{"id":3505,"date":"2013-04-10T14:18:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-10T19:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/?p=3505"},"modified":"2013-10-01T08:53:39","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T13:53:39","slug":"my-lord-my-god04072013-sermon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/2013\/04\/my-lord-my-god04072013-sermon\/","title":{"rendered":"My Lord, My God!(04\/07\/2013 Sermon)"},"content":{"rendered":"

19<\/sup>When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the
\ndisciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among
\nthem and said, \u201cPeace be with you.\u201d20<\/sup>After he said this, he
\nshowed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw
\nthe Lord.21<\/sup>Jesus said to them again, \u201cPeace be with you.
\nAs the Father has sent me, so I send you.\u201d22<\/sup>When he had said this,
\nhe breathed on them and said to them, \u201cReceive the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

23<\/sup>If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you
\nretain the sins of any, they are retained.\u201d24<\/sup>But Thomas (who was
\ncalled the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.<\/p>\n

25<\/sup>So the other disciples told him, \u201cWe have seen the Lord.\u201d But he
\nsaid to them, \u201cUnless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my
\nfinger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

26<\/sup>A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.<\/p>\n

Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said,<\/p>\n

\u201cPeace be with you.\u201d27<\/sup>Then he said to Thomas, \u201cPut your finger here and see my hands.
\nReach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

28<\/sup>Thomas answered him, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d29<\/sup>Jesus said to him,<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you believed because you have seen me?
\nBlessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

30<\/sup>Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,
\nwhich are not written in this book.31<\/sup>But these are written
\nso that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and
\nthat through believing you may have life in his name.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I will start this sermon with a funny story.<\/p>\n

An atheist was taking a walk through the forest.
\n‘What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!’, he said
\nto himself. As he continued walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in
\nthe bushes. Turning to look, he saw a 7 foot grizzly bear charging towards him.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over
\nhis shoulder he saw that the bear was closing in on him. His heart was pumping
\nfrantically and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground.
\nHe rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear raising his paw to take a
\nswipe at him. At that instant the atheist cried out: ‘Oh my God!…’ <\/em><\/p>\n

All of a sudden, time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was then that a bright light shone upon the man
\nand a voice came out of the sky saying: ‘You deny my existence for all of these
\nyears, teach others I don’t exist and even credit creation to a cosmic
\naccident.\u00a0 Do you expect me to help you
\nout of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?’ <\/em><\/p>\n

The atheist looked directly into the light and said,
\n‘It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian
\nnow, but perhaps, could you make the BEAR a Christian?’ <\/em><\/p>\n

Very well, ‘said the voice. The light went out, and
\nthe sounds of the forest resumed. And then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his
\nhead and spoke: ‘Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive and for
\nwhich I am truly thankful, Amen.’<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last Sunday, we witnessed that Jesus conquered our
\ngreatest enemies, sin and death. For the last week, have you lived with the
\nresurrection faith in Christ? I hope so.<\/p>\n

As our Easter celebrations continue, we hear of
\nfurther encounters with the risen Christ. Let us see the text. We find Jesus\u2019
\ndisciples in the dark. They are the people who heard the news from Peter that
\nthe tomb was empty. They are the friends and followers of Jesus to whom Mary
\nbrought the message that she had met the risen Christ. But what are they doing
\nthis night?<\/p>\n

Obviously, they do not seem to be celebrating. They
\nhave locked the door for fear that the same thing that happened to Jesus will
\nhappen to them. I can imagine them sweating profusely and can even see some
\noccasionally checking the doorknob to make sure that it was locked. Other
\ndisciples might have been looking out of a peephole or a window. The disciples
\nfear the Roman and religious authorities that murdered Jesus would possibly
\nmurder them for being associated with this radical, itinerant preacher from
\nGalilee. There messianic hopes have dissolved into mere survival, coupled by
\nutter confusion and calamity. They had a lot to be afraid of. They could be
\naccused of stealing Jesus\u2019 body. They could be punished for guilt by
\nassociation with his movement. It is dark out there. They locked themselves in.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, into that locked room Jesus appears.
\nJohn seems to tell us that everything has changed. Into that moment of fear and
\nsurprise, Jesus comes with a message of comfort, \u201cPeace be with you.\u201d He offers
\nthat message to them twice. First, when they see this figure suddenly appear
\nbefore them. Then, he repeats this message once again after they realize that
\nthey have finally met the risen Christ. But it is important for us to notice
\nthat they neither recognize him nor rejoice until Jesus shows them his hands
\nand his side. We should not chastise Thomas for later asking for the same
\nmanifestation.<\/p>\n

