John 20:19-29
Dear Thomas,
After so many years, I am glad that I can
finally write this letter to you. I was not sure
that it would be possible. I am more skeptical
than even you, and I was not sure how I would ever
be able to believe in this Jesus of Nazareth you
followed. He was crucified and that was the end
of it as far as I was concerned. Yes, you had some
hallucination I thought. Hanging around with
those twelve, it was no wonder you'd begin to lose
your mind. But it was clear that you at least were
serious about it when you left for India.
I pray that this letter will reach you so
that you can share my joy. Your dedication to
proclaiming Jesus was always inspiring to me,
even if I thought it was wrong-headed and
unbelievable. But let me tell you what happened to
me.
As I'd written you, we had to leave Galilee to
live in Jerusalem. There was no more living for
us there, so we left to find a better circumstance
in the city. Here in Jerusalem a tailor can make
more money, but expenses are greater. Whether we
will come out ahead, I am not yet sure. We found
some rooms to rent, Naomi and me and the children.
Of course, we were very nervous, even frightened,
about leaving our homes and families to live in
this crowded, busy place. We did have contact
with cousin Micah, but he lived some distance away
from our new home in the city.
As it turned out, our neighbors are wonderful
people. Stephanus and Miriam welcomed us warmly
when we arrived and made sure that we were
provided for even the very first day we moved in.
Naomi was sick within the week of our arrival
and Miriam made extra trips to the well for our
water. I could well expect our friends to treat us
so, but we were strangers to these people. We were
afraid that we'd left this neighborliness behind
in Galilee.
Not long after this we received word that
Naomi's mother died, and so we had to go back to
Galilee to take care of some business and to visit
and mourn with her family. We did not look forward
to the long trip, and our donkey had a sore hoof
and was unable to make the journey. When
Stephanus learned of our situation he immediately
offered us the use of his donkey and cart, so that
the children could ride and we could make better
time. This generosity was difficult to accept,
but I could tell his sincerity in the peaceful
look in his eyes as he encouraged me to make use
of his donkey and cart.
Although Miriam and Stephanus are always busy,
they never seem hurried. They always have time to
listen and to talk, or to lend a hand. So over the
course of a month or so we became quite friendly.
I finally had to ask Stephanus how it was that he
is so peaceful and joyful. I don't mean that he's
a joker or unfeeling. I was touched by the way he
carried himself, the way he responded to
situations with a clear sense of fairness and
confidence. He was sober, but not boring. He had
a genuine interest in me. At first, of course,
that is simply flattering, but then I began to
appreciate that he cared for me simply for who I
am, not who I might become or what I might do for
him. As you know, Thomas, that is rare.
So I asked him what was behind his way in the
world. He did not answer me right away, but he
went deep into himself. Then he said to me, "You
have asked the most serious question. I cannot
give you the answer all at once in a way that will
make much sense to you. But it was not always
this way with me. I was run out of my hometown
because of the evil things I did. I was truly a
lost soul. You might say that I was dead, but now,
thank God, I am alive. I was introduced to a group
of people whom I would like you to meet. We get
together each week after the Sabbath is over and
we pray together, perhaps you would like to join
us, and bring your family, the women pray with us
as well."
I should have known when he said they gather
after the Sabbath has ended that they were your
people, Thomas, but luckily I didn't put it
together; there are so many sects and religious
fanatics around these days. So, the next week we
went together with them.
How shall I describe it to you? It was so
ordinary, and yet so remarkable. There were about
a dozen adults there and many children scurrying
about, playing. We met at the home of one of the
members. I recognized a few whom I'd seen at the
market. There was quite a mixture of people. Some
who were wealthy and others who were certainly
poor. But they did not hold these distinctions
between them. Instead each greeted each warmly.
We were welcomed immediately and felt right at
home. Their hospitality was remarkable, and their
joy was clear.
We shared together a meal of bread and
porridge. We sang psalms together and joined in
prayer. Then we heard lessons from the law and
the prophets and different persons shared from
their lives how these affirmed that Jesus was the
Christ, and that he was risen from the dead. As
soon as I realized these were your people, Thomas,
I became very uncomfortable. Yet I was still drawn
to them. The oddness of their belief in a
crucified man rising from the dead and being the
son of God seemed insignificant beside the joy and
love and peace that radiated from this group.
