Sermon - Easter 2

Sermon – Easter 2
John 20:19-31
April 11, 2010
“big stones and locked doors”

In today’s lesson we find the disciples locked in a room, who were they afraid of? They were afraid of those that killed Jesus, that those people might kill them too.
The cross was used to do just this, to instill fear in the people, making a statement that says: this is what will happen to you if you attempt to do what this person did. We’ve seen these fear tactics used by those in power throughout history to repress their people.
These tactics were also used during the time of the military dictatorship in Argentina when those who spoke out were disappeared, as to send a message through fear to anyone else who would consider speaking out.

We’ve seen fear used in similar ways, to show power and attempt to control people. At this point the disciples had heard the promises of Jesus, and they even heard from Mary Magdalene the good news that Jesus had risen from the dead.
However, all they could smell was death, which haunted them as they trembled there. Fear fills the mind with images of harm or death, and makes it difficult to see anything else.
We’ve also heard the good news, last week was Easter, and we heard the story of Jesus’ resurrection. However, we look around in the world and we still see images of fear and death. We see robberies, hunger, and violence.
Even though we hear about the resurrection, in our reality, it seems very abstract.

These images of fear and death had a hold on the disciples. Their fear had them trapped in their minds, and in a room. Their fear was in their minds, but it was also in the locks on the door. Fear kept them locked in a room.
Fear grabs us too, it holds us down, it keeps us trapped and locked in.
We can all think of times when we should have done something, our heart told us to do it, but we were kept down by our fears. In what ways are we like the disciples, fearfully locked in a room? What is fear preventing us from doing?

Let’s listen again to verse 19: “When 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.’”

As the disciples are fearfully locked in a room, Jesus appears among them—breaking past the locked door, as he did the big stone from the tomb. Jesus came and stood in their midst, and greets them: “Shalom.”
This word meant a lot more than a common greeting. This word represented life, and it began to saturate their souls, and replace the images of death in their mind with the image of Jesus, and his hands and side.

Jesus appeared in the same way to Thomas, that even though the doors were locked, he came and stood among them. In both appearances, Jesus does not rebuke the disciples for their fears and doubts, but rather he comes to them in their place of fear and doubt—in their midst. Jesus let Thomas see for himself, and to touch his wounds so that he would believe.
Jesus breathed on them the power of the Holy Spirit, and they were transformed. They were no longer controlled by the fear of death, but revived with the Holy Spirit of life, and then empowered to spread their hope to everyone they encountered.

In the reading from Acts, we see a very different Peter than the one that was locked in a room; we see a Peter, who is being questioned by the authorities and says "We must obey God rather than any human authority. He proclaims to them what he witnessed in that locked room: “30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

The chief priests and the Roman Empire were powerful. Those who oppress us and keep us down today have power. Big stones and locked doors have power. All the forces of evil, and even death itself has a lot of power. Fear has power. Their power may seem strong, their grip may seem tight.
…But (there’s the conjunction) however, on the contrary…
the good news we hear today is that their grip is not too tight for the power of Jesus’ resurrection, which comes breaking through the doors.
Powerful authorities, oppression, evil, fear, death, the big stone and the locked doors will come crashing down, and they cannot stand in the way of the Resurrected Christ that comes breathing life and speaking “peace Shalom be with you!”

When all the disciples could see was death, the resurrected Christ comes to proclaim to them that the power of death has lost, that the power of life is stronger, life overcomes death! When all they could feel was fear, the resurrected Christ comes giving them hope.When all they could feel was death, the resurrected Christ comes giving them life.
Hope is stronger than fear. Life is stronger than death.
The song “No Tengas Miedo (Be Not Afraid),” says it like this: “Be not afraid if the path is hard, there is someone who always protects you with love; he defends you with a safety shied and he always accompanies you in the pain.”

Like the disciples heard the resurrection story from Mary Magdalene, we heard the resurrection story last week, as we do every year.
Even though we hear the story, we live in a world where fear and death are prevalent. So like the disciples, maybe we lock ourselves in.
At these times, amidst the struggle, may we see Jesus in our midst, and may we see the Spirit of the Living Christ coming through the locked doors and saying to us, “peace be with you.” May we then be empowered by the Spirit to leave our locked rooms, our pews and our houses, and to say “peace be with you” to all whom we encounter.

When it seems that death has won, Jesus appears, bringing life. When it seems fear has taken over, Jesus appears, bringing hope. May we cling to this hope that because of Christ’s resurrection, there is nothing to fear, there is nothing that can hold us down. Be not afraid. Death has lost, life has won, and because of Christ, we shall not die but have everlasting life. Amen.