Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31
Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
grace and peace to you
from the one who comes to us in community. Amen
I had a professor in college
once make the provocative statement
that the beloved children’s song “Jesus Loves Me”
is wrong.
You know the song
Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to him belong
They are weak but he is strong
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so.
Now his quibble was not with the assertion
that Jesus loves children
but with how the children come to know the love of Jesus.
Through the Bible.
His point was that children
first experience the love of Jesus through the community,
by first being loved
and having experienced this love
it makes sense to them when the community teaches them
that this love comes from Jesus,
that Jesus loves them,
a truth found in the Bible yes,
which a loving community
will place in children’s hands eventually,
but not as the primary way of knowing Jesus’ love,
that comes through community.
Today we hear reinforced in our readings
that for better or worse,
the way Jesus has decided to come to us,
to continue the relationship with us post resurrection
is through community,
namely the community of disciples
that gathers in Jesus’ name,
or as we sometimes call it ‘the Church’ with a capital ‘C’
We see Jesus come to the disciples in community this morning
However, Thomas was absent
And didn’t believe the others when they told him
So spreading the word through the community got off to a bit of a rocky start
But all Thomas wanted
is what the other disciples first received,
to see Jesus,
and when he is with the community the next week
Jesus comes again
and Thomas has his chance
and exclaims “My Lord and my God.’
Out of Thomas’ questioning
comes deep faith,
Then the gospel writer
takes the opportunity to offer a blessing
for all of us who have believed
without placing our hands on the resurrected Jesus
And while We may not have placed our finger
in the spot on Jesus’ hands
where the nails when in,
nor have we place our hand in his side
where the soldier’s sword pierced him
we have all encountered the body of Christ on earth,
we would not be here today
had we not come into contact at some point with that body
and members who make up that body,
who brought Jesus to us and into our lives,
because that is how the gospel message is spread,
through the community.
We heard in Acts,
the history book of the early church,
how the church formed and spread
after the ascension of Jesus,
how the believers were of one heart and soul,
how they gathered together to hear the testimony of the apostles
and how each member of the community was as valued as the next,
Now I don’t know about you,
but to me that sounds like a pretty good community to be a part of.
Other places in Acts
tell how this community attracted more and more believers every day.
Not just the message but the character of the community
had a lot to do with the success of the early church,
and this is still the case
how church members and communities act
can make or break how the message of Christ is spread,
whether or not people want to take part in the community,
And if the community is like the one described in Acts,
that’s great,
but we don’t have to think very hard
to find an example of when a community
did not live in a way that made people want to take part in the community
in fact I think it might almost be easier
to think of negative examples,
the times of exclusion, hate,
petty bickering and power dynamics
and all of a sudden
what sounded like gospel
the proclamation that Jesus comes to us in community,
starts to sound like law,
because we are intimately aware of the fact
that the church is not perfect,
nor are the people that make up the church perfect
and yet we’re the primary way
that Jesus uses to build relationships with people?
That’s a lot of pressure,
there is a lot riding on our imperfect selves
and the imperfect community we make up.
But lest our despair at our imperfections
cause us to give up on the community
as so many have done,
there is a word of grace,
forgiveness,
that when we sin we have an advocate in Jesus Christ.
John, in our second reading
addresses the reality of the Christian community,
both the good and the bad,
his description of how the community works is beautiful,
how the older community members share their experiences
and build relationships with new community members
so that in these relationships,
relationship with God is built,
and then John acknowledges the reality
that communities don’t always practice what they preach,
oddly enough
John doesn’t seem too concerned
about the particulars of the sin
present in the community,
he acknowledges that it’s better not to sin
but if anyone does
there is forgiveness in Christ Jesus,
what John seems more concerned about
is the failure to acknowledge our sin,
our imperfections,
from this passage
we get the line that is used in confession and forgiveness
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The key then to the Christian community
At least according to John
is authenticity rather than perfection,
I mean which community would you rather belong to?
one that pretends it’s perfect
and points out others’ imperfections
or one that acknowledges its faults,
asks for forgiveness
and moves forward with the intent
of not repeating those past mistakes or harmful actions.
I know which one I choose,
and strive to create.
and perhaps that’s the genius
of God working through an imperfect community
and imperfect people,
it acknowledges the reality of life
this is the essence of Jesus,
as Immanuel, God with us,
who has experienced everything we do,
even death
and who lives and loves us still,
we imperfect humans are able to connect to Jesus,
because while he is perfect
has experienced how hard it is to be a human,
he even has the scars to prove it.
When Jesus came to the disciples in the locked room
after being crucified and risen from the dead,
he came with scars,
his resurrection healed and transformed his wounds
but it didn’t erase them
And this is what Jesus does for us,
he heals and transforms our wounds into scars
and then sends us out as the body of Christ in the world
to hold out our hands and side and hearts
to those who are questioning like Thomas,
who want who need tangible proof
in their quest for belief,
to these folks we hold out our scars
not as witness to our perfection
but of the power of God to transform
that which is broken into something whole.
Now of course faith, transformation, healing, takes time,
the disciples needed Jesus
to come to them offering peace a couple of times,
Thomas needed to see the scars,
and Jesus gave them what they needed.
Jesus knew that the community
would need his presence again and again and again,
which is why he gave us the gift of Holy Communion,
his coming to us in with and under the bread and wine
his body and blood.
It’s why we as a community
strive to be with people throughout their lives,
at baptism, and confirmation, and other life passages
in times of joy and sorrow,
witnessing to the presence of God with us
as our needs and questions change,
as our faith requires healing and transformation,
as we witness the healing and transformation of others.
Jesus comes to us in community,
through community,
and keeps coming to us until we can truthfully sing
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
The community tells me so. Amen