Worship
for the Lord’s Day
April 19,
2020
A Note
before we begin this day’s worship:
This is a day of doubt and fear. The disciples are huddled together, or at
least mostly together, in a locked house for fear of being recognized as
Christ’s followers. So much has happened
in the past two weeks in the scriptural story of the life of Christ and so much
has happened in our own lives, as well.
I encourage you to set your worship space with reminders of your own
doubts and fears. What are they? Perhaps you can write them down, place them
on a plate or bowl next to the Cross of Easter, the stone of the empty tomb,
and the brightness of your Easter Eggs.
Let’s
begin:
Opening
Prayer
Holy
and Gracious God, may the joy of the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ be
with us today. We rejoice in Your
blessings that have been poured into our lives.
Even though we hear words of doubt and have moments of fear, we are
called to believe. Even though the world
would draw us back again into darkness, Your light shines and we focus on that
light. Thanks be to Jesus Christ who
gives us the victory. Alleluia! AMEN.
Prayer
of Confession
Even
though we have come through the joy of Easter and the triumphant Easter songs,
we have doubt, Lord. Like Thomas who
walked the Judean countryside with Jesus, we still have trouble believing in
the resurrection and new life in Christ. We easily slip back into the darkness of
doubts. We move the joy of Easter into
the past and continue in a downward path to confusion. Shine Your bright light of joy upon us.
Lighten our dark path. Help us believe,
even though we have not seen You, or touched Your hands, or felt Your side. Help us, O God in our unbelief, to proclaim
Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Forgive us
our sins against You and against our fellow sojourners in this thing called
life. Bring us understanding of Your
amazing love for all of creation and help us be in obedience with Your
desires. AMEN
Words
of Assurance
Do
not fear, dear friends. Jesus is among us, offering us new life and hope. Nothing can separate us from God's love. Rejoice, for you have been made new in Christ. AMEN
Pastoral
Prayer
Surprising
God, we come to Easter through the long Lenten journey in which You have called
us to examine our inner lives. Then on
Easter, it is as though we have been freed from our darkness to walk in the
Light with You. However, Easter and its
celebration so quickly slide into the past and we again are tempted to move
back into our doubts and fears. Surprise
us again, Lord, as Jesus surprised his disciple Thomas who feared and doubted. Remind us that the signs of Jesus'
resurrection are all around us.
As we
remember this day our dear friends who suffer from illness and loss, Lord, help
us be a comfort to them; for those who are lost and alone, alienated from
family and friends, we ask that You empower us to reach out in compassion,
offering whatever appropriate help that will lift them into new life with You;
for all anywhere who are in situations of danger and strife, we pray that Your
peace will be with them and that dangers will be vanquished by Your good news;
for our community, our nation, Lord, we ask that You give to the leaders
compassion and especially wisdom during these dark days, remembering that their
lives rest in Your care. And for
ourselves, we ask for the extra measure of faith so that as doubts arise, we
may meet them with confidence, and emerge as strong witnesses to Your love. In
Christ's name, we offer this prayer.
I lift my own prayers up to You now….
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever.
AMEN.
Scripture
Readings
Old
Testament Reading: Psalm 19
1The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament
proclaims his handiwork.
2Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares
knowledge.
3There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not
heard;
4yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words
to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
5which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and
like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to
the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.
7The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the
decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;
8the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the
heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;
9the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the
ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
11Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there
is great reward.
12But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.
13Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them
have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great
transgression.
14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable
to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
New
Testament Reading: John 20:19-31
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and
the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the
Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After
he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again,
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When
he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven
them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But
Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when
Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen
the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his
hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I
will not believe.”
26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas
was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them
and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put
your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.
Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and
my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you
have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to
believe.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of
his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these
are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Sermon
This week has not been
an easy one for me. I was okay to “shelter
in place” for a while, but the longer this drags on, the more difficult it becomes
for me. How has it been for you? I know and understand those who want us to
just get back to the way it used to be, like in February. I also know and understand those who fear
getting back to “normal” too soon will only make matters worse.
Being an extrovert, this prolonged
staying at home has worn on my last nerve.
