A WORD FOR TODAY, April 23, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 23, 2025
Lectionary Scriptures for April 27, 2025, Second Sunday of Easter: Acts 5:12-20 (21-32); Psalm 148; Revelation 1:4-18; John 20:19-31
“We are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” Acts 5:32, WEB
We have seen some extraordinary weather all around the country for the past few weeks. There has been snow when it should be spring, severe storms causing incredible damage. Texas is still undergoing an extreme drought, which has made conditions sufficient for wildfires. This weather has made this a bad year for wildflowers in many places around our state. At least the temperatures we lovely in our area for Easter weekend, but there was one year that was so cold that it was difficult to hold Easter Egg Hunts, and brand new Easter dresses were left hanging in closest because it was simply too cold to wear them.
It is almost too hard to see the joy of Easter through the mist of extreme weather. We have to look beyond the drought and damage to rejoice in the great thing He has done. Unfortunately, very few people have eyes that see the light in the midst of trouble. They can’t see the sun shining behind the clouds. Yet, there are times when God grants us a vision of what heaven will look like. Sometimes it appears in a dream, but often He simply uses the beauty of His created world to give us a foretaste of the world to come. I’ve seen heaven in the laugh of a baby; from the top of a mountain overlooking a hidden valley; in a meadow filled with flowers; in a rainbow after a storm. I can’t see these things and ignore the majesty of my Creator.
When we were living in England, I saw the most incredible sight in the sky as I was standing at the sink washing the dishes. In an otherwise cloudless sky, there was a large, dark mushroom shaped cloud. The waning sun was behind this cloud and the rays shown from behind, creating a halo around the cloud. It was as if God was behind a curtain, and His light was trying to break through to the world. As I continued with my work, the bottom “stem” of the cloud began to split, like the curtains on a great stage. The sun’s rays broke through, and the stage behind was breathtakingly beautiful. This foretaste made me long for the day when I will stand in His presence and worship at His throne.
I have also seen a much different vision of heaven. One day as clouds covered the earth and rain fell from the sky, I saw one of the first hummingbirds of that season. He took a moment at our feeders, but the wind was bitter, and the rain was cold, so he took refuge under the bush that is near my window. He sat there for a long time, and though he seemed to be shivering, he was also safe and dry. I could almost see God’s hands surrounding him, protecting him from the cold.
I could tell you about rainbows and waterfalls, sunrise at the beach and grizzly bears eating berries in a National Park. While this has been less than extraordinary year for wildflowers, I have seen fields with millions of bluebonnets and butterflies seeking the flower nectar of every color of flower you can imagine. I’m sure you could come up with your own examples of times when God spoke to you with the voice of His creation.
God reveals Himself in His creation so that we will have a vision in our hearts and our minds of the heavenly realms. He gives us a glimmer, to draw us ever closer to Him and to keep us on His path. We just have to take the time to see Him, to witness the beauty of His creation and His constant presence in His world. That glimmer is not necessarily going to be something as grand as the sun bursting forth from behind a cloud. It might be someone in need, someone who needs to know God’s loving presence in their life. How will He reveal Himself to you today? Perhaps it will be the kind words of a friend or the awesome power of lightning in a thunderstorm. Perhaps it will be someone who needs to get out of the cold. Go about with your work today but be ever mindful of His presence. Perhaps you’ll catch a glimpse of heaven.
For the disciples and those who lived in Jesus’ day, God revealed Himself in an extraordinary man named Jesus. This same Jesus lived, died, and rose again to win the greatest battle ever won, the one that would guarantee eternal life for us. The cross seems like a violent way to reconcile us to God, but through Jesus, God fulfilled all His promises.
Ninth century in England was a violent and bloody time when men fought with swords for their life, their women, and their land. It wasn’t enough to defeat their enemy to claim victory, they fought to destroy them. One particularly famous and infamous battle was the final conflict for Wessex between Alfred the Great and the Dane Guthrum. Historical fiction authors can often describe these moments with such clarity that you almost believe that you are in the midst of battle.
