Gospel for April 11, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 20:19-31
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OBSERVE:

This passage provides a framework for the transition from the very first eyewitnesses to those whose witness will only be with the eyes of faith.

Jesus appears the very evening of his resurrection, when the disciples are huddled together in fear in a locked room.  This illustrates his ability to appear and to disappear at will with this transformed and glorified resurrection body.

Nevertheless, he demonstrates that his is a bodily resurrection, and that he is the same Jesus who was crucified, as he shows them his scarred hands and side.

He greets them with the traditional “Shalom” of the ancient Jewish culture:

 Peace be to you.

However, in this context it certainly has a deeper meaning for these frightened followers.  They greet these words and signs with joy.

Next, there is the Johannine version of a kind of Pentecost, as Jesus commissions them to be sent in his name, and then empowers them for ministry as he breathes the Holy Spirit into them. And to them is entrusted the awesome authority to forgive sins in his name, much as Peter was given that authority in the Synoptic Gospels after his insight that Jesus was the Christ.  The difference of course is that in the Synoptic Gospels, Peter has this realization before the resurrection. (Matthew, Mark and Luke are called Synoptic because they can often be “seen together” with frequent parallels and similarities.)

The disciples immediately begin to fulfill the commission of Jesus.  Some of the disciples reach out to Thomas, who wasn’t present in the Upper Room that evening.  They bear witness to what they have experienced:

We have seen the Lord!

And here is where Thomas (his Aramaic name), aka Didymus (the Greek version of his name) gets his unfortunate nickname — Doubting Thomas.  He cannot believe unless he sees the scars on Jesus’ hands and side for himself.

We don’t really know for sure why Thomas is called “The Twin,” other than the obvious fact that he may have had a twin brother or sister.  Is it an oblique reference to being “double-minded” perhaps?

Nor do we know why he isn’t with the other disciples on that first night.  Is he absent because he is grieving alone?

We do know that Thomas is no coward.  Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, when the sisters of Lazarus summon Jesus to the bedside of their dying brother, Jesus declares he will go to Bethany. The other disciples attempt to deter Jesus, declaring that his enemies seek his life in Judea.  But it is Thomas who says:

Let’s go also, that we may die with him. (John 11:16).

But we also have a foreshadowing of his questioning nature in John 14:1-7.  Jesus has promised his disciples that he will not leave them orphaned, that he is going to prepare a place for them, and that they know the way to the place where he is going.  Thomas, who is empirically minded and prone to thinking in very concrete, literal terms, says:

Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way? (John 14:5).

And this question sets up one of the most profound statements in all of Scripture.  Jesus answers:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him (John 14:6-7).

Now Thomas is singled out for a unique, if dubious, honor.  Jesus appears yet again among the disciples a week after the resurrection.  This time Thomas is among them.  And Jesus offers to show Thomas his hands and his side to provide proof that he is the crucified and risen Lord.  And Jesus commands him:

 Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.

Thomas is among the very first in this post resurrection appearance to acknowledge the divinity of Jesus in his short but powerful declaration of faith:

My Lord and my God!

There seems no doubt to Thomas now that Jesus is not only risen from the dead, but that this event discloses his true nature as God and man.

Jesus gently reproaches Thomas for his lack of faith that required such dramatic proof, and praises those who will not have that luxury:

Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.

John adds his own editorial comment — that the purpose of this account in the Gospel is to provide witness to those who have not seen and yet have believed.  He is making it quite clear that this is the purpose of his writing.  He notes that Jesus did many more deeds than he can possibly record, but that the purpose of the Gospel is so that those who read it:

 may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

APPLY:  

This account of “doubting Thomas” isn’t meant to cast aspersions on this questioning disciple.  In a sense, Thomas may speak for many in our skeptical age who are seeking proof.

Ultimately, however, the response that brings true blessing is faith that is imparted by the Holy Spirit — the very Holy Spirit that Jesus himself imparts to the disciples and to us.  We are reminded from the Scriptures that the righteous will live by faith, and also that:

Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6).

