Proof of Life
based on John 20:19-31
Rev. Karen Goltz

If you heard that Jesus Christ appeared to a group of people today, what would your reaction be?  Would you panic?  Would you run?  Would you hide in fear?  Would you cry out in love, “My Lord and my God?”  If you didn’t simply dismiss the claim as a fantastic story, you would most likely doubt.  You would demand proof, and, if you were really open-minded, you’d reserve judgment until you could be convinced.  

The disciples had locked themselves in the house.  They’d heard just that morning that Jesus’ body was no longer in the tomb.  Mary Magdalene had come to tell them he had risen.  But they didn’t believe.  They had their doubts.  Peter and another disciple, traditionally believed to be John, had gone and checked out reports that the body was missing.  Peter saw the empty tomb, but he couldn’t put it all together.  John saw and apparently believed.  So, I imagine he went back and spent the rest of the day trying to convince the other disciples that the empty tomb, the folded linen cloths, and the head piece sitting by itself were all signs that Jesus had indeed risen.

Can you imagine the conversation that took place during that day?  They were too afraid of the Jews and the Romans to go out and see, or look for Jesus, so they sat in the house sulking, praying, arguing, discussing, pondering, and recalling the words of Jesus.  I can imagine that Mary was probably leading the conversation, maybe backed up by John, and Peter was boldly trying to make sense of it.  Mary had seen the risen Lord, had spoken to him, John could believe and accept that, and Peter really wanted to.  The rest of them probably wanted to, too, but how could they possibly believe something so crazy as a dead man rising and living again?  They’d seen Jesus die, and no matter how much they might wish otherwise, dead was dead.

So there they all are talking, praying, and arguing, and then without warning, Jesus is standing in their midst, on their side of the locked door, and says, “Peace be with you.”  Can you imagine their reaction?  It was probably shocked silence.  The text doesn’t tell us.  All it says is that after greeting them with peace, he showed them his hands and his side.  His hands that still bore the marks of those cruel nails driven in, his side where the spear was thrust and water and blood flowed from the wound.  And only after seeing the scars that marked his death did the disciples believe, and rejoice.  They were probably excited.  I can imagine them dancing around, hugging each other, tears flowing from their eyes, not understanding, but not being able to contradict this living proof standing before them, speaking to them.  Can you imagine their joy, their excitement, their wonder?  Here they’d been hoping, but not with too much hope lest they be disappointed.  And here now in their midst was Jesus, alive, risen from the dead.  The sorrow of the previous Friday had turned into excitement, joy, and fulfillment of the resurrection promise.

Jesus leaves as quickly and quietly as he came.  Then Thomas returns.  Thomas had not been there with the rest of them.  Why not?  Maybe he was so full of grief, despair, and loneliness that he couldn’t stand to be with the others.  Grief is like that sometimes.  Especially when most of the people you know are sharing the same grief, sometimes you need to just get away, get out of the feedback loop, and be alone.  That can be a healthy thing.  But it can also be a lonely thing when taken too far.  The community might be grieving and struggling, but they can also share the burden, and lift each other up, and support one another.  But maybe Thomas couldn’t see any value in staying with the community as they grieved the death of Jesus.  Instead, he went off by himself.  He wanted to be alone.  But in that aloneness he missed something.  He missed seeing Jesus.  

Thomas eventually comes back, maybe finally ready to share his grief with the others.  But instead of finding a group of crying, mourning, sad people, he finds them full of cheer and excitement.  Tears of joy and happiness have replaced the tears of sorrow and mourning.  Thomas comes in and the rest excitedly tell him, “Thomas, we have seen the Lord!”  He looks around at them with an utter lack of comprehension.  For him, Jesus, his friend, his master, his teacher, the one in whom he had placed his entire trust, faith and belief is dead.  And we all know that dead is dead.  Thomas had gone off to grieve alone, and now that he’s finally returned to his friends to mourn with them, they tell him that dead is not dead, that they have seen the Lord.

Can you imagine his reaction?  How would you react, if it were you?  I’d probably be just like Thomas, thinking my friends were a bunch of madmen, crazy in their grief.  He’d come back to be supported by his community, to mourn with them, but they’re not mourning.  He’s still alone, unsupported in his grief.  He lashes out angrily, “Oh, really.  Jesus lives.  Sure.  I’ll believe that when I see him myself, when I stick my finger into the scars in his hands and his side, then I’ll believe.  Not before.”

Jesus had given no indication that he would return in a week, and I wonder what that week was like for the disciples.  The ones who had seen Jesus, wondering what would happen next, and Thomas, still alone with his grief, isolated from his friends. 

Then Jesus does return and shows Thomas what he had shown the others.  Again he suddenly appears on their side of the locked door and greets them with a word of peace.  And then as though he knew what Thomas had said, Jesus shows him his hands with the nail marks, his side with the spear mark, and invites him to touch his scars as he’d demanded.  But Thomas doesn’t have to.  Instead, his grief broken, his isolation gone, he identifies Jesus.  “My Lord, and my God!”  He, like the others, believes.  Then Jesus asks, “Thomas have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”  Thomas you don’t have to see in order to believe.  Believe the witness of the others, believe the words that I told you, believe, have faith, trust.  This might have been the fuller expression of Jesus to Thomas on that day, but might not that be Jesus’ words to each of us, too?

I think Thomas has taken a bum rap all these years, being called ‘Doubting Thomas,’ because honestly, how different are any of us?  Each of us at one time or another has wished or wondered why Jesus doesn’t give us a sign, or some sort of revelation so that our faith might be stronger.  Or at least something so we can be sure we’re on the right track.  Thomas didn’t ask for anything more than Jesus showed the other disciples a week earlier.  He just missed it.  Just like we did.  None of us were in that locked house.  All we have is the witness of others.  And for some reason Thomas wouldn’t or couldn’t believe that witness, though we’re expected to.

What proof do we demand?  What proof do we have?  Jesus says we don’t need signs or wonders, but only the testimony, the witness of others, the witness of the church, the promises of his words as recorded in the Bible.

There really is no proof that would be true to all, that could answer all the questions we have about the risen Christ.  What we do have is Word of God, and the witness of the saints of all times and in all places.  The Christian Church is one generation away from extinction, and it always has been.  But every generation before us has witnessed to the risen Christ, and the church will continue to exist as long as we continue to share our witness.

Do you still need proof of the resurrection of Jesus?  Look around, the proof is sitting all around you.  Each one of us is living proof that Jesus rose from the dead.  Why else would we be here?  It’s Christ, his Spirit, that calls, gathers and enlightens us each week with his proclaimed and spoken word.  God chose us, called us, has forgiven us, has cleansed us, and has made us his people, his children, and his witnesses.

What would your reaction be to the risen lord appearing to a group of people?  You tell me, because he is here.  He is in the waters of baptism.  He is in the bread and the wine of the Eucharist.  Can you acknowledge him as your Lord and your God?  Can you go out into the world and say, “I have seen the Lord?”  I believe you can, because the power of the resurrection is alive in each of us, and that enables us to go out and obey God rather than human authority, as Peter and the disciples—including Thomas—did later in Jerusalem.  No longer hiding behind locked doors they bucked the expectations of society and proclaimed publicly, “The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, and exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”  What more do we need?  Amen.