That You May Believe and Have Life

Text: John 20:19-31
Date: The Second Sunday of Easter4/23/06

  The prophet Ezekiel was commanded by God to make dead bones live. Impossible? The only tool Ezekiel was given was to prophesy, that is, preach, to command life by means of the Word of God given to him. “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord…Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live” [Ezekiel 37:4-5 (ESV)]. Zeke preached, breath entered and the bones lived. Now certainly the God who created everything out of nothing in the first place could have done it all by himself. But God wishes to work through earthly means, through his coworkers, the prophets, through his revealed Word. And so it was. St. John the apostle greets us on the Second Sunday of Easter and tells us he also was commissioned to make people believe and to live in the same way. By means of preaching the mighty Word of God the Holy Spirit enters you and makes you spiritually alive, that is, gives you faith to believe and live. He writes, “these things are written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” [John 20:30-31 (ESV)]. Now certainly God is able to work directly on the hearts of people. But God wishes to work through earthly means, his coworkers, the apostles, through his revealed Word. John wrote that Word and you've heard his words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Do you believe as a result of these words? Do you have this life? Don't miss the miracle that is faith. The only apparent difference between Ezekiel's task and St. John's is that with Ezekiel there's no talk about dead bones “believing.” They just respond to the mighty Word and live and breathe and have their being at the command of God. But is there a difference, after all? The truth is that all people are dead bones in their trespasses and sins. Is “believing” or “faith,” after all, something you decide or whip up, that you do? Or is even faith a miracle, a gift given by the mighty command and Word of God?

  Today's Gospel shows that faith is, as St. Paul described it, “not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” [Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)]. As the dry bones did nothing, but were merely the objects of God's merciful care and attention or grace, and, as John says, these are written that you may believe, so we confess in the explanation of the Third Article of the Creed in the Small Catechism, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe….” Only a God-given faith can believe and confess and admit to that! For it takes all the power away from us and puts it all in God's hands. Today's Gospel describes faith as the gift of God planted in the most unlikely of people, and, further, that this is the result of the simple apostolic preaching of the Word of the Gospel as God's means of grace.

  The most unlikely of people. We can understand why the disciples were hiding behind locked doors on Easter Sunday. They didn't believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. Oh, they'd been told earlier in the day by the women, but those “words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe” [Luke 24:11 (ESV)]. Not just Thomas, you see, but all the disciples were unbelievers. And how do those words describe the majority of folks today who have heard the Easter message but to whom those words seem an idle tale? They were afraid—frightened by the great tragedy they had just witnessed on the previous Friday, and afraid of those who crucified their Lord. For Jesus had said, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” [John 15:20 (ESV)]. Were they next? Would the wrath of the crowds who crucified Jesus also be turned against them?

  This night, “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week,” Easter Sunday, these fearful unbelievers were gathered behind locked doors. Suddenly, Jesus appeared to them. The first words out of his mouth were “Peace be with you.” Those are the first words because that is what his resurrection means—the fear of condemnation of sin and of death erased, peace with God through the forgiveness of sins for the sake of the blood of Jesus. Then he ordained them. We lay on hands. He breathed on them and said, “receive the Holy Spirit,” and ordained them to bring his peace and forgiveness to all who repent. These are the Words of Institution of the Holy Ministry, and of Holy Absolution. There was only one problem with this picture. The Apostle Thomas was not there. Now, every year on this Sunday we give a bemused smile as we hear of the first person to ever miss church, Thomas. “Doubting Thomas” we have called him. And we wonder where he was and why he wasn't there.

  When Jesus first appeared to his fearful disciples, John writes, “then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” [John 20:20 (ESV)]. This sounds like they began to believe. Like our young men at our two seminaries who will receive their first calls as pastors this week, ready or not the apostles were ordained as pastors. But wait! Eight days later, on the next Sunday night, there they were again, hiding behind locked doors for fear. Apparently their “gladness” at seeing Jesus last Sunday didn't change anything. Why were they still hiding? Why were they still afraid? So I might ask, you celebrated Easter last Sunday. Why are you still so afraid?

  Now we're on the second Sunday of Easter and, lo and behold, Thomas decides to show up. Jesus makes a special repeat performance, but this time singling out Thomas. I wonder whether if Thomas had been there the previous Sunday we would have had this second appearance at all. But Jesus appeared this second time for two reasons. First, because Thomas needed to be ordained by the Lord, and second, the apostles were still afraid.

  I guess seeing Jesus suddenly appear isn't enough to instill and bring about real faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believe.” Believe what? Well, believe the witness of the apostles, and especially Thomas who put what we are to believe into words, the confession of faith: that the risen Jesus is “My Lord, and my God!”

  It was necessary that the crucified Jesus should appear personally to the apostles, for they were commissioned and sent to be witnesses of his resurrection to the world. Therefore it is not necessary that the crucified Jesus should appear to anyone else, least of all you and me, but for us to hear and to believe the testimony and witness of those commissioned to be those witnesses, the apostles. Ever since then all nations are called to believe on the basis of their testimony.

  I bring that same testimony to you today. The Lord is risen! He is risen, indeed! I can't prove that to you except to tell you that this is the witness and testimony of the chosen witnesses. These things are written and preached that you may believe and that believing you may have life in his name. Your faith and salvation does not depend upon whether your emotions are moved, whether you “feel” it or not, whether you have figured it out as logical or anything else in you on your part. We're left with this: the testimony of the witnesses, “He is risen!” Like Ezekiel's skeletal audience faith, salvation and life are given to us through the means of the preaching of the apostolic word.

  Why are you still afraid? Jesus says to you, “Peace be with you!” Either you believe this testimony or you do not. If you do, then take comfort and know that your sins are forgiven, you are saved, redeemed, restored, made children of God. For the saving faith is the gift of God worked by the Holy Spirit, when and where it pleases God, in those who hear the gospel.

  Are you Thomas? Did you miss Easter? Why are you afraid –living your life behind doors locked out of fear? Those who believe that Jesus is their Lord and God are invited to the strengthening of their faith in the Holy Communion of his body and blood. Those who do not believe are warned to stay away.

____________________
Rev. Allen D. Lunneberg

Contacts:

deblocascio.stmark@sbcglobal.net

Pastor: Rev. Allen D. Lunneberg
7979 Commerce Rd.      (1/4 mile east of Union Lake Rd.)
West Bloomfield, MI 48324
Phone: 248.363.0741
Fax: 248.363.4755