When we watch movies about the wars between ancient peoples, the directors often give the impression that these battles are between millions of people. The reality is that there were likely less than ten thousand people on that battlefield of that great war in 878 A.D., including the women who followed their men. But hand to hand combat was deadly, swords against swords leave the field bloody and covered with bodies.
Victory was not won simply by getting the upper hand in the actual fighting; they began by trying to overpower the mind and courage of their enemies. Courage is vital when coming face to face with someone determined to kill you, and it is the warrior’s job to make the enemy afraid. The armies shouted insults and obscenities, banged on their shields with their swords to make thunderous noise; they put on displays of strength and power so that the enemy will know what they are up against.
One of the most disgusting things they did was to put the severed heads of dead enemies on poles above the gates to their fortresses. This was a display of dishonor, because it meant the body was not properly disposed of according to the traditions of their people. If the head was separated from the body, then the warrior could not go into the afterlife with honor. The head would be picked clean by the birds, leaving only the skull and some hair flapping in the wind. The equivalent of this dishonor in Jesus’ day was to ‘hang someone on a tree.’ When someone was put to death for a crime, they were hung on a tree and left for the birds. They were not only punished for their crime, but they were dishonored as well.
It wasn’t easy to be a Christian. Faith in Jesus went against everything in both their secular and religious worlds. The Romans doubted the truth of the resurrection and the Jews rejected the claims that Jesus was the Messiah. The leaders in Jerusalem looked for ways to put a halt to the cult growing around Jesus. No matter what the enemies of the Gospel did, it seemed as though more and more people heard the words of the evangelists and were coming to faith. It didn’t help that the miraculous signs and wonders of Jesus continued with the apostles.
The Christians were a curiosity, but questions and doubts followed them. Today’s lesson from Acts follows the incredible story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) who were struck dead by their unfaithfulness to God. On the one hand, the disciples of Jesus were healing the sick and casting out demons. It was said that even the shadow of Peter could make a man well. On the other hand, there was something frightening about the power they seemed to have. Can you imagine if the people in your neighborhood found out that someone keeled over and died as Ananias and Saphira? The story was surely reported to people outside the church; a great fear came upon them all. “What if my faith isn’t good enough?” is a question any of us might ask. Only those with true faith dared become part of the group because pretenders and those with half-hearted belief risked the same fate as Ananias and Saphira. Despite the fear, the Gospel was doing its work in the hearts of many because more and more began to believe in the Lord.
Faith in Jesus was risky. The Romans were carefully watching this growing cult, and the Jewish leaders were concerned. Solomon’s Colonnade was a public marketplace. It was also a gathering place where people went to talk to the teachers of the day, to learn about God’s Law and to ask questions. Jesus often taught there, so the disciples continued to use this space to preach and teach about Him. He changed their lives and they wanted to share His life-changing message with others. God was continuing to reveal Himself through the disciples.
Perhaps the Jewish leaders were jealous. The disciples were doing things they could not do, impacting lives in physical as well as spiritual ways. The priests were upset that the disciples were intruding on their ministry. The priests had the disciples arrested and imprisoned, but during the night an angel of the Lord set them free. They were back in the Temple before the leaders even knew they were gone. The authorities took the disciples again, but they did so quietly because they feared the crowds.
Peter, in his speech to defend himself before the Sanhedrin, acknowledged that they not only killed Jesus, but they dishonored Him by hanging Him on a tree. He told them they did this not to a man that wanted to be king. They did it to God’s Messiah, the Son of God. They killed and dishonored Jesus who was the One sent to redeem Israel. The disciples were witnesses to these things and they could not do anything but preach the Word that God had given to them. Jesus had been dishonored, which the leaders hoped would bring fear into the hearts of His followers, but they were not afraid because resurrection vindicated God’s Son and gave them hope for the future. They continued to preach and teach all that Jesus had given them. They knew their strength was not in human power and authority. By God’s grace they could do nothing but obey.
