Easter 2 Year A

John 20:19-31; Acts 2:14a, 22-32

There has been a lot of speculation recently about a so-called “Quiet Revival.” The claim is that among Gen Z, that is 18-24 year olds, sorry I cannot see many of you out there, and particularly among young men, there has been a significant rise in church attendance. The initial data suggested that among this age group the percentage attending places of Christian worship had risen from 4% to 16% by 2025, over a period of six years. Suggested causal factors have included the search for community, a sense of social isolation post-Covid, and a growing desire to find spiritual meaning. However, there have been many who have questioned the validity of the claim. For instance, the sample size has been criticised for being too small and unrepresentative, and the methodology of the YouGov survey, which is based on voluntary opt-in participation has been seen as prone to distortion. Despite all the hype, this seems to be a case where scepticism is warranted, and the hopes of rising numbers at church appears to be based more on anecdote than hard, cold facts.
I am fairly certain that the apostle Thomas would not have been taken in by all the talk of a quiet revival. He was a person of facts, and hard evidence. He had seen Jesus arrested and crucified. And like everybody else, he knew that the Romans were extremely competent at dispatching trouble-makers. Jesus was dead, end of story. It did not matter what his grieving and gullible friends thought – although strangely, they were not grieving quite as much now as initially. No doubt they were delusional. The attitudes exhibited by Thomas are readily understandable. Perhaps, it is easier to identify with his scepticism, than with the hopeful excitement of his fellow disciples. However, before we get to the scene with Thomas, we need to look at what comes first in our gospel reading.
Mary Magdalene had informed the disciples that she had seen the Lord. We are not told directly how they reacted to that declaration. Instead, we are transported from Mary’s excitement of Easter morning, to the evening of that same day with fearful disciples cowering in a dwelling place with doors securely shut. Then two amazing events are described. A person appears in their presence despite the doors being bolted, and second, that person is the one whom they had seen crucified a few days beforehand. No explanation is given by Jesus. He simply greets them with a conventional salutation, “peace be with you.” He might as well just be saying “hello.” However, although the words are conventional, here they are pregnant with meaning. Being addressed to fearful disciples they are no mere convention. Rather, they are transformative words that remove despair and replace it with calm assurance. However, in the narrative of John’s gospel, these words are both anticipated but they constitute familiar words of Jesus. He had previously told his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled, instead he promised “peace I leave with you, not as the world gives, do I give to you” (Jn 14:27). And again, Jesus had previously informed the disciples “in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). According to the story, the assurance of peace comes before the proof. Peace is first bestowed, and then Jesus shows them the wounds of crucifixion – the damaged hands and pierced side. So often, we seem to want things the other way round – proof before peace. However, often divine prerogatives do not match our own understanding of reality. Perhaps, it is first necessary to find peace, before proof can be fully accepted.
At this point, Jesus proffers a second declaration of peace, but it is expanded. “Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” It is noteworthy that receiving divine peace is not a mandate to relax, or to “clock-off.” Quite the opposite, it is a call to engage, it is a commission to continue the work begun by Jesus. The peace Jesus gives is not to be confused with a period of inactivity. Jesus gives peace to his disciples, but also passes on the responsibility of continuing his mission. That mission is to continue the life of loving service, which Jesus demonstrated when he took up the towel and washed their feet. The display of Jesus’ hands and side is not simply the proof that Jesus lives. It also reveals that following him entails both service and suffering. Yet, it remains the path of ultimate peace. Next something usual happens, something that is out of sequence with how the post-Easter story is typically told. At this point, late on Easter Day, according to the chronology of John’s Gospel, Jesus breathes on his disciples imparting the Holy Spirit. Earlier in the gospel, Jesus had promised another comforter who would abide with his followers. Now that Spirit of truth is breathed into the disciples, equipping them for the mission ahead. Following this, Jesus authorises the disciples to forgive sins. In other gospel accounts, Jesus is known as one who forgives sins. Up to this point in John’s gospel, the forgiveness of individual sins has not been a prominent feature. Nonetheless, here it is presented as being characteristic of Jesus’ own work, and thus that role is passed to his followers.
