Pastor John Eich

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Alma, MI

John 20:19–31

The Difference is Peace

I think most all of us get peace of mind at night by locking our doors. It gives us safety and security when we’re sleeping or away. And that’s where we find the disciples today - behind locked doors. But it wasn’t peace of mind that made them lock the doors. Their hearts and minds were in turmoil. Can you imagine the turmoil that the disciples were in that evening? They were afraid of the Jewish leaders who had their Teacher and Master killed on Friday morning. Their hopes and expectations and faith in Jesus as the Messiah were dashed to pieces by the events of previous 48 hours. Can you imagine the disappointment in themselves for abandoning Jesus. The disillusionment that they had spent three years of their lives following Jesus only to have their hopes and dreams snuffed out? Can you imagine how they felt having believed Jesus’ words about forgiveness and love only to see him crucified before their eyes for saying that? Can you imagine the sense of lostness they were feeling? How their hearts must have been broken.

Their minds storming. Their consciences beating them up.

When the disciples were together, with the doors to their room locked and the doors to their minds barred shut from hope and peace, Jesus came and stood among them. What would have been the first words out of your mouth to a room of men who deserted and abandoned you a few days earlier. Who, except for one (John), were too scared to even show up at the cross when Jesus died. If Jesus’ first words were “seriously, guys? After everything I did for you?” - we’d totally understand. But what he says is one of the best and most beautiful phrases that exist: He said “peace to you.” And to put their restless hearts to rest even further, Jesus doesn’t just tell them words of peace, but shows them assurance as well. The holes from where the nails were. The space from where the spear pierced his side. Visible here for all to see. Then he doubles down on His greeting saying, “Peace be with you!”

And then to prove that He harbors no ill will, he gives them the keys to the greatest kingdom of all - the kingdom of heaven. He doesn’t punish them for their actions over the past days. He reinstates them as His disciples, to carry on His mission. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Words of peace twice, see your Savior standing before you, bring the peace of forgiveness to others. Perfect love drives out turmoil and unrest.

That’s the difference that Easter makes. It’s the proof that brings peace.

When we read Bible stories from the gospels we can go hard on the 12 disciples. Why did they fall asleep in the garden like that? Why did they abandon their Savior on Holy Weekend like that? Why are they so afraid here! Why did Peter say that or do that! Silly foolish disciples! Why does Thomas doubt?! Bad Thomas. I think we sometimes go hard on them because we have the benefit of hindsight. We have the whole story laid out for us in the Word. They were living it in real time. Honestly, they were real people with real turmoil. Fearing for their lives they hid behind locked doors. They were being eaten up by grief and regret. No one talks much about that Good Friday night. We cut to the happy ending and the joy of Sunday morning. There are moments in which the promise of Easter seems irretrievably far away — when life itself seems far harder than death. Our turmoil and unrest might look different than those first disciples, but it’s still turmoil and unrest. We too, have doubts. Are we afraid that by being a follower of Jesus, our lives are on the line? Church shootings and bombings are becoming increasingly common. Some churches, like ours, lock their doors during the service. Others hire security guards. When rain clouds descend upon our world even the strongest faiths among us have wrestled with a lack of peace.

And I haven’t even started talking about spiritual matters yet. How often don’t we remember a bad choice, a cruel word, a failed opportunity that changed our lives? Even years later those memories haunt us. Have we deserted Jesus when we could have spoken up? How often don’t the memories of past sins come back to haunt us? Have we stood by Him or run away when the going got tough? All of that and more robs us of peace. We lock ourselves up hoping no one, even God, will find out.

As Jesus came and stood among the disciples he could have unloaded on them. If he came in the flesh right here among us - the things he could say to us! He could bring all our most shameful sins to light. He could call us out on our lack of faithfulness. We celebrated last week, Jesus lives! How long did that joy and peace last? Likely only until the next turmoil arose. If Jesus stood in this room of fearful children, and if he opened his mouth to speak...what he could say to all of us?