In fact, Jesus had assured them earlier that he
\nwould bring them comfort and joy (John 17:12-13). He would give them an
\nadvocate, \u201cthe Spirit of truth who comes from the Father (John 15:26).\u201d However,
\nthey didn\u2019t feel comfort and joy until they met Jesus. Now, when they met Jesus
\nin person, they are all touched with the Holy Spirit. The disciples were filled
\nwith the Holy Spirit so that they would become messengers of the good news of
\nwhat God had done in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Strengthened
\nby the Holy Spirit they were to open the locked doors of fear.<\/p>\n

They told Thomas what they have seen. However, he
\ndemanded what they had experienced. He wanted to see the wounded hands and the
\npierced side of Jesus.<\/p>\n

A week later the disciples, once again, had gathered
\ntogether. Thomas is now with them. \u00a0Although the doors were shut, Jesus
\ncame and stood among them and said, \u201cPeace be with you.\u201d Then, Jesus offers his
\nhands and side to Thomas and he asks Thomas not to be unbelieving. It is then
\nthat Thomas declares \u201cMy Lord and my God.\u201d And Jesus said to Thomas, \u201cHave you
\nbelieved because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
\nhave come to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the story I wanted to share with you today.
\nBased on this story, I brought some questions to take into consideration. What
\ndoes it mean to live with the resurrection faith? Does it mean that we should
\nlive without doubts? Traditionally, Thomas has been recognized as \u201cDoubting Thomas.\u201d
\nWhen I was a kid, I wondered why Jesus chose Thomas as his disciple. I thought
\nthat he was not faithful. What do you think? In fact, in this story, the
\nspotlight is on Thomas but we should not miss that he is not alone in his doubt
\nin this story. Even thought Jesus had assured them that he will be resurrected
\nin three days, no one said to Jesus when he came into the house, \u201cWelcome back\u201d
\nor \u201cWe knew it.\u201d \u201cWhat took you so long? \u201dNo one anticipates Jesus will return.
\nEven when he shows up, everyone doubts. Everyone. \u00a0This story tells us a key understanding about
\nour spiritual journey. I don\u2019t think that Jesus is rebuking Thomas when he
\nsays, \u201cHave you believed because you have seen me? Jesus definitely knew that
\nThomas and the other disciples will have doubts. Likewise, we are people who
\nhave knowledge and reason and who doubt. However, we should not think that
\ndoubt is exactly not the opposite of faith but actually is part of it. I believe
\nthat in this story, Jesus is blessing all those who have managed to believe
\nwithout the benefit of direct experience and all those who have managed to come
\nto faith by living with doubts and yet still trying to find a way to believe.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t need to figure everything out. If we have
\nto figure it all out ahead of time, then we will never get started. Even though
\nwe are Christians with a resurrection faith, we realize that belief and doubts
\ngo hand in hand. In this fragile way, we act, we reach out, we feed, we care,
\nwe tend, we struggle, we work, we love, all without any guarantees. We struggle
\nto find a way to believe in the promise from the Lord who continues to bless
\nthose who believe amid their doubts and keep faith amid their uncertainties.<\/p>\n

I believe that this is exactly what the spiritual
\njourney is. After Jesus\u2019 resurrection, we start our spiritual journey with the
\nresurrection faith in Christ. This journey is not straight. It is sometimes
\ncurved and we become very often distracted. Therefore, in order for us to get
\nthrough the spiritual journey, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit whom we can ask
\nwisdom and courage, so that we can manage to come to faith amid our doubts and
\nuncertainties.<\/p>\n

Let me wrap up this sermon. We celebrate Jesus\u2019
\nresurrection for seven weeks and today is second Sunday. During these weeks,
\nlet us together struggle to find a way to believe and to deal with our doubts
\nand uncertainties. No one can solve our doubts and uncertainties but the Holy
\nSpirit can help us manage them. Then, finally, we will be able to declare, like
\nThomas, \u201cMy Lord and my God.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let us pray,<\/p>\n

Dear God, we give thanks to you for this graceful
\ntime. Help us to experience the works of the Holy Spirit amid our lives. Bless
\nus to keep your wisdom and courage and faith amid our uncertainties. And bless
\nus to stand before you as real Christians. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
\nAmen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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, \u201cPeace be with you.\u201d20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-and-teaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3505"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4009,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3505\/revisions\/4009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}