Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday 19th April 2020
As public worship has been suspended in a bid to limit the spread of the Coronavirus the service was recorded and made available online. That can be found here.
Easter 2
John 20 19-29
Dr Ken Scott
We all use the phrase “seeing is believing” possibly not realising it arises from our reading today from John 20. Thomas the disciple who asked questions when Jesus was alive, missed out on his first appearance in the room where the other disciples were hiding after the death of their leader. Maybe he was too afraid, maybe he was too sad, but he missed the risen Jesus. So, when the others told him what had happened, he would not believe it; a perfectly human reaction. Jesus had died on the cross and been put in a tomb with a stone at the door, how could he be alive? “I will have to see for myself, I will have to touch him before I believe”
And so a week later he gets his chance and there is no doubt now, he does not even need to touch. So we get these famous words that sum up John’s gospel “My Lord and my God” The real significance of the story for us is when Jesus says “ you believed because you saw many others will believe who will not see me in the flesh “ and that’s us today.
We live in an age when people want proof of everything, they want to see before believing. We can’t see the coronavirus, of course, unless you have an electron microscope, but we still believe it’s real, because of what it does.
But we do need some clues to help us believe in the resurrection, we are not asked to do it with no evidence.
So, here are four things for you to consider this Easter season.
1 The empty tomb. If Jesus had not risen, who moved the stone? who took the body? it could not be the disciples, why would the Romans or the Jewish leaders do it?
2 Numerous appearances after he rose are documented including one to Peter at the lakeside.
3 In a few short weeks the disciples were out boldly preaching in Jerusalem not hiding terrified in a room. They were changed out of all recognition.
4 And the church is still here 2000 years later, still growing even if not in a building. As someone has said if Jesus had just died no one would ever have heard any more about him. So, we can believe without seeing, there is plenty of evidence.
If you are finding it difficult in these strange times to see where Jesus is in all of it, and it is a challenge to us all, no matter how strong we think we are in faith, have a look round at the evidence of the love of Christ shown in the caring, the healing ,the compassion in our own village, in our hospitals and care homes and in the wider world. And then why not use the words Peter used to Jesus when he was alive “Lord I believe, help my unbelief”