Rector's Sermon - Sunday, April 27, 2003

First Reading	Psalm	Epistle	Gospel
Acts 4:32-35	133:1-5	1 John 1:1-2:2	John 20:19-31

    There is an old folk tale about the devil who decided one year to sneak into heaven after Easter by pretending to be the risen Christ. He dressed up and with great fanfare arrived in front of the gates of heaven. "Lift up your heads, you mighty gates, and let the king of glory enter", shouted the devil. It was difficult for St. Peter at his post as the gatekeeper not to become flustered. "Who are you?” St. Peter blurted out without thinking. "I am the king of Glory, come to claim my throne,” the devil replied as he stretched his arms wide. That was his mistake. Peter noticed that there were no scars on the devil's hands. The devil's palms were smooth and clean.

    We know very little about the disciples, a few sentences at best. There is hardly enough evidence to do a thorough character study on Thomas. Yet what little we do know suggests that he was one of the more thoughtful of the disciples. Unlike Peter, he was not rash or impulsive. He was able to comprehend the big picture and in the final weeks of Jesus' earthly life, was able to sense the danger Jesus and all the disciples were in.

    Thomas' questions were hardly a lack of commitment. He was as committed as any of the disciples. Thomas needed to connect the risen Lord with his own life. He wasn't there when others had experienced the risen Jesus. I suspect he felt that the distance between him and the Jesus he knew was growing wider. He even might have expressed a fear that witness to the living and risen Lord might be reduced to a nostalgic reminiscence, growing weaker every year until it finally faded away.

    Thomas wasn't asking for proof with some grand display of heavenly choirs singing alleluias or a definitive manifestation of control over worldly powers. Thomas sought for a way to relate his life with the risen Jesus. Thomas knew Jesus was the one who had helped him work through his problems and who did not desert him when doubt or despair overtook him. Jesus had walked alongside him.

    Thomas did not receive his wish to touch Jesus right away, but sometime later, Jesus did appear. He did not rebuke or even offer the slightest objection to Thomas' request. Rather, Jesus stretched out his arms. Perhaps he even gave Thomas a hug, poking him in the stomach at the same time. It is interesting that the Gospel never says whether Thomas actually put his fingers on Jesus' scars. What we do know is that Thomas was able to reconnect his life again to the risen Lord. In Thomas' confusion, and anxiety about the future, Jesus was there to take hold of him.

    Where and how will we recognize the risen Jesus among us? I think the story of Thomas tries to answer that question. Some of us want to hold on as long as possible to an emotional afterglow of Easter Day. Others of us are still seeking a handhold on faith. The resurrection is not a set up. It does not promise “nothing but good times ahead”.

    The real risen Jesus reveals his identity by his scars, for the real Jesus knows suffering, abandonment, and death. The real risen Jesus does not run away from human pain. He offers us his hands, his support, especially when we most need it. Thomas is the model disciple for most of us at sometime. Perhaps that is why the story of Thomas usually is read the Sunday after the Easter Sunday high, especially when it snows the day after. I think Thomas would have liked the story about the devil trying to get into heaven. He might have even used it in one of his sermons.

     And I offer this to you in the name of the Risen Lord, Amen.