Ezekiel 37:1-14/1 John 5:4-10/St John 20:19-31
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The first mistake that St Thomas made was not being gathered together with the other disciples; whatever his reasons may have been for not being there. His sinful doubts and fears and unbelief are not relieved but fostered and exacerbated by his absence from that fellowship of the Church. He does not see the Body of Christ on the First Day of the week because he is not gathered with the Body of Christ in the company of his brothers.
He is there on the Eighth Day, however, on the Octave of the Resurrection, the Second Sunday of Easter - which is today - because of the confession and witness of the other disciples who had seen the Lord. In this they begin to serve their Office and vocation as holy apostles of Christ Jesus.
So also should you seek out your brothers and sisters in Christ, fellow sons and daughters of the King, when they have been missing from the Divine Service. Search them out and confess and testify to them what He says and does for you here in the fellowship of His Body, the Church. Encourage them to come with you, to be here with the disciples of the Lord Jesus, even, or especially if they are struggling with doubts and fears and uncertainty. Even though they may be weary, weak, and wounded in heart and mind, in body and soul. Invite them and encourage them to come. Bring them along with you. It is as simple as St Philip to St Nathanael, Come and see.
For the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is precisely the place for the weary, the weak, and the wounded, for those who are hurting, doubtful, and afraid.
It is the place for you, no matter what your wounds may be that might not even heal in this life on earth. No matter the scars you bear on the inside or outside. The Body of Christ is where you belong, regardless of your personality and precisely because of your pain and skeptical sadness.
The wounded Body of Christ is the place for you. Reach here with your finger and your hand, to see and touch and feel and handle His holy wounds, to trace His sacred scars. For He has been wounded in His love for you and for all, in order to love the weary, the weak, and wounded with His sacrificial flesh and blood.
St Thomas had that part right, even in the depths of his doubts, depression, despair and unbelief. He looked for the Lamb who was slain. He knew that the real Lord Jesus is the Crucified One - and that remains so, even in His Resurrection. His glorified Body bears the scars of His Cross, because His Body has been glorified by the wounds He has suffered in love for us poor, miserable sinners. He is recognized not in spite of His wounds, but especially by His wounds. Indeed He is recognized in His wounds. He is not only Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, He is your Lord and your God, your Savior and Redeemer.
It is remarkable how visual the Gospel of St John is. We are constantly told, Look! Behold the Lamb of God. Come and see. You will see. We testify to what we have seen. The one who saw bears witness and his testimony is true. No one has ever seen God; the begotten God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known. If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. Unless I see. Jesus is recognized by His wounds. His disciples are at peace when they see His wounds. St Thomas longed to see His wounds.
So where do you see and touch those wounds of Christ in His Body?
First of all, you reach out and lay hold of them in His means of grace. He primarily approaches you by the preaching of His Gospel, which is the preaching of His Cross and His Resurrection, the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of all your sins in His Name. That preaching breathes life into your body, through your ears, by the Holy Spirit of Christ, who is the Lord and Giver of Life. He comes by way of the Word.
For Christ Jesus who received the Holy Spirit in His Baptism, yielded Him up, that is, handed over the Spirit in His Crucifixion, only to be raised by the power of the Holy Spirit in His Resurrection. Unto whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given, even Christ Jesus, now comes and breathes His Spirit in His Word read and preached which raises your weak and weary body from the dust of the earth unto life everlasting.
Secondly, the preaching of His Cross also brings you to His Baptism, whether to be baptized in the first place, if you have not been, or to return you to the significance of your one Holy Baptism in which He has drowned your old Adam in that death-dealing and life-giving flood. He has brought you through the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River, out of Egypt into the safety, peace, and rest in the Holy Ark of His Church, which is even His own Body.
For the side of the Ark of Christ was opened for you, as is was for Noah and his family, by which they entered and were rescued from the damning flood. So it is for you. The side of Christ was opened and out flowed water by which you are washed clean, birthed from the womb of the font, given life as newborn infants, longing for the pure spiritual milk of the Word.
Thus do you also, through Holy Baptism, enter into Christ Jesus, dying with Him and rising with Him in His Body, and thereby having fellowship with Him together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And in the on-going significance of your Baptism, through daily contrition and repentance, you are daily united with the crucified and risen Lord Jesus.
