The Main Character

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

April 23, 2017

2 Easter A

          Last Sunday, Easter Day, when I arrived in the pulpit for the first time, I discovered that the Easter Bunny had paid a visit to the pulpit and had left Easter eggs for me.  There is nothing quite like preaching knowing that there are chocolate filled eggs within reach, but off limits.  Beautiful music with a great brass quartet, gorgeous flowers, alleluias literally flying through the air, a full church AND a pulpit full of chocolate.  What more could a priest possibly want on Easter Sunday.

          This week, however, life is back to pretty much back normal.  The whole Easter season is festive, with silver vessels and white hangings, extra alleluias, and Easter hymns.  But the over-the-top flowers and brass are gone, there are no flying alleluias, and there is no chocolate in the pulpit.  We are in the life after Easter mode, which always involves a bit of let-down as we move from events of Holy Week and Easter back into the rhythms of everyday life.

          For the disciples, however, life did anything but get back to normal after that first Easter.  In the gospel reading both last Sunday and this morning, the risen Christ appears to the disciples, sending them out into the world.  Both last Sunday and this Sunday the book of Acts tells us of  bold preaching by Peter, the same Peter who had denied Jesus three times before the crucifixion.  The result of Peter’s preaching was that thousands of people were baptized.  That first Easter had completely changed life for the disciples. 

          On the other hand, on this Sunday after Easter, we might feel a bit more like Thomas.  Thomas missed out when Jesus appeared to the disciples, who were hiding behind locked doors.  We are not told where Thomas was, but I wonder if he was off somewhere trying to get his life back to normal after the events of the last few days.  Who would have thought Jesus would show up?  Sometimes we, too, are filled with doubt and would appreciate a direct experience that dramatically and unequivocally brings us to faith.

          This story always bothers me because Thomas sounds a bit like a demanding child, wanting what the others have. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”  Jesus comes off as an indulgent parent, giving Thomas what he wants, when Jesus shows back up and offers Thomas the opportunity to touch his wounds. And we are left feeling about ½ inch tall, remembering all the times we have doubted and questioned our faith.  Don't be like Thomas seems to be the message, except that Thomas does get what he wants.  So then, what is the message?  Are we to be like Thomas or not?

            If we let Thomas be the main character in this story, we get this mixed message about what is required for belief in the risen Christ.  But what happens when we let the Risen Christ be the main character in the story?  Then we hear the story differently.  We hear Jesus say "As the Father has sent me, so I send you...Receive the Holy Spirit."  How did the Father send Jesus?  God sent Jesus to be in the world, to be the Word made flesh and dwell among us.  Jesus is sending the disciples out into the world to be the Word made flesh and dwell with the people.  The only problem is that a week later when Jesus shows back up, where are the disciples?  In the same room behind the same closed doors.  In my imagination, Jesus says to the disciples "What are you doing here?"  No wonder Thomas did not believe them!  The Risen Christ does not seem to have made one bit of difference in their lives. I wonder if Thomas might have believed the disciple had they been out in the world, doing the kind of preaching Peter was doing, showing the world the difference Jesus had made in their lives.  Perhaps Thomas would not have needed or demanded his own private viewing of Jesus' wounds.  When the Risen Christ is the main character, we hear the story differently. 

            On that first Easter, the Risen Christ became the main character in the disciples’ lives, leading them to bold action.  There was no getting back to normal after Easter.  In the reading from 1 Peter we hear “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  Easter has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Life will never be the same again.  Easter called the disciples and Easter calls us, to make and keep the Risen Christ as the main character in our own lives.  When the Risen Christ is the main character, we can be sent with the boldness of Peter and the disciples, despite whatever doubts we may have.  When the Risen Christ is the main character, we can seek and serve Christ in all people.  When the Risen Christ is the main character, life after Easter is as new and exciting as Easter Day itself.

                                                                                                            Amen.