After the readings and reflections on the
Scriptures were completed we sang again. Then
there was silence and going around the room those
who were present began to share their needs. They
shared where they had gone wrong in the previous
week, they confessed their sins to one another and
prayed for each others' deliverance. I was moved
by the trust and tenderness that was shown in
this time. They also shared their victories and
how God had been active in healing them. Truly,
forgiveness and acceptance and healing were
present in that fellowship.
Finally, I felt that I must speak. I told them
I was your brother, but explained that you had
been unable to convince me that Jesus was the
Christ and Lord. I told them that I was still not
sure. Certainly there was a spirit about them,
they had surely experienced something real to them
and I had experienced something of it as well.
Stephanus answered me. "Your heart has given
you a testimony. We are glad that we have been a
part of it. Your head needs time to catch up with
what the Spirit has told you. I am confident that
the God who raised Christ from the dead is at work
in you. I do not fear the outcome of God's hand in
your life. It is hard for us to accept things from
our families sometimes, perhaps there is a message
that Thomas could not communicate to you."
I thanked him for his words and became quiet.
A loaf of bread and a cup of wine was brought
forth and one of the fellowship offered a prayer
in remembrance of Christ, crucified and risen. He
said that the bread was a sign of his broken body,
and the wine a sign of the blood he shed on behalf
of sinners like us. And as he broke the bread and
all of us ate from it, I came to know in the love
of these people for me and my family the love that
God showed for us on that cross at Calvary. I
began to know that I was not alone in a cruel and
meaningless world, but that God shares in this
world with me and recreated the world when he
overcame even death by raising Christ from the
dead.
And then the cup was offered, the cup of a new
covenant, a new reconciliation with God, a new
beginning. God's forgiveness that overcomes the
past was made clear to me in this group of
strangers who were joined into a community of
witnesses to that forgiveness. As we shared
together from the cup, the power of that community
revealed to me what had been revealed to you: the
reality of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.
No longer did I need to be convinced, only
directed and led to a deeper fellowship with these
believers and a closer walk with him who leads
them. Like you, I needed more than words. I
needed to know the risen Christ.
Now I know. I'm sorry I couldn't just take
your word for it. There is so much more I have to
tell you, and even more that I need to learn from
you, for you were with him! I do not know when we
may meet again, for now so many miles lie
between us. But today I can honestly write that I
feel closer to you than I did when we lived in the
same village, and I know that we will be together
when he comes again to take us home.
God bless you, my brother. I pray that your
work in India is going well, that you are able to
introduce many to hope in the Lord. Our community
will begin to send you some support to ease your
burdens. Peace be with you.
+++++++++++
Christ said to his disciples that evening, "As the
Father sent me, so I send you."
They had witnessed the resurrection. They saw
that the one who was crucified was once again
alive and on the move. They were witnesses so
that they could witness. They were entrusted to
spread the word, of God's victory.
But they could only do this because of 2 things,
their encounter with the risen Christ
and the power of the holy spirit.
We too are called to be witnesses.
Not street corner preaching, most of us.
Not shoving a Bible under someone's nose.
Not being arrogant to someone in trouble like
we know all the answers.
No. We are called upon to live our faith. To
remember that we are witnesses for the
resurrection in all that we do.
We are called to listen to understand how it
is with those around us. Learn their needs and
respond appropriately.
And when it is an appropriate time to share
some of our faith in words, to simply speak from
our own experience of the risen Lord in a way that
is not rude or judgmental or argumentative; to
speak in such a way that the peace of Christ will
radiate the Good news of God's love and
forgiveness.
We did not receive God's word and assurance
because of our cleverness, or our goodness,
or our religiosity, but we received it in
love, despite our weakness and our sin.
Let us keep that in mind as we pass it on.
But also we are called to be a community of
witnesses.
We are called in our fellowship and
love for one another to be a recreation of the
body of Christ.
We are called as a group to be
the presence of Christ in the world.
Let the presence of the risen Christ be visible
in us and among us as we work and pray together.
Amen.
(John is co-pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Fairport, NY.)
(Comments to johnwmcn@rpa.net)