It did not happen immediately. After the crucifixion, the disciples hid behind locked doors. They were afraid that they would suffer a similar fate as Jesus. Jesus revealed Himself to one disciple after another. The women, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the disciples in the Upper Room. Thomas was missing on that first Easter, we don’t know where he had been. When he returned to the company of followers, Thomas did not believe the incredible tale they were telling.
We pick on Thomas for his attitude in this story. He said, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Why wouldn’t he believe based on the word of his friends? Shouldn’t he have accepted what they had to say, based on their reports? After all, the disciples were not the first to proclaim this good news: even Jesus told them it would happen before He was crucified. The women reported the missing body; Mary said that she had seen the Lord. How many witnesses would it take for Thomas to believe?
We shouldn't be so hard on poor Thomas because none of the others believed until they saw Jesus for themselves. They didn’t believe the women, thought they were mumbling nonsense. Even when Jesus appeared, they thought He was a ghost and were glad only after they had seen the physical evidence of His crucifixion, knowing that indeed the one who appeared before them was their Lord. When Jesus addressed Thomas’s faith having seen the evidence, He was speaking to all of us. Haven’t you also had moments when you demanded proof of God’s mercy and grace? Yet, we know we cannot believe because we have seen anything by our own power. We believe because we have been given the power of the Holy Spirit and by that power we can believe. Thomas was not present when Jesus breathed on the disciples; he did not have the faith that comes from God, the faith on which our assurance is built.
None of them believed without God’s help. For Thomas and the other disciples, the help came in the appearance of Jesus before them. He appeared from outside the locked door, almost like a ghost. Yet, He was not a ghost, He was a living being, that incredible man through whom God revealed Himself, made even more incredible by the resurrection. He let them touch Him, to see His wounds. They reported His presence with joy to Thomas, who did not believe them. Thomas is not alone in this unbelief. Many people in the world still do not believe in the Living Lord. They have not had the opportunity to see Him in the flesh like Peter and the others, or Thomas. It is no wonder that they do not believe.
Yet, many people do believe. The resurrection is an incredible miracle, but so is the faith of every believer. We believe not based on the physical presence of Jesus, but on the word of the witnesses. We believe not because we have any sort of proof, but because we have been breathed upon by God and anointed with the Holy Spirit. We believe by the mercy of God, for it is only by His grace can we have faith. We have the Word given to us in the scriptures, to speak the testimony of the witnesses into our lives. As John wrote, “Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.” We are the blessed ones, because we believe by God’s power, not because we are eyewitnesses or have been given any sort of proof.
This coming Sunday, the first Sunday following Easter, has been historically known as “Low Sunday.” Though the meaning of this is uncertain, to our modern ears it makes perfect sense. The Sunday service following Easter is often the very poorly attended. Perhaps that day seems unimportant compared to the significance of the Holy Week and Easter worship. Perhaps it is a letdown after the celebrations of the week before. Perhaps everyone is exhausted! The pastors and lay people, even those who simply attended, were so busy during Holy Week that they need to rest, so they take a day off. Many pastors take a vacation to recover, and many parishioners skip the Sunday worship when the pastor is away.
It doesn’t help that we hear the same story every year on the Second Sunday of Easter. We hear over and over again the story of Doubting Thomas. It is an uncomfortable story to hear because we think so negatively about doubt, and yet we all experience some level of doubt when it comes to the stories about Jesus Christ, especially during Lent when we are pondering the foundation of our faith. It is always interesting that during the weeks leading up to Easter, the news is filled with reports questioning the truth of Christ and the Christian life. Tombs are located, historical writings surface, books are popular that cast a shadow on the things we have learned in Sunday School and have experienced in worship. These reports cause us to doubt.