And by way of His Holy Absolution does He raise up your dead, dusty bones by His Spirit-breathed Word of forgiveness. For this reason does He send His Apostles, St Thomas and the Twelve, all Ministers of His flock, the Church, to forgive and retain sins, to comfort weak consciences, to heal wounds hearts and minds, to bind up the sinful and broken with the salve of His Gospel. Thus you can be certain that the forgiveness of sins spoken to you through the mouth of your Pastor, a called and ordained servant of Christ, is as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ, your dear crucified and risen Lord, dealt with you Himself.
For by your Baptism into Him, by the Catechesis of His Word, He has made you His disciple. You are a member of His Body, a sheep of His green pastures. So it is that you belong in this place where His disciples are gathered. Where the crucified and risen Lord Jesus comes into your midst and invites you to behold His wounds.
For not only have you entered His wounds through Holy Baptism and receive His life-giving Spirit in the Word of Absolution, you are given to feast upon His wounded Body here in the Holy Communion for the forgiveness of all your sins. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation. For this is how He kindly and graciously deals with you, even as He did for St Thomas, to see His hands and His side. And with His own flesh and blood, the fruits of His sacrifice, He enters into your wounded body to dwell with you and abide with you in peace, in order that He may strengthen your faith toward God your Father and grow in fervent love for one another.
Therefore do not be afraid to care for those who are weary and weak and wounded, those for whom Christ Jesus, your Lord and your God, has been wounded and scarred in love. Love your neighbor, your brothers and sisters in Christ, as He loves you in both body and soul. For in doing it unto the least of His brothers, you have done it unto Him. In them you are given to see Christ Jesus and serve them in love.
For it is true, you have not yet seen the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. But His Apostles have seen Him. They eye witnessed His Baptism, His life and ministry, His preaching and miracles, His Cross and Resurrection and Ascension. And as they have seen and heard and touched and handled the Word made Flesh, so by their confession of His Word are you blessed by His grace, to believe in Him, sight unseen, hidden under the Cross, and revealed not yet in power, but in His wounds.
Here within His Church, as a member of His Body, you taste and see by faith the Glory of the Lord by His Word and in His flesh and blood. You see the bread and win, which by His Word are His Body given and His Blood poured out for the forgiveness of all your sins. You hear His Gospel of forgiveness. You touch and handle, eat and drink His wounded Body, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, risen from the dead and glorified. He is here with you and for you, that you should also be with Him where He is.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The first mistake that St Thomas made was not being gathered together with the other disciples; whatever his reasons may have been for not being there. His sinful doubts and fears and unbelief are not relieved but fostered and exacerbated by his absence from that fellowship of the Church. He does not see the Body of Christ on the First Day of the week because he is not gathered with the Body of Christ in the company of his brothers.
He is there on the Eighth Day, however, on the Octave of the Resurrection, the Second Sunday of Easter - which is today - because of the confession and witness of the other disciples who had seen the Lord. In this they begin to serve their Office and vocation as holy apostles of Christ Jesus.
So also should you seek out your brothers and sisters in Christ, fellow sons and daughters of the King, when they have been missing from the Divine Service. Search them out and confess and testify to them what He says and does for you here in the fellowship of His Body, the Church. Encourage them to come with you, to be here with the disciples of the Lord Jesus, even, or especially if they are struggling with doubts and fears and uncertainty. Even though they may be weary, weak, and wounded in heart and mind, in body and soul. Invite them and encourage them to come. Bring them along with you. It is as simple as St Philip to St Nathanael, Come and see.
For the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is precisely the place for the weary, the weak, and the wounded, for those who are hurting, doubtful, and afraid.
It is the place for you, no matter what your wounds may be that might not even heal in this life on earth. No matter the scars you bear on the inside or outside. The Body of Christ is where you belong, regardless of your personality and precisely because of your pain and skeptical sadness.
The wounded Body of Christ is the place for you. Reach here with your finger and your hand, to see and touch and feel and handle His holy wounds, to trace His sacred scars. For He has been wounded in His love for you and for all, in order to love the weary, the weak, and wounded with His sacrificial flesh and blood.
St Thomas had that part right, even in the depths of his doubts, depression, despair and unbelief. He looked for the Lamb who was slain. He knew that the real Lord Jesus is the Crucified One - and that remains so, even in His Resurrection. His glorified Body bears the scars of His Cross, because His Body has been glorified by the wounds He has suffered in love for us poor, miserable sinners. He is recognized not in spite of His wounds, but especially by His wounds. Indeed He is recognized in His wounds. He is not only Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, He is your Lord and your God, your Savior and Redeemer.
