Christ the King-Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

 The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

April 27, 2025 / Second Sunday of Easter (Early Service Only)

John 20:19-31

Every year on the second Sunday of Easter, the church tells the story of the risen Christ’s appearance in the upper room on Easter evening, and then again one week later.  That means that every year, the week after Easter, we hear the story of so-called “Doubting Thomas.”  But I don’t want to focus on Thomas this morning.  The other logical place to focus with this story is on Jesus, and there’s certainly lots to think about – the way he miraculously comes into the room even though the doors are locked, the peace that he offers to his friends, the way he breathes the Spirit onto the disciples, the way he commissions them to go out and forgive sins, and especially the fact that, even though he’s been resurrected, he still bears the scars of his suffering.  Any one of these details of the story would make for an excellent sermon – but I don’t want to preach about Jesus this morning (well, at least not directly about him).   Instead, I want to draw your attention to the other characters in the story – the disciples.

The disciples were locked up in the upper room out of fear, says John, fear of being found out and punished for being followers of Jesus.  Mary Magdalene had returned from the tomb, telling them that Jesus was risen from the dead.  But apparently they couldn’t believe it because instead of celebrating Jesus’ victory by dancing in the streets, they were huddled together behind locked doors in paralyzing fear.  It’s tempting to judge them for their lack of belief, just as we sometimes judge Thomas for his.  But really, resurrection must have been a hard thing to get your mind around.  In fact, it still is.  But when Jesus showed up, they believed.  Since Thomas wasn’t with them that evening, they had to tell him about Jesus appearing to them.  But Thomas wouldn’t buy it.

Then a week later, the disciples gathered together again.  This time, Thomas was with them, which in and of itself is a little surprising.  When Thomas refused to believe that his friends had seen Jesus, refused to believe the Lord was alive without seeing and touching him for himself, I might have expected that the disciples would have excluded Thomas from their gathering.  You know, just kind of conveniently forget to tell him when and where they were getting together again?  Because isn’t it just human nature to want to limit our gatherings to those who believe the same things that we do?  Thomas had flat out refused to believe them.  Who wants to hang around with someone who, at best thinks you’re delusional and at worst thinks you’re a liar?  And yet, it appears that Thomas was still welcome among the disciples because, one week after the resurrection, when they all got together in that upper room, he was there with them.  And who knows, if they had not welcomed him, if he ever would have met the risen Christ?  Who knows, had he not been there that day, if Thomas would ever have come to believe?  That’s what the church does when it’s at its best:  it makes room for those who are not sure of their faith, and even for those who are having trouble believing, allowing them the opportunity to experience the risen Christ in our midst.

Because, be honest:  How often have you come to church, unable to believe whole-heartedly in God’s divine power and plan because you, yourself, are struggling?  And yet, you know that you are welcome here with us, and you join in saying the words of the creed even if they’re a stretch for you, and let the faith of the community speak for you until that time when you’re able to profess your faith without any reservations.  We believe for you.  How often have you come to church when your needs or the needs of the world seem so great that you doubt that prayer has any effect at all?  And yet you are welcome here, and because you are, you come and you pray with us in spite of your doubts, clinging to the hope that by our praying together, we may change the world.  We pray for you.  And how often have you come to church, unable to sing or say a heartfelt alleluia because of something that is going on in your life, some burden or grief or pain that prevents you from fully giving voice to your praise?  But you come anyway, knowing that you are welcome even if your praises sound hollow in your own ears.  You come here anyway, knowing that this community will sing or say alleluia for you until you’re able to sing or say it again for yourself.  We praise and thank God for you.  This is what the Christian community can do for us, just as the disciples did for Thomas:  we can keep on welcoming each other even when we’re having trouble believing; and we can keep on gathering together to provide opportunities for those who come among us to experience the presence of the risen Christ.  For whether or not we fully believe, whether or not we think our prayers make any difference, whether or not we can give voice to a full-throated alleluia, the risen Christ meets us here, every time we gather.

Let us be for one another what the disciples were to Thomas:  a community that encourages and is always inviting others to faith; a community in which we worship, study, and pray with and for one another; a community that gives of ourselves and our resources in order to serve one another and all of God’s children.  That is what it means to be church.  We’re not perfect.  Far from it.  And of course, the disciples weren’t perfect either.  But what they were, we are also:  a gathering of people in whom and through whom the risen Christ will appear.  For Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!  He is risen and is here with us, today and always.