My Lord and My God!

Acts 4:32-35; 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31

One of the more challenging tasks I had when I was in my first year in seminary, after taking a semester of Greek, was to translate the entire First Letter of John from Greek into English. This was no small task, for it took me about two weeks to get the job done. And, because I spent that much time looking up a large number of words in a Greek lexicon in order to do the translation, the words in our Epistle lesson are somewhat significant to me.

Indeed, our Epistle lesson starts out with these words from the first verse of the letter: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

Someone once told me that if I ever got up before a congregation and forgot to bring along my sermon notes, I could always read the First Epistle of John, instead of doing a sermon. Why? Because the First Epistle of John really is a sermon. And, although I haven't planned to read the whole letter to you, today, we all might do well to take some time within the next few days to just read it through. For the letter contains a beautiful summary of Christian theology, especially as it relates to the saving power of Jesus Christ.

But, for the writer of the First Epistle of John there is something that he wanted to make very clear: Jesus Christ is a person who was from the beginning, who allowed himself to be heard by human ears, seen by human eyes, and touched by human hands. It was this Jesus Christ, it was this person of the Trinity, that the apostles and the early church proclaimed with excitement and with urgency.

One of the most perplexing things about the Christian faith for many persons is trying to understand who Jesus was. Jesus was a man whose spiritual identity was none other than Christ, the Son of God. Scripture makes this quite clear. In the Gospel of John we have heard the words, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In that same scripture we are told that it was the Word of God through which everything was made. And, we are told, finally, that it is through this Word by which God reveals himself to us, today. And the Gospel of John tells us that this Word of God, this very nature of God to reveal, became flesh and blood, and dwelt among us.

To the apostles this was extremely important. For they knew that when God became flesh, it was then that God became especially real to humanity.

I am reminded of the story of The Velveteen Rabbit who was lying next to the Skin Horse and asked the question, "What is REAL? Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

The Skin Horse replied, "Real isn't how you are made, its a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

The difference between the God of Israel and the gods of all of the other religions, is that our God became human. He became someone who could be seen, and heard, and touched, and loved. And because our God is a God who is loved, God is real to our hearts and to our lives.

What is real? I would like to suggest that perhaps we don't have as many real things as we used to have. Instead of having real friends to play with, many kids just stay in their homes and watch TV. And it doesn't stop with the kids, either. Instead of inviting people over to their homes, or going out to where other people are, many people prefer to sit in front of their television sets. But, what the television offers is only a shadow of reality. It isn't real, at all.

So, in their hearts, many people are starving for something that is for that which is genuine, for that which is authentic, for that which is real. And the church offers that in Jesus Christ.

After Jesus' resurrection, the disciples weren't sure if Jesus was real, or not. They had gathered together in a locked room where they felt relatively safe from those who had conspired to crucify Jesus. And, suddenly, Jesus was in their midst. Looking at him, they might have thought him to be a ghost or perhaps a product of their own wishful thinking. But, when Jesus said, "Peace be with you!" and gave them the commission to go forth as his representatives, they believed. In his love of them, and in their love for him, all doubt disappeared. They could see him with their eyes. They could hear him with their ears. They knew that he had been raised from the dead.

But, there are always going to be those who doubt. In fact, most of the disciples had been doubters, until they actually heard him, saw him, and touched him. As of yet, no one had believed without that advantage.

Not even the disciple, Thomas, believed without seeing. Not having been in the room with the other disciples when Jesus had appeared that first time, the disciples told him what they had seen. And Thomas replied that he couldn't believe unless he could see with his eyes and feel the nail prints with his own hands. It was a week later that he had his chance. Again, in the locked room, Jesus reappeared amongst the disciples. And looking at Thomas he said those memorable words: "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." The scripture tells us that Thomas' exclamation of belief was, "My Lord and my God!" But Jesus told the disciples that they had believed because they had seen, but blessed would be those who do not have that advantage and yet believe.

It didn't take a lot of faith of the disciple's part to believe in the risen Lord, because they could see him standing right there in front of them. But, what about us? It is only by faith that we can believe. But, because we do believe, the Lord, himself, calls us blessed.

Perhaps what is most amazing of all is that we, persons living almost 2,000 years after the fact, still have faith in the resurrected Christ. What is wonderful is that the urgency of the good news didn't die out way back then, but is alive and still driving us, today, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

How many of you had one or two Jehovah's Witness visit you in the last week? I had a couple at my front door the other day. They somehow manage to knock on all the doors of our communities at least one or two times a year. Most people slam the door in their face. But, in spite of the slammed doors, and theological and biblical arguments that they encounter from people, they continue to share their brand of Christianity wherever they go. And this has made the Jehovah's Witnesses one of the fastest growing Christian groups in the world.

As I consider this, I wonder how many of us would respond favorably if we were all asked by our church to take our own Christian literature and go all over our community, inviting persons to come and attend our church. Would we do it? Would we feel the same kind of urgency that the first Christians did to share the news of Jesus Christ with their neighbors?

Our first lesson for today tells us that the first Christians were so enthused and believed so fully in Jesus' resurrection that they combined all their resources to ensure that the Body of Christ had what it needed to spread the news.

Every once in a while we hear of churches like that. Almost out of nowhere they spring up and become a powerful witness to the resurrected Christ, ministering in such a way as to make other churches wither in comparison. Sometimes I have wondered what makes such churches do this?

But the answer is pretty simple, really. Every church, every group of believers has the potential of being powerful for the Lord. And, certainly, the same potential is here, as well.

If Christ is as real to us as he was to the first disciples, if our faith is strong as it was in the early church, there is nothing that can stop us, no shortfall that can hinder us, no ministry that should ever see a need. Amen.