It is remarkable how visual the Gospel of St John is. We are constantly told, Look! Behold the Lamb of God. Come and see. You will see. We testify to what we have seen. The one who saw bears witness and his testimony is true. No one has ever seen God; the begotten God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known. If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. Unless I see. Jesus is recognized by His wounds. His disciples are at peace when they see His wounds. St Thomas longed to see His wounds.
So where do you see and touch those wounds of Christ in His Body?
First of all, you reach out and lay hold of them in His means of grace. He primarily approaches you by the preaching of His Gospel, which is the preaching of His Cross and His Resurrection, the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of all your sins in His Name. That preaching breathes life into your body, through your ears, by the Holy Spirit of Christ, who is the Lord and Giver of Life. He comes by way of the Word.
For Christ Jesus who received the Holy Spirit in His Baptism, yielded Him up, that is, handed over the Spirit in His Crucifixion, only to be raised by the power of the Holy Spirit in His Resurrection. Unto whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given, even Christ Jesus, now comes and breathes His Spirit in His Word read and preached which raises your weak and weary body from the dust of the earth unto life everlasting.
Secondly, the preaching of His Cross also brings you to His Baptism, whether to be baptized in the first place, if you have not been, or to return you to the significance of your one Holy Baptism in which He has drowned your old Adam in that death-dealing and life-giving flood. He has brought you through the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River, out of Egypt into the safety, peace, and rest in the Holy Ark of His Church, which is even His own Body.
For the side of the Ark of Christ was opened for you, as is was for Noah and his family, by which they entered and were rescued from the damning flood. So it is for you. The side of Christ was opened and out flowed water by which you are washed clean, birthed from the womb of the font, given life as newborn infants, longing for the pure spiritual milk of the Word.
Thus do you also, through Holy Baptism, enter into Christ Jesus, dying with Him and rising with Him in His Body, and thereby having fellowship with Him together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And in the on-going significance of your Baptism, through daily contrition and repentance, you are daily united with the crucified and risen Lord Jesus.
And by way of His Holy Absolution does He raise up your dead, dusty bones by His Spirit-breathed Word of forgiveness. For this reason does He send His Apostles, St Thomas and the Twelve, all Ministers of His flock, the Church, to forgive and retain sins, to comfort weak consciences, to heal wounds hearts and minds, to bind up the sinful and broken with the salve of His Gospel. Thus you can be certain that the forgiveness of sins spoken to you through the mouth of your Pastor, a called and ordained servant of Christ, is as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ, your dear crucified and risen Lord, dealt with you Himself.
For by your Baptism into Him, by the Catechesis of His Word, He has made you His disciple. You are a member of His Body, a sheep of His green pastures. So it is that you belong in this place where His disciples are gathered. Where the crucified and risen Lord Jesus comes into your midst and invites you to behold His wounds.
For not only have you entered His wounds through Holy Baptism and receive His life-giving Spirit in the Word of Absolution, you are given to feast upon His wounded Body here in the Holy Communion for the forgiveness of all your sins. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation. For this is how He kindly and graciously deals with you, even as He did for St Thomas, to see His hands and His side. And with His own flesh and blood, the fruits of His sacrifice, He enters into your wounded body to dwell with you and abide with you in peace, in order that He may strengthen your faith toward God your Father and grow in fervent love for one another.
Therefore do not be afraid to care for those who are weary and weak and wounded, those for whom Christ Jesus, your Lord and your God, has been wounded and scarred in love. Love your neighbor, your brothers and sisters in Christ, as He loves you in both body and soul. For in doing it unto the least of His brothers, you have done it unto Him. In them you are given to see Christ Jesus and serve them in love.
For it is true, you have not yet seen the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. But His Apostles have seen Him. They eye witnessed His Baptism, His life and ministry, His preaching and miracles, His Cross and Resurrection and Ascension. And as they have seen and heard and touched and handled the Word made Flesh, so by their confession of His Word are you blessed by His grace, to believe in Him, sight unseen, hidden under the Cross, and revealed not yet in power, but in His wounds.
Here within His Church, as a member of His Body, you taste and see by faith the Glory of the Lord by His Word and in His flesh and blood. You see the bread and win, which by His Word are His Body given and His Blood poured out for the forgiveness of all your sins. You hear His Gospel of forgiveness. You touch and handle, eat and drink His wounded Body, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, risen from the dead and glorified. He is here with you and for you, that you should also be with Him where He is.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
RSS Feed