Let us think back to just over a week ago, how we heard that the disciples had fallen asleep and then scarpered, how Jesus had been hung on the cross and left to die, the empty tomb, the confusion, disbelief and upset, followed by the incredible celebration of the resurrection, shared with them by Mary Magdelene who simply said ‘I have seen the Lord’.

What about us? Have we seen the Lord this week? Have we allowed ourselves to be overwhelmed by God at any point? Have we stood up for Jesus or shared him with someone else? Have we trusted God in something and taken a step of faith?

I had the most amazing gift given to me a couple of weeks ago – it was the offer of a bed and a ticket for Spring Harvest – the big Christian conference that takes place at Butlins. On Friday morning, in the worship venue, a very little 13 year old boy, Josh, climbed up on to the platform and started to preach to the thousands gathered. He started well, but suddenly faltered as he looked up from his notes and realised the enormity of what was happening. However, with God at his side he soon regained his composure and went on to challenge all of us to rise up to our calling in Christ. He told us to never lose our passion for God, to let God excite us as we’re led and guided, to run, rather than walk, the road He sets out for us. Coming from a child, with their natural exuberance and Josh’s winning smile, this seemed like a fabulous challenge to aspire to – but it’s very easy to come away from somewhere like that, where thousands of Christians worshipping together lifts you to a different place of faith – and return to a busy life, forgetting all that we’ve heard.

Anyway, back to those disciples! Here they are, now a week later and they’re locked in the upper room for their own safety, despondent, defeated and no doubt discussing the incredible events of the last few days, including what appears to be very random news from Mary – when Jesus appears in the room, arriving through a locked door! Could this be suggesting that his risen body has assumed a different quality, as suddenly this ‘fully human’ being can pass through doors? His wounds confirm his bodily resurrection, and his body is clearly recognizable by the disciples. There is mystery here, and potentially more confusion for the disciples, however Jesus’ resurrected body is, at the same time, fully human, but also fully divine.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the resurrection body as imperishable, glorious, powerful and spiritual. Despite this it can be clearly understood that the person who now stands before the disciples fully alive, is the same person who was recently crucified and the disciples are incredibly happy to see Jesus with their own eyes – we heard, right at the beginning of our reading: ‘the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.’ Much earlier, when he was still with them, Jesus had made promises, that despite the fact they would weep and mourn, for he knew what was coming, their sorrow would be turned to joy, a joy so profound that they would forget all their former pain. Therefore, this visit of Jesus, to see his friends, is the beginning of the fulfilment of that promise, and this is quite a critical point for the disciples, as never again will they be fearful and unbelieving. They go out, or are sent out – in the name of the Father, to do God’s work, the authority of the one being sent is the same as the authority of the one who sent him. God is present in the work of Jesus; Jesus will be present in the work of the disciples. And of course, just as today – they were not sent out alone, as in the next breath Jesus breathes on the disciples, asking them to receive the Holy Spirit, just as God breathed into man the breath of life in Genesis.

This gift of the Spirit renews the life of these disciples and from their fear and confusion, locked in a room, they find strength to stand up, unlock the door, go outside, and begin sharing the amazing news. This takes me back to little Josh and his advice to ‘stand up and run’ – can we have that confidence when it comes to sharing our faith? Many of us really are quite fearful of sharing something that is so personal and we often keep it firmly under wraps, but it is such an amazing gift to share. God, through the Holy Spirit is there for all of us, to help, hold and support us – are we open to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as the disciples were all those years ago? We will of course talk more of this at Pentecost!

Our reading moves on to talk about Thomas and his doubt. Despite the other disciples telling him that they have seen Jesus, just as Mary had told them and they hadn’t believed, neither did Thomas. “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” he says. Jesus is very kind to Thomas, despite his demands, and He returns so that Thomas can believe. He says to Thomas: ‘Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.’ And a great faith builds in Thomas, who in response says: ‘My Lord and my God’, a huge confession of faith, the greatest doubter became the greatest believer! Despite his earlier declarations of faith, he lost faith, but then returned to even greater faith. Surely this shows us that where Jesus is, there is always hope, especially hope for those that teeter on the brink of faith, wondering, doubting, uncertain.

Jesus goes on to say: ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’ And that’s us! Hopefully we don’t doubt like Thomas, but not having seen the risen Jesus, we still believe… We can’t see God with our eyes, but we can see all the incredible things He created in our world, feel his love in our hearts and that continual prompting in our minds. Theologian, Jurgen Moltmann told us that ‘it isn’t experiences that create faith, but faith that creates experiences’, we need to trust and step up and out in our journey with God, as, like the disciples, we answer God’s call and respond to the events of last weekend.    

If Thomas had been with the other disciples when they were in the upper room, he would have seen Jesus and believed, there would have been no doubt and no need for Jesus to come back again. This is a reminder that we need to gather in fellowship with other Christians, we need to come together, to pray and worship, to support each other to talk about God and what is happening in our lives to enable our faith to grow, develop and strengthen.

We all grow and live out our faith in different ways and to different intensities, how we grow in our faith isn’t important, what is key is that we do grow in faith and relationship with God – we only have to look at the examples from the gospel – Mary believes as soon as Jesus calls her name; John saw the empty tomb and believed; the disciples needed to see the risen Jesus; Thomas thought he needed to touch Jesus’ wounds…

Can we aim through these coming weeks to do what was asked of us by little 13 year old Josh, and Stand up for Jesus by standing up like Jesus and being open about faith with all that we meet? This will not only bless others, but also ourselves. The final line of our gospel reading says: ‘through believing you may have life in his name’ – if we can step up and step out for Jesus, firm in our faith and belief, it is us that will be utterly blessed with a God filled life. AMEN

Service: Reverend Rebecca Yates – 7th April 2024

Referenced Scripture:  John 20:19-31