Sermon on John 20:19-31

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

Jesus’ disciples had seen him day in and day out for the past three years—but he had been killed.

Since Friday, they had woken up, and he wasn’t there.

As they finally drifted off to sleep at night, the weight of his absence was crushing.

There were some rumors that his body wasn’t in the tomb, and that Mary Magdalene had seen him alive, but that couldn’t be. Could it?

They were hiding out—locked themselves in, lest the authorities (referred to as “the Jews,” but who were the religious authorities who had been threatened by Jesus’ mission)—lest the authorities make them suffer the same fate as their rabbi.

The air in that room was thick with their silence, with the shuffling of feet, clenched fists, and quiet tears.

Then,

Jesus appeared! He was suddenly in the middle of the room—no approaching footsteps or creaking of the door.

He was just…there—he was there!

Their tears of guilt, grief, and confusion turned to tears of joy.

He gave them peace and the Holy Spirit and sent them out to continue his mission of bringing the Beloved Community into the world.

But Thomas wasn’t there.

Poor Thomas, who has gained such a bad reputation for doubting (as if doubting were the opposite of faith, when doubt means you’re thinking deeply about faith).He only asked for what the other disciples had received: an encounter with Jesus.

And Jesus honored his request.

A week later, Jesus again appeared in their hideout. This time, the door was only shut, not locked. Perhaps their encounter with Jesus emboldened them to start opening themselves up to the world again.

But Jesus hadn’t come back to give the disciples more instructions or push them out the door.

Jesus had come back specifically for Thomas.

He returned so that Thomas could have an encounter with him, just as the other disciples had had.

Jesus offered his hands and his side for Thomas to touch—it was Jesus’ wounds that Thomas wanted to see. He didn’t ask for Jesus to shine like at the Transfiguration or perform miracles. He wanted to see Jesus’ wounds—evidence of his suffering and humanity. Perhaps that was the only way Jesus could pierce Thomas’s grief.

And out of that encounter, Thomas declares Jesus’ identity: “my Lord and my God!”

Two thousand years later, we don’t get to have a physical encounter with Jesus like that.

Some over the centuries have had visions of Christ and mystical experiences. If you have experienced something like that, I would love to hear about it—please let me know!

But for most of us, we don’t have physical experiences of Jesus to that degree.

It seems like it must have been so easy for people who actually met Jesus to believe in him. How could you look into the eyes of God and not recognize it?

But for us two thousand years later, with a hefty dose of modern skepticism, it’s much harder to believe that a first-century rabbi and miracle worker was executed by the state and then came back to life.

I don’t blame anyone for having doubts. The Gospels are full of some pretty wild stories.

In fact—this might sound surprising coming from a pastor, but—it doesn’t bother me if you don’t believe in the resurrection.

If that’s too bizarre of a story for you to accept, that’s okay. The way the Gospels record it, even Jesus’ most inner circle had a hard time believing it.

I think what matters a lot more is how you see God working in your life now.

Do you see God in the beauty of nature?

In the resilience of a weed growing out of a crack in the sidewalk?

In the vastness of space as you look at a photo from the James Webb telescope?

Do you hear God in the giggle of a toddler delighting in the splash of a puddle?

In the concern of a stranger really looking into your eyes and asking how your day has been?

In the thoughtfulness of a friend who sent you a card just when you needed it most?

In the compassion of someone like Mother Teresa?

Or the generosity of our Messy Church folks who, after the Easter egg hunt last week, started picking out treats and prizes for cousins and friends?

Do you recognize God in the way a piece of music or art takes your breath away?

In the gratitude and sense of humor from someone at Caring Hands?

We can’t touch Jesus’ hands like Thomas could, but we can see God’s hands at work in our world, if we only pay attention.

I, along with our stewardship team, want to challenge you to pay attention to where you see God this Easter season. Easter is not just a single Sunday when we dress up and sing Alleluias and eat brunch with our family and friends. Easter is a whole season—one week longer than Lent.

We’re already a week in, but we’d like to invite you to log your God sightings for the next six weeks until Pentecost Sunday on May 28 (which is also Memorial Day weekend).

Hopefully you received one of the little notebooks on your way in—if not, be sure to grab one before you leave.

You can use this notebook to jot down notes—doesn’t have to be complete sentences—just a word or two is fine—whenever you notice God in your life during these next six weeks. You can doodle in the notebook, or—even better—take pictures. Log your God sightings however works best for you.

There’s a theme each week for inspiration. This week’s theme is “seeing God in creation.” So, you might take your notebook with you on a walk or snap a picture of a sunset. You don’t have to stick to the theme—the Holy Spirit is notorious for not sticking to human plans—but use the themes however they’re helpful.

As we collect these God sightings, we invite you to post your pictures on social media with our hashtag or send them to Terri Robertson. The details are on the inside cover of your notebook. You can also send in pictures of your doodles or written reflections. The stewardship team will be collecting these photos, and you may see them in worship on Pentecost.

No sighting is too small—God works in both big and subtle ways. What matters is that you’re paying attention to the ways God is at work in and around you.

We may not get to see Jesus in the way he appeared to the disciples in that locked room, but we are the recipients of the disciples’ legacy. They, starting with Mary Magdalene, told others about their experiences with Jesus. Their stories have been passed down all the way to us.

We add to their stories every time we have an encounter with God. And God is always at work. So, whatever you believe about what happened 2,000 years ago, you can encounter God today.

Along with Jesus’ first disciples, we can rejoice when we see our God.

We can marvel at the world our Creator God made.

We can recognize Jesus in the wounds in this world.

We can feel the breath of the Holy Spirit moving us to compassion for our neighbors.

And then, we can tell others, sharing our experiences of God in our daily lives.

The stories of the Easter season are full of Jesus showing up in unexpected places. Let’s practice looking for him together.