We don’t believe because we see; we see because we believe.  That is the gift which the Holy Spirit imparts.

RESPOND: 

I identify closely with Thomas, not only as my namesake, but also simply because of my own questions and occasional “dark nights of the soul.”

There are  significant moments  in my own faith development — the traditions I’ve been taught, reinforced by the certainty that existence and creation itself is impossible without a Mind that brought order to chaos.

In that thought I find the beauty of the Prologue to John 1:1-3:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made.

And I can rationally draw the conclusion that only something as dramatic as the resurrection could possibly have transformed those craven, cowering disciples into the bold missionaries willing to stand up to the persecutions of the Sanhedrin and the Roman authorities.

But the mystery of faith in the Risen Christ comes only through the experience of an inner witness from the Holy Spirit.  In that sense, like all who have not seen and yet have believed, I count myself among those who are blessed with the gift of faith, knowing that even when my faith is weak, Jesus Christ is strong.

Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!  Though I cannot place my fingers in the scars on your hands, nor my hand in your side, I nevertheless am convinced in my heart that the only thing that explains the existence of hope and meaning and love in my life is your Presence.   Thank you for that life that begins now and continues forever! Amen. 

PHOTOS:
Background photo for “We don't believe because we see...”:
 "Fog" by Josh*m is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for April 11, 2021

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 John 1:1-2:2
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OBSERVE:

This epistle is obviously written by the same hand and with the same mind as the writer of the Gospel of John. It is profoundly Christ centered, and lifts up many of the same themes introduced in The Prologue to John in the first chapter of the Gospel:

• The incarnation of the Word of life.
• His identification with life and eternal life.
• The identification of God with light, and his power over darkness.
• And above all the purifying power of the atoning death and blood of Jesus Christ.

John writes of Jesus as the one who has been seen and touched — he is no “myth,” no mere “idea;” he doesn’t merely “appear” to be real, as one early heresy known as Docetism claimed.  No, Jesus is the incarnate Word of life.  This reality, that God has become a human being, is the basis of true fellowship of the Son with the Father, and the Christian communities’ fellowship with one another and God.

John also insists on moral purity as the result of what happens when we walk in the light.  This is no cheap grace.  The believer cannot claim to be in relationship with God if they are intentionally and habitually walking in darkness — i.e., sin.  But walking in the light of Christ in and of itself continues the process of purifying the believer from sin.

However, John recognizes the reality and the difficulty of overcoming sin.  He makes it clear that no one can claim to have been sin-free. That is self-deception.  Moreover, the power to deal with sin is conferred by God when the sinner confesses sin.  Then God forgives sin, because it has been brought into the light — and God not only forgives, but also purifies the believer from all sin.

Finally, John makes clear where this source of power over sin is derived.  The power to overcome sin rests with God, not human beings. Moreover, that is the very purpose that Christ has come into the world — to be the Counselor (also translated Advocate) on behalf of the sinner, interceding with the Father. Through the Son’s atoning sacrifice he removes all sin.

The term Advocate suggests a courtroom metaphor, that Christ becomes the defense attorney for the accused sinner — but the atoning sacrifice also reminds us of the sacrifice of life for life established by the sacrificial system from Exodus and Leviticus.  Jesus is therefore an advocate for the sinner and the substitute for sins.

APPLY:  

This passage is full of life and light and hope for us.  On the one hand, this passage is realistic about our sinful nature. On the other it is supremely optimistic about God’s power to overcome that sinful nature.

First the bad news — We can’t deny our sin without deceiving ourselves and others.  Nor can we do anything about it by wishing it away, or by our own moral effort.

We must come to terms with our sin, and confess it to ourselves, to one another (see the Epistle of James 5:16), and to God.  Only by bringing our brokenness into the presence of God can the Great Physician heal our sin — because only then do we recognize our helplessness to heal ourselves, and cease from the futile efforts of self-help. Obviously, God knows our sin before we do — but by confessing our sin, we are able to turn the redemptive work over to him.

The famous Twelve Steps from Alcoholics Anonymous recognizes this important principle in their first step:

We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.