I like to be with others. I love entertaining
and having company in my home. I love
meeting people for lunch or joining them for a cup of coffee. I enjoy sitting in choir practice, being with
our volunteers at the Food Bank, visiting people in their homes, seeing our Preschool
kids in the mornings, and being with our afterschool kids on Wednesdays, and even…(okay, I’ll admit it) going to meetings! I LOVE BEING with people.
But these days I’m completely exhausted
from a 30 minute telephone call, made even more anxious after a Zoom (or virtual)
meeting, and I am fidgety most of the day moving about from room to room ready
to pull the sheets up over my head and make the world go away by 8pm.
Put me in a room with actual people and I am
energized and built up. Put me in a face-to-face
situation and I can go all day and all night.
My introverted friends have said that they feel like they have trained
for this their whole lives. Not me. This is new territory for me, and I don’t
like it.
I’ve never lived in fearful or anxious
times before. Yes, there have been lots
of moments when I didn’t know what the future would hold, but I’m pretty
adaptable and can easily “go with the flow”.
As our choir director, Carol Davelli, and I have often said, “if we can’t
do plan A we go with plan B, and if not plan B, then we move on to plan C, D, or
E, etc…”, but I don’t think we’re even using the same alphabet anymore. These are anxious, fearful times. It’s kind of like New Math. I know where I want to go – I know the end
answer, but the process to get there is completely foreign to me now.
Fear and anxiety were raised exponentially
for me this week when I got in on a conversation between some of my Presbyterian
colleagues who were discussing when we can/should reopen our churches for
worship. Many had good arguments for
returning soon, others laid out equally good arguments for waiting – some through
the summer, others were doubtful that we’d even return, at all, through much of
2020. What?!?!
And so, it is this context, that we
approach today’s passage. It’s not so
much about Thomas’ doubt, but more about the disciples’ fear. They had been locked in a house anxious and
fearful that they might be discovered as Jesus’ followers.
Fear is a very powerful force. Fear is a normal reaction to the changes in
life, and admittedly, there is much to be afraid of today. I’ve heard stories about people who have been
exposed to the coronavirus. Some felt that
it was like having a very bad case of the flu.
For others, the experience is debilitating and frightening, can leave
lasting exhaustion, the inability to walk even a few feet without resting, and
still others who have gone from healthy, to sick, to a coma, and death within days;
it’s horrifying.
Aside from the virus itself, there are many who
have lost their jobs, who have lost their businesses, who don’t know when the
next paycheck will come. As of last week,
1 in 7 working people have lost their jobs. There are those who work in our current
situation who put their lives at risk every day.
But to succumb to fear is, in essence, to
display a distrust of the faith that gives us power for life; power to face,
deal with, and triumph over every circumstance that life may present. Facing one’s fears takes courage. It means risking something, venturing into
unknown territory. We cannot with surety
know what is on the other side – ever!
In our scriptural setting of fear,
doubt, and locked doors, Jesus enters.
He simply appears among them. He
comes into the room where the disciples are hiding, afraid of being recognized
as followers of Jesus amidst the backlash and opposition to the cause of
Christ. News has spread that Christ’s
body has been missing from the tomb. The
Romans and the Jewish Pharisees are probably all collaborating on placing blame
for the missing body among the disciples.
They are fearful that this will make Jesus a martyr for a cause they
were trying to prevent. The disciples
are scared now. They have lost their
leader, they have lost the reason for their existence, and now they aren’t even
sure what to do for the future, they have no vision.
Here is where Christ steps back into their
lives. We have here, in Jesus’ actions,
a demonstration of his unconditional love, and his power and willingness to
seek us out – to step into our situations and our fears. Jesus greets the cloistered disciples with a
powerful message of peace.
Because
his first words to the assembled body are, “Peace be with you.” He is offering his disciples, and us today, a
gift; one that is able to give a person a sense of total well-being and inner
rest of spirit.
I have a friend, Janet, a colleague in
ministry, who happens also to be one of the heirs a very wealthy family, one of
the largest financial Dynasties in Pittsburgh.
