A Heritage of Joy
Sermon on Psalm 16 and John 20:19-31
Rev. Patricia D. Barth
April 3, 2005
Tomorrow (Monday, April 4) is the 100th day after the December Tsunami crashed into the coast of Thailand and Indonesia, causing destruction and devastation beyond our comprehension. One photo that was particularly poignant for me was on the cover of the United Church of Christ News, which showed a beach covered with pieces of wood, and a metal cross partly buried in the sand, but still visible and pointing inland. Until I read the caption, I didn’t realize that the cross was pointing to the site of a thriving village that had been completely destroyed by the waves.
In Thailand, they are in the midst of the 100 Days Memorial Project , a two-day memorial that is taking place this weekend in the areas around Khao Lak, where much of the worst destruction happened. One hundred days is important because most Thai people are practicing Buddhists, who believe that after 100 days the soul moves on, bringing peace and freedom to those who have died and a closure to the grieving of those left behind.
Events were planned for this weekend to celebrate the human spirit through expressions of creativity and renewal: art and cultural displays; music and dancing. Aid and recovery projects are showcased. Tomorrow, the actual memorial will take place, with hundreds of beautifully decorated bamboo poles lining the beach. The religious ceremony will involve alms-giving, good-byes and good wishes. But it’s not all celebrating the good or simply mourning the lost; there is also a lot of fear involved.
I belong to an online pastor’s listserv for the discussion of the lectionary texts . A missionary in Thailand wrote to the list that, as the 100th day approaches, people’s fear of ghosts is surfacing, keeping them in doors and off the beaches. She says that before she realized how extensive this fear is, their daughter went out one night wearing a white dress and a woman started screaming, thinking she had seen a ghost of someone killed by the Tsunami.
The disciples find themselves in a similar situation of fear after Jesus’ crucifixion. They also are staying indoors and away from other folk. The text says they are afraid of the Jews, which we must interpret as religious authorities, since Jesus was a Jew and the author of the Gospel of John was most likely a Jew. The disciples were afraid of those who had crucified their leader—perhaps they are next. Had Peter not denied Jesus, he no doubt would have been crucified at his side.
Imagine how frightened they are, huddled behind locked doors, feeling defeated, wondering what will happen next. Their rabbi is gone; their whole world turned upside down, much like the Tsunami victims. They wonder if they can go on. Even if the authorities aren’t looking for them, they’re in a pickle. Where should they go, what can they do? They’re a group of followers without a leader; a flock of sheep without a shepherd.
They must be pondering what Peter and Mary Magdalene said about the empty tomb. What could have happened to their Lord? They probably cast their minds back to strange things that happened while Jesus was alive. It wasn’t so long ago that they thought Jesus was a ghost. After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus had gone away to pray, and the disciples set out to cross the Sea of Galilee in a boat. The wind rose against them; the tiny boat was tossed in the waves; they must have been terrified! Then Jesus came walking toward them on the water, and they screamed, thinking Jesus was a ghost! (John 6:16-21)
Now Jesus is up to his ghost-like behavior again! The risen Christ disregards the locked doors and steps into the midst of the disciples, saying “Peace be with you.” Instead of being frightened, this time they are very happy to see him. Imagine their joy at actually seeing their crucified and risen Lord. Poor Thomas! He missed out that day, so a week later, Jesus stepped through the closed doors again.
Jesus has a way of disregarding our locked doors! This week I heard a powerful sermon on locked doors. Some of us gathered Tuesday night to watch The Congregation, a PBS special about a Methodist church who’s former pastor retired, and the conflict that arose with their new pastor. This church should have had an interim minister, but they chose not to. They felt they didn’t need to process their feelings about the former pastor because they were “different than the usual church.” They said, “We’re a great church, we don’t need an interim;” and they were a great church, I’d enjoy worshiping there, but their pride got the better of them. And of course, they wound up driving their new pastor away.
You see, their previous pastor, pastor A, was a stellar preacher, and much loved, and their new pastor, pastor B, was simply found guilty of the crime of not being their previous pastor. They didn’t take a break between pastor A and pastor B. They thought they didn’t need a minister whose job it is to help them take a good, hard look at themselves, which is basically what interim ministers do. They didn’t learn to separate out their own special identity as church and as lay leaders, which every church has; instead, they got stuck in their old identity that they had with pastor A in the lead. B was the wrong pastor for that old identity and then they wondered why they couldn’t connect with him. And he left, and now they are starting all over.
During this painful process, the associate minister decided to come out as a lesbian in a committed relationship, which is against church law in the United Methodist Church. In her coming out sermon, she preached about how Jesus came through the locked doors to the disciples; and how he can come through the locked doors of all our hearts. Jesus responded to her fear, just like he responded to the fear of the disciples. As a lesbian, many doors were locked against her. The Methodist Church, like many in the Presbyterian Church, insisted that her sexual orientation was incompatible with ordination. So she had kept her lesbianism, and the identity of her true love and their relationship, locked away in fear. But Jesus answers our fear with love, and with his presence as the risen Christ. No locked door can stand against him if you invite him in.
Have any of you gotten stuck behind locked doors? Sometimes we lock the doors ourselves; sometimes others shut us in. I tried to lock my heart and mind against Jesus when I was a young adult, believing that Christianity could not be true with all the hunger and evil in the world. But Jesus broke through my fear and doubt, and he will come through yours if you ask him to. It doesn’t matter if your doors are locked for fear, or doubt, or sorrow or anger. Jesus will break you free, and bring you joy, and a new sense of freedom.
Jesus transforms our doubt and fear into faith and courage. Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” It’s Jesus’ way of saying, “Don’t be afraid; don’t doubt, but have faith.” “Trust in me.”
We all experience pain and sorrow. Life is sometimes very hard. We suffer as individuals; as families; as congregations. We worry, get scared, and have doubts. We may feel that we can’t trust anyone, and we shut them out of our lives.
But ever since that first Easter, Jesus has been transforming our pain into joy.
The Cross has been left behind—The tomb is Empty.
Our heritage is one of joy despite the pain. Jesus rescues us, pulls us out from behind our locked doors, and calls us to follow him on the way of peace; the path of new life; the journey of faith. Do you see him? Our risen Lord stands among us, ready to go with us on our pilgrimage. Peace be with you! Amen.
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