minute… I just described our world today, didn’t I? It seems that not much have changed in 2000 years. But something did change… the resurrection brought change… bringing wonderful Good News for all people… However… that Good News MUST be shared. The word must be spread… Who will do that? Well… After Jesus was crucified and laid in a tomb, the male disciples were in hiding. John tells us that “the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked” because they were afraid. The women had come early that day and told them the news… the Lord is Risen… but they did not believe… Luke tells us they thought it was “nonsense” even though Jesus himself had told them he would rise from the dead. Why? Because they had lost all hope when Jesus died on the cross. So they were afraid for their own lives and hiding behind locked doors when suddenly Jesus appears! “Peace be with you” he says. When they see it is really him… they rejoice!! Their hope is back! CHRIST IS ALIVE!!! Now John tells us that when Jesus appeared, he provided the disciples with more than just hope… he gave them a directive… a mission: “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” They were to continue Christ’s mission… they were being sent out just as Jesus was sent by God to serve, preach and share Christ’s identity with the world… making God and God’s great love known to the people… to make known the forgiveness offered. They were given the great and powerful gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and empower them to complete this mission… Or as Acts 1:8 puts it “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” You see, before they believed that Jesus had risen from the dead, the disciples were hopeless… in hiding… weak and afraid. After appearing to them and showing he was not a ghost but flesh and blood… alive again… that all changed. The disciples themselves changed. The disciples saw Jesus and believed… they were given the Holy Spirit… the presence of God, of Christ himself inside of them… Then oh, how things changed. Fast forward to the reading from Acts which tells us that Peter and the other Apostles had been arrested by the Temple leaders and put in prison for healing and teaching in Jesus’ name. They miraculously escaped their cells but they do not run away… no! ... Instead, they simply returned to the Temple courts and continued to preach and teach about Jesus. They are no longer hiding, but are doing exactly what Jesus had done… openly teaching their message to all who would listen. As a result they are arrested yet again, and brought before the Sanhedrin…The chief priest says “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching...” I can almost see Peter shrug and give that “Yeah… so?” look as he says “We must obey God rather than human beings… we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” These men who had once cowered in fear, refused to keep silent… WE are told that after they are released “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5:42)) The verbal threats and physical abuse only strengthened their resolve to teach and proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior. They would not keep silent. They were empowered by the Holy Spirit and had been given a mission by their Lord. They WOULD NOT keep silent. They had seen what the religious leaders failed to recognize… God was at work in all that had been done. The Resurrection brought change… especially changing the people who had come to believe and accept the hope, faith and power the resurrection brings. The disciples, Peter, James, John and the rest were transformed from scared, weak, hopeless people… to bold, strong, hope-filled people who refused to be ruled by fear. Most of them willingly gave their lives for their faith as have countless others through the ages to this very day! What a CHANGE!! That is how it should be for us. Christ is alive… the flame of hope is burning around the world because of the Resurrection. When we accept the truth, the hope and the love of Christ… when we accept his very presence, the Holy Spirit inside of us… it is US who change. This is the change that the Resurrection brings… a change that begins inside and spreads outwards. As we are transformed in our hearts and minds… the effects of the transformation works outside into our very lives changing our thoughts and actions. We, too, should become strong, bold and hope-filled even in the face of suffering and fear… refusing to keep silent. For we too are called to continue all that Jesus began… to bear witness to the Resurrected Christ as Peter did… no matter what. After experiencing the presence of the Risen Lord, the disciples felt compelled to share all they had seen and experienced with everyone who would listen… The Resurrection changed their lives more than they could have ever imagined… empowering them to preach, teach and heal in Jesus name… giving them the courage to face whatever came for them… even death. The Resurrection SHOULD do the same for us… The Resurrection brought in… and continues to bring in a new age… where God’s people are sent out just as Jesus was sent… to share the Good News… to reveal the truth and love of God with all who will listen… bringing healing, justice, love and mercy. Even if we face opposition… ridicule… threats of harm… “We must obey God rather than Human Beings!” The Gospel of John reminds us that God’s love for this world was revealed when God sent Jesus into the world… Because of all that God has already done in Christ, we have been made a part of the new creation that is God’s Kingdom. And as citizens of God’s Kingdom, we are called to be faithful witnesses to all God has done… done in and through Christ… done in and through our lives. When our hearts are filled with Christ’s love and light, we become the living examples of his light and love in the world today. It is this change within each and every Disciple of Christ that can bring about real change in the world. So rejoice in the Resurrection… rejoice in the Lord… For Christ is Risen! Then… Go into the world and share the story… tell the Good News… be faithful witnesses. This is the calling of EVERY Disciple of Christ Jesus… so let us go “Day after day, in the churches and from house to house, let us never stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” [paraphrased] Amen!
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Yeon Shin
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