Our reading from Acts, takes us forward to the day of Pentecost and it depicts the manner in which the disciples are continuing the mission of Jesus. Luke, the author of Acts as well as the gospel that bears his name, seems to like grand events and recounting the sequential and orderly spread of Christianity. So, in Acts in a vivid way, the gift of the Holy Spirit is accompanied with tongues of fire and the miraculous ability to speak in other languages. Our reading from Acts takes up the story with Peter’s address to the assembled crowd. However, it jumps a long scriptural citation, and Peter’s joke that the disciples speaking in other languages is not due to them being drunk – he states that supposition is impossible, because it is only 9am in the morning. Very drole! Peter’s sermon has all the hallmarks of a good Easter sermon. It acknowledges that Jesus was doing the work of God, and yet he was crucified by godless people. Yet, Peter does not depict this as a tragic and pointless death. Rather, he declares that it was done with the foreknowledge of God and in accordance with the divine plan. At this point, the previously fearful disciples of Easter Day have been transformed into the confident heralds of the truth of the resurrection. Peter tells his hearers of the purpose of the resurrection. He says that by raising Jesus up, God put an end to the agony of death. In John’s gospel Jesus has declared himself to be “the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25), and that he would give eternal life to his followers (Jn 10:28). For Peter and his fellow disciples, the provision of peace has also instilled a sense of confidence that the one whom they thought they had loved and lost was now with them for ever more, providing peace and confirming God’s presence through the gift of the Spirit.
It was eight days after the risen Jesus met the disciples in a locked room that Thomas was again with his compatriots. On the occasion of his first encounter Thomas declared that he would not believe the fanciful story of his fellow disciples “unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and my hand in his side” (Jn 20:25). At that moment, for a second time, Jesus appeared in a room with doors shut. Again, he offers peace. Then he singles out Thomas. He is invited to inspect Jesus’ hands, and to reach his hand into Jesus’ side. Then Jesus challenges Thomas’ unwillingness to believe, telling him not to doubt, but to believe. There is no description of Thomas examining Jesus’ hands or touching his side. The peace Jesus offers and his presence are sufficient. In response, Thomas utters those eternal words declaring Jesus to be “my Lord and my God.” Peace and the recognition of Jesus’ presence are more important than hard empirical proof.
On Easter Day last week, several things happened in this place that surprised me. First, looking out of the glass doors during communion, I was astounded to see the blowing wind and the near blizzard-like conditions that came out of nowhere. Yet, that was not the most surprising thing. At our 6am service there were over 80 people in attendance, and at the 10:30am service there were more people in attendance than I can ever remember at an Easter service. Is that evidence of a quiet revival? I am sure statisticians would challenge that conclusion, and I think I would be inclined to agree with them (you can call me Thomas afterwards). So, what is the explanation? Have our sermons become more persuasive at offering proof of the resurrection? While I might like to believe that, you and I both know that is not the case. Currently, we live in unsettling times, conflict and instability seem to arise in new places every few months, without any resolution of those wars already waging. The value of human life is debased, and stinging barbs are too often the norm both in mainstream and social media. Into that void the message of Christ needs to be heard with greater clarity and assurance. And what is that message? Simply this, “Peace be with you.” Our offering to the world is what it has always been and what it always will be. We offer Christ, the perfect Prince of Peace, who freely gives that peace which the world cannot give. It is not a peace that automatically solves all problems. But what it does do is get us involved in the work of Christ bringing peace and life in his name to all. Does this constitute empirical proof, is it the same as seeing has hands and touch his side? Absolutely not. In fact, it is something far more valuable. Love is never proven by hard facts. It is experienced in the presence of another, it is that comfortable dwelling alongside one who gives us peace and security. So today, I wish you all the peace of Christ, and in experiencing that peace may we all believe without doubt. And in the peace that Christ brings, may we know the one who is our Lord and our God, that Prince of Peace who brings peace to us and the whole world in the midst of these difficult and dark times. Amen.