Well, he’d say the same thing he told the disciples. “Peace.” And then he’d say it again. Again, peace be yours. We come here each week in the Lord’s house and each week he calms our troubled hearts by speaking peace to us. Christ has eliminated the greatest reason for our turmoil- -our sins by His victory on the cross. Our sins are paid for. They’re erased.

Spiritually we have nothing to fear. And when we are here on Sunday we receive words of peace that can soothe us in our relationships with others, guide us through our hardships, and strengthen us as we walk through dark days. Does that mean that everything will become a bed of roses when we walk out of these doors? No, not necessarily. But we can walk out of these doors knowing that we have the God of the universe in our corner, filling us with love and peace.

Christ brought peace to his disciples and Christ brings us peace, too. Jesus is present to give us peace in the words of forgiveness that we offer to one another. We call these the Keys to the Kingdom and they were from one of our verses here - I’ll read them again. “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Some guests to our church have asked me, “Why are you (the pastor) able to stand up there and say, “I forgive you your sins …?” This is the reason why right here. God has given his church, us, the ability to forgive sins of others. And you don’t need to wait until 10:20am every Sunday to finally hear that. You don’t need to wait for an eight-year trained man of the cloth to remind you of forgiveness. Because our parents and kids, friends and family can assure us of Christ’s forgiveness because Christ has given us these keys.

You can give others the peace of Christ when you forgive sins. You receive the peace of Christ when you take to heart that God stops keeping record of wrongs. We experience the peace of Christ from the Word we meditate

on week in and week out. Christ gives us daily peace, through these simple pages. He restores our hope.

Even if we are like Thomas. Poor doubting Thomas. He refused to believe even when all the others told him they saw the risen Christ. So locked in by doubts, and unrest, guilt and human limitations that he just couldn’t believe. But let’s give Thomas some credit. The resurrection of the dead was too good to be true. It was unheard of, even though he had seen Jesus raise the dead multiple times. But guilt does that. It blinds us to the truth. It can deafen us to words of comfort that resurrect our peace.

Throughout my ministry, I have known men and women who like Thomas have been equally troubled in their faith. They held high expectations for God’s assurance, but along the way they were met with disappointment, and they became skeptical. Perhaps, you count yourself in that number. Doubt breaks in in all sorts of ways. Tradition doesn’t match truth. Or, perhaps you were offended one of God’s messengers along the way. We hear the pastor speak the words of peace, but does he really mean me? “If he knew what I did, what I thought, how I live in the privacy of my home, he wouldn’t be so quick to say I’m forgiven. How can God forgive me for what I did?” With others it is a struggle with questions about suffering that has been a major stumbling block.

The more I have grown to know the modern day Doubting Thomases, the more I have grown to understand that faith and doubt are often closely linked. Doubt doesn’t need to destroy faith. After all, doubt did not destroy Thomas’ faith. But rather doubt inspired, encouraged and drove Thomas to seek that faith in Jesus which would transform his life. Doubt can do the same for us, if we use it to find God’s answers instead of blaming Him.

When Jesus appeared, He gave Thomas visible signs. He showed him his hands and feet. Don’t doubt Thomas, believe. I did this for you. You are forgiven. I give you peace.

He gives us visible signs too. His body and blood in the Holy Supper. He says, “This is for you, for your forgiveness. I don’t reject you, I reinstate you as my disciple. Don’t doubt. Believe. I did this for you. You are forgiven. I give you peace.”

What comfort today's Gospel has for us. Despite all that we have done to make God hate us, He still loves us. He searches for us. He comes to us. He gives us His peace. He encourages us to touch Him. He overcomes our terrors and our doubts. He brings peace to our turmoil.

My friends, in the midnight hour of the soul, when you are wrestling with doubt, when everything you have been holding onto seems to have fallen away, turn again like Thomas to the places where your faith can be nurtured, and where Christ promises he will meet you- in the mystery of God’s word and sacrament. Yes, in these simple means of grace, Jesus invites you “to place your fingers into the nail prints” and to “place your hand into his side.” So that you too may confess, “My Lord and my God.”

Amen