You’d never know it when you meet her, though. She is more down-to-earth than most people
and is one of the most peaceful and spiritual women that I’ve ever known. As I have come to know her over the years, I
found it peculiar in the beginning of our friendship, that she always ended her
conversations with, “peace be with you, my friend.” But every time I hear her say it, for just
one moment, I breathe a little deeper, exhaling all of my pent up
frustrations. My frazzled and cluttered
existence is, for that moment, a little more clear. I have unconsciously come to enjoy my
conversations with her if only to end it with that lifting benediction.
Peace is more powerful than fear. It is far more difficult to attain, but it is
also more powerful once you’ve felt it, breathed it, attained it, and made it
part of your own existence. Fear locks
us up inside, while peace breaks us open.
Peace is also something that can be freely given to others, just as my
friend Janet gives it. But no one can
give away what they themselves do not possess; Jesus however extends his peace
to his disciples and to us because his very nature is peace. Within this offering of peace from Christ is
compassion – for what the disciples have gone through, for what we go through
in troubling times and tough situations.
In addition, there is forgiveness in Christ’s peace. Jesus knows we are human with the potential
of amazing grace, but sometimes our faith needs a little propping up. Jesus forgives our lack of faith and takes
away our guilt, so that we might again be able to move forward. Jesus sends us forward, confident in our
ability through God’s power, to go into the world giving praise and glory to
God; extending his peace to others.
Peace doesn’t just happen because you want it
to. Peace doesn’t just come into your
existence because you’ve done a lot of Yoga.
Peace doesn’t become part of your life because you’ve done breathing
exercises or meditated on the Kabbalah.
Christ’s promise of peace is a living word, one that passes human
understanding. We must be willing to
receive it. And the only way we can
receive it is by putting our trust in Christ alone.
In today’s gospel account, after Jesus extends
his peace and shows his wounds to the disciples, he again offers peace. In doing this, Jesus demonstrates his
willingness to reassure, knowing the fragile nature of our own belief.
Jesus offers them the power of the Holy Spirit
so that they now have the responsibility of continuing his work in the
world. They now have the vision of
bringing about the Kingdom of God. They
now have the everlasting peace that is so elusive in the world. They now have all the gifts and inspiration
they’ll need for the months and years ahead.
Like never before, we need to tap into that same promise of peace, that
same power of the Holy Spirit and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we will
make it through this and we will find a way to continue to love one another,
gather together, administer compassion and grace, and be better people.
When I first heard Janet say to me, “peace be
with you, my friend”, we’d actually never met yet in person. We were having a telephone conversation over
a grant proposal that I had submitted to her family’s Foundation and those were
her last words to me. I raised an
eyebrow as I hung up the phone, but those words didn’t mean that much to me.
Over the next couple of years, Janet and I
became good friends. My first assessment
of her was that she was a spoiled child who had everything that life could
offer and had only gone through seminary and gotten a Ph.D. in Theology in
order to deal with her own inner sense of guilt due to the preposterous amount
of money that she had inherited.
I’ve never been so wrong in my life. As I said before, you can’t give away
something that you don’t have. Janet’s
sense of peace pervades her being. Her
spirit of love reflects Christ’s character and shines from within her own
being.
When Jesus mentioned to the rich man that it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get
to heaven, hadn’t yet met Janet. She has
personally shown the camel how to do it.
When
she first said the words, “peace be with you, my friend” I didn’t know the
person who was speaking. Now, I know the
content and character of the person who says those words to me and I am truly
at peace with my own spirit when I hear them from her.
We, as Christians, must live a life of
peace. We must put actions behind our
words or the words are empty. Like
Christ and my friend Janet, we must breathe on others the attitude that Christ
breathed on his disciples in the locked room.
We must set people free of their fear, but we must be free of our own
fears first.
Trust in the power of Christ’s peace for your
own life and live a life of peace.
AMEN.
Benediction
We
rejoice in the Good News we have heard. May God's blessing continue in and
through you to others. May God's love
also pour into your heart this day and always.
AMEN.
