Second Sunday of Easter
April 27, 2014- Pastor Adam Moline
Acts
5:29-42, 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31
Hymns
– LSB 470:1-4, 941, 470:1-9 Communion – LSB
473
Christ is
risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia.
Amen. Our text today is from the
epistle lesson just read, especially these words, “According to his great
mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Thus far
our text.
Dear friends in
Christ. We are, according to St. Peter
in our text, grieved by various trials in this world. Trials that put our very faith to the test
with their harshness. At times, he
writes, we feel like we are metal in the smelting furnace. Heated up and tested by the fires of this
world and life. And as a result,
sometimes we feel that we are burned by the world.
Whether it be
sickness, or weakness. Guilt or
shame. Sin and vice, adultery, theft,
murder, or gossip. We face challenges,
so often brought about by our own actions and thoughts. Yes, we are sinners. And as sinners we struggle on this earth.
And when faced
with struggles, I mean huge, big struggles, we so often wonder if God is really
there or not? In fact, in times of
trouble, we are filled with doubt about God’s existence. We are just like Thomas in our text today. When Jesus appeared to be dead, when he faced
his own arrest, when his own skin was on the line, Thomas ran away. And even when confronted with the word of
promise, he doubted its veracity. “I
won’t believe, unless I see,” He cried.
And now 2000 years later, we even call him Doubting Thomas.
You do the same
thing. All the time. When your family member passes away
unexpectedly, you doubt. When your loved
one slowly grows weaker with sickness, you are unsure. When your own life appears to be in tatters,
you wonder “Can there really be a god out there, or am I alone in this
world?” In fact, dear friends, I bet
there have been a few times in your life when you were grieved by various
trials, that you have just thrown your hands in the air and said, “There must
not be a god, and even if there were, how could he have let this happen to
me?”
Dear friends, the
terrible events of this world happen because we are all sinners, because we
have all turned our back on God. We have
all doubted because our sin makes things seem impossible sometimes. We like sinful Thomas, and even the other
sinful disciples, have wondered if there really is a god at all, or if our hope
is in vain.
But our hope is
not in vain. Even though we are tested
by various trials in this world, God has caused us to be born again to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus has risen, so that we might know that
even in the most difficult of situations, we have a hope that nothing in this
sinful world can conquer. Even though we
are being killed and tortured all the day long, Jesus is victorious, and we
will share in his victory with Him. We
are tested, but in our testing, we are found to be pure in the blood of Christ,
we are found to be more valuable to God than any treasure on earth. We are his prized possession won by his death
and resurrection.
You see, there is
a God, a God who wants to be with you at all times in all places, despite your
sinful desire for the opposite. He
desires to be with you so much that he went to that old rugged cross. He suffered, he died, and he rose on
Easter. But he didn’t just disappear
after that. He went to show his
disciples that he wasn’t still dead. He
went to Doubting Thomas and said, “See, touch and believe!” And Thomas did. He said, “Blessed are those, meaning you and
me, who have not seen and yet still believe.
And he also comes
to you and me, no not in the same way to Thomas and the disciples, but he
instead he comes to us in with and under bread and wine, where we see and
partake in the true risen and living body and blood of Jesus to forgive our
sins. He comes to us in water and the
word to forgive us all our sins, and make us his brothers and sisters forever,
no matter what the world might throw our way.
He is with us in his word, which proclaims the very real and verifiable
truth about his resurrection.
And dear friends,
he is here for you in compassion as you care for one another. When you visit someone who is sick and
doubting, Jesus is working through you.
When you make a meal for someone in need, Jesus is working through you
to feed that person. And the same is
true as well for you. Christ cares for
you also in the vocations of your friends and family. When your Christian brother or sister gives
you a hug at the funeral of your loved one, Jesus is comforting you through
them. When you hear the words “Christ is
risen” proclaimed, Jesus is reminding you of the reality that he has risen.
And one day, dear
friends, one day you too will see Jesus face to face, just as Thomas did. He will raise you and all the dead, and give
eternal life to you and all believers.
He will say to you, see and believe, well done good and faithful
servants. He has promised so. Though you have not seen him, you love
him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with
joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the
outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Amen.