But now the good news — God in Christ has taken on human form as the Word of life and lived among us; he has become our Advocate, and our atoning sacrifice.  And through him we are not only pardoned from the consequences of sin, we are also purified from sin.

In my tradition this is called justification (pardon from sin) and sanctification (purification from sin).  What God has done for us he also does in us. Or, as the wife in the film Junebug  says to her exasperated, out of control husband:

God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay that way.

And all of this is grounded in what Christ Jesus has done for us!

RESPOND: 

I used to drive past a church with a marquee sign that sometimes had pretty good theological insight. During Holy Week one year, I passed this church several times, and noted the words:

Holiness is not the way to Jesus.  Jesus is the way to holiness.

I couldn’t say it any better than that!  If I try to be perfect or righteous or even good in my own strength, I end up frustrated and perfectionist and legalistic.  And all my righteousness, as the book of Romans and Galatians reminds me, is insufficient to attain justification.  But Jesus both pardons me and purifies me from sin. Only his righteousness is sufficient to make me right with God.

I believe this is an ongoing process.  I’ve certainly not “arrived” in any sense of the word.  But I trust that God will finish what he’s started in me.  As Philippians 1:6 says:

he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Our Lord, thank you that I have an advocate and an atoning sacrifice for my sins, and that you continue the process of purifying me.  My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
“1 John 1:5-7” by WC Ferrell is licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication license.

Psalm Reading for April 11, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 133
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OBSERVE:

This Psalm describes brotherly unity as a great blessing.  This Psalm is described as A Song of Ascents.  These were Psalms that were sung by pilgrims as they approached Jerusalem during the three great festivals of the Hebrew liturgical year.

This Psalm, attributed to King David, is also regarded as a wisdom Psalm. In the Hebrew Bible, Wisdom literature includes the Book of Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, part of Daniel, and several of the Psalms. Wisdom literature is devoted to advice about how the wise man (or woman) can live well and succeed in harmony with God’s laws and wisdom.

The metaphors that are used to illustrate this unity may seem both beautiful and perplexing to us. The precious oil poured out on Aaron’s head down his beard, and over his collar suggests a sense of abundance.  But is this reference to Aaron made because the High Priest in Israel is a symbol of the glue that holds the community together?  Is the religious ritual of the priestly role a bonding agent that creates this sense of unity?

It may be useful to note that not only is the precious oil considered useful in biblical culture for healing and cleansing, it is also used in anointing men for the roles of prophet, priest and king.

The other metaphor the Psalmist uses evokes a sense of refreshment — the dew of Mt. Hermon.  Mt. Hermon is between modern Syria and Israel, and is the highest mountain in the region, at over 9,232 feet. It would be cool, especially for someone climbing to such heights in a hot, dry climate.  For the dew to fall on Mt. Zion, in the central Judean highlands, suggests a refreshing blessing.

More significantly, though, the Psalmist maintains the sense of unity — Mt. Hermon, the northernmost point of Israel is identified with the geographical, religious and political center of Israel at Mt. Zion (aka Jerusalem).

The blessing that is bestowed is life forevermore.

David is the king of two kingdoms — Israel in the north and Judah in the south.  Mt. Hermon may represent the Northern Kingdom, and Mt. Zion may represent Judah.  No doubt David is celebrating the beauty of unity as a means of unifying these two kingdoms.

APPLY:  

Unity and harmony are indeed great blessings; but they are exceedingly rare in our polarized culture and world.  Not only are we divided by race, culture, politics — Christians are divided by doctrinal differences; and even within denominations we find serious divisions today.

On those rare occasions when we do find cause for unity, it indeed feels like abundance and refreshment.

We must find ways to focus on those things that unite us rather than divide us whenever possible. But even when we cannot agree, we must still ‘speak the truth in love’  (cf. Ephesians 4:15) without compromising our integrity.

RESPOND: 

I grew up as an Air Force brat, the son of an Air Force Chaplain.  I honestly didn’t realize that there were serious differences between Christian denominations until I became a serious Christian myself in my young adulthood.