However, doubt is not the opposite of faith. Indifference or apathy is the opposite of faith. Doubt makes us question, makes us seek, and makes us study to know and understand. Doubt makes us grow, and it often makes our faith deeper and more real than it was before we had those questions. Thomas doubted. He refused to believe the disciples when they said, “We have seen the Lord.” He needed to see Jesus for himself. Don't we all? Perhaps we can hear the stories of Jesus and believe them to be true, but we also doubt. We need a very real experience of God’s revelation to us for us to truly believe. That revelation comes at Baptism, when the Holy Spirit comes upon us and grants us the faith by which we will live. We can't do it on our own. Without God’s help, we would not only doubt, we would be indifferent because we will not have the faith to believe. Doubt leads us to faith because it makes us seek to know and understand that which God has given to us.
Another name for this Sunday is Quasimodo Sunday. I know you are asking, “Why would we name the first Sunday after Easter after a character from the Victor Hugo story? In reality, the character was named Quasimodo because he was left on the church steps on the Sunday after Easter. The words “quasi modo” in Latin mean “in the manner of new born babes.” Quasimodo was the main character in the story “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” who fights to protect the beautiful Esmeralda. His faith is innocent, his hope is child-like. His name is appropriate, “in the manner of newborn babes.”
Jesus tells Thomas and the other disciples those who believe without seeing is blessed. They have a childlike, innocent faith. That faith is true; it is real because it is not based on human effort but on the work of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, we all grow up. We all lose our innocence. We face difficulties. We face persecution. We face the attempts by the devil and the world to break our faith and cause us doubt. Doubt is, unfortunately, a part of maturity, because we are forced to define that which we have been given. We are forced to seek out for ourselves the meaning of our faith when it is questioned by the world. Our doubt, and overcoming our doubt, becomes a witness to the world, just like Thomas’s faith has become a witness to us. He doubted, but in the end he made the greatest confession of all, “My Lord and my God.”
Witnessing, as is seen in the story from Acts and Revelation, are the work of both God and the one whom God uses. Together, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the faithful will speak the Word into the lives of those who will hear. In this way, God’s story has been shared with every generation since the resurrection of Jesus.
It isn’t any easier to be a Christian today than it was for those first Christians. I’ve often written about the persecution of Christians around the world, and while we don’t face beheadings in the United States, the danger is becoming more real for all of us than we expect. Could you imagine going before the most powerful authorities in our day and saying, “We must obey God rather than any human authority”? If we were to do that today, we’d be counted as insane, or at least ridiculous.
How often have we heard the distain, even from other Christians, when people talk as if they are doing God’s Will? “She talks to God? And God talks back?” We might just find ourselves in the position when we have to say that we cannot obey human authority over that of God. Will we have the courage to be obedient, even when it seems dangerous? Or will we hide behind locked doors like the disciples? Jesus promised them peace, but they were in the midst of the most difficult turmoil they had ever known. So, when Jesus appeared to them, He reminded them of His promise. Peace would not be found in giving up, in running, or even in hiding. Peace is found in Jesus. That’s where we will find peace, too.
It is a tough job to be a witness. We will face those who hate us because of our faith in Jesus Christ. There are many like Thomas who need more than words to make a confession of faith. There are those like the Jewish and Roman leaders who will try to halt the work of God. There are those who think that any name will do, any path is right. There are many, too many, who believe that they do not need a Savior at all. But we are called to take forgiveness to them anyway, because God has assured us that He will bless the work we do in His name. He has given us His Spirit to teach and guide us on our way.
How will He reveal Himself to you today? Perhaps it will be the kind words of a friend or the awesome power of the weather. Perhaps it will be in a magnificent sunset or someone who needs to get out of the cold. Go about with your work today but be ever mindful of His presence because you just might catch a glimpse of heaven.
And so, let us go forth singing with the psalmist the praise and thanksgiving in our hearts. Let us not be afraid to share the Gospel message with the world. We are witnesses to the amazing things God has done through Christ Jesus our Lord because He has revealed Himself to us in so many ways. The world needs His grace and love and peace, and God calls us to be the vessels through whom He reveals Himself to them. The world needs us to be obedient to God so that they, too, will experience the risen Christ and believe.
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