I knew that there were “Protestants” and “Catholics” because we had two different chapel services.  But I also knew that the same space was used for worship by both groups — the same altar, and even the same cross.  Even more fascinating — on one side of the cross were the letters “IHS” (common on many Protestant crosses), and on the other side was the “Corpus Christi” (a representation of the body of Christ).  So it struck me very early that though we worshiped at different times, we still worshiped the same Lord.

My prayer is that we will continue to find unity in Christ as Christians from every denomination.

Lord, may we be united in our worship of you as our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:

"DSC_0017: Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity" by Ted is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Reading from Acts for April 11, 2021

“SHARING” by Aaron Concannon.
“All the believers were one in heart and mind….They shared everything they had.” Acts 4:32

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Acts 4:32-35
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is a description of the early church in the very first months and years after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. It is bracketed on either side with accounts of the healings accomplished by Peter and the other apostles, persecution by the Sandhedrin, and discipline of the miscreant church members Ananias and Sapphira.

Actually, in Acts 2:42-47 there is a more detailed description that covers their activities far more completely.

Here in Acts 4:32-35 the focus is on the early stages of “communalism,” not to be confused with communism.  They seem to share all of their possessions generously and in common.  Note, though, that this claim follows a far more important condition:

The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul.

Sharing all things in common was predicated on a sense of unity in love (heart) and doctrine (mind).

The doctrinal message, called the kerygma, was simple and direct:

With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on them all.

This preaching was made effective by the power of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had promised in Acts 1:8, and completed in Acts 2.

There is even a word about the practical application of their “communalism” — there were no needy persons among them because any who had money brought it to the apostles to be distributed among the needy in the Christian community.

APPLY:  

In the Western church, this passage may raise hackles if we take the Scripture seriously and apply it rigorously.

We like the sentiment of being one heart and soul.  We like the thought of proclaiming the Gospel with great power! We thrill at the thought of the grace of God powerfully at work in us all!

But selling our property and giving the money to the church to be distributed to the needy? Hold on just a second!  What about private property!?  Are we advocating some kind of communism?!

Obviously, two thousand years of Christian history, the rise of the “dismal science” of economics, the rise of the middle class, the struggles of capitalism and communism, have all influenced our contemporary reading of this passage.

To many of us, this description of the early church may even sound like a cult.  It should be pointed out that there have been Christian communities that have experimented with just this kind of model of communal ownership — monasteries, Christian communes like Koinonia Farms and others.

Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, many such experiments have dissolved in failure because of human greed and suspicion.

Can we have the unity of heart and soul, the power of apostolic preaching, the power of the grace of God without  this sense of mutual sharing and generosity?

Obviously, we can’t recreate the conditions that prevailed in the early church, but perhaps we can at least recognize some central Biblical principles:

• God is the creator and owner of everything. We don’t own anything, we simply manage it as stewards on God’s behalf.
• We are to be faithful stewards of all we have received, which means generous sharing of all of the resources with which we are entrusted by God.
• When it comes to the common resources of the church, we are to be reminded that nobody has “turf,” that we are not to claim any possessions or property as our own, but share with all.

RESPOND: 

I don’t know how I would fare with the kind of “communalism” that seemed to prevail in the early church.  On the one hand, I idealize it and think “wouldn’t it be wonderful to share everything the way they seemed to?” But the realist in me recognizes that there is more than just a little Ananias and Sapphira in most of us — that we tend to hold back.

I do know this — when it comes to our church buildings, even Sunday School classes and other groups in the church can be terribly possessive.  When I was a pastor, I had to remind some church members from time to time that the early church would say that:

Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

May I practice the kind of unity of heart and soul, bold proclamation of the Gospel, and generosity that I see exemplified in the Acts 4 church!

Lord, bring unity to each church in your kingdom, and give us boldness to preach the Gospel; and may we be as generous as our spiritual forbearers have been!  Amen.

 PHOTOS:
“Sharing” by Aaron Concannon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.