Easter 2: Unity and Facing Into Doubts

Psalm 133:1-3  A Song of Ascents

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!  ² It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.  ³ It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

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Acts 4:32-35 – Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.  ³³ With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.  ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.  ³⁵ They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

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John 20:19-31 – When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”  ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  ³¹ But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

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Happy Easter!! I didn’t get to say that to you last week. Easter continues until Pentecost, so the celebrations continue! I’ve always thought it was cool that the season of Easter is longer than the season of Lent: because in the end, the good news lasts longer than the bad news. Thanks be to God!

Over the next few weeks of this Easter season, our scripture readings will focus on the disciples’ various experiences of Jesus’ resurrection: who saw it, what was said, what it means to us. Our readings for this week have two points of focus: (1) the unity of believers and (2) facing into doubts. These two things may seem unrelated, but they’re not – as the scriptures will show us.

I’d like to start today with Psalm 133 we read a few moments ago. On the surface, it looks like this psalm has absolutely nothing to do with Easter: it was written long before Jesus was born, and it has no prophecy in it that mentions the Messiah; but the theme is Joy – pure, unadulterated, joy that comes from enjoying God’s presence.

Psalm 133 is one of the Psalms of Ascents – that is, one of the psalms that was set to music and was sung while the people of Israel were walking up the hill to Jerusalem to worship in the temple. You may have heard me say this before, but the Temple Mount is very high – over 2400 feet high. Today, driving from the valley to the top of the mountain takes about a half-hour driving at 60-70 mph on a series of switchbacks – because there’s no way that human or machine could go straight up the mountain. Back in Jesus’ day, it would have taken at least a day to walk to the top, and people would sing to keep their spirits up as they were traveling. These songs were called songs of ascents – songs to climb by, you might say.

Songs of ascents were songs of joy because they called to mind what it was like to be close to God, to stand in God’s presence, to lose oneself in the glory and majesty of God. It’s not an experience people had often – not back then, and not today either. But think of the stories that came out of Asbury recently, where people got caught up in God’s presence and didn’t want to leave, and they kept on worshipping for days. That’s the kind of thing these songs brought to mind. I wish we had more experiences like that – in or out of church! – because experiences like this strengthen the soul, and renew the spirit; they’re like a cup of cold water on a hot summer day.

So this psalm is one of the songs of ascents. But this one’s a little bit mysterious. It focuses attention on two things: (1) oil on the beard of Aaron, and (2) dew on the mountain of Hermon – two things that are completely outside of our experience. But they do have a meaning, so hang in there with me.

The psalm starts out:

“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.”

We know from the Old Testament that Aaron was Moses’ nephew and he was the very first High Priest in Israel. When Aaron was anointed to do his job as high priest, there was a very specific recipe for the scented oil that was used to anoint him. (The recipe can be found in the Old Testament.) This recipe was considered holy, and the smell of it was wonderful.

This oil would be poured all over Aaron – his head, his beard, his robes – and the breastplate of his robe included twelve gemstones representing the twelve tribes of Israel, so the oil would get on those too – and all the way down to the hem of his robe. From that time forward, whenever Aaron put on his priestly robes, the smell would remind people of God.

And we know what a powerful thing the sense of smell is! We might walk into a bakery, for example, and smell cookies from a recipe that our mothers used to make, and it will immediately transport us back to the kitchen of the house that we grew up in! Same idea here. One whiff of that oil and it would bring back all the times the people of God spent time in God’s presence.

What’s more, this oil represents the way the Holy Spirit moves and works. Just like on the first Easter Day, when Jesus found the disciples in the locked room, he poured out the Holy Spirit on them. Oil represents the Holy Spirit – which starts with Jesus, the head of the body so to speak, the head of the church – and then flows down over the whole body of believers, every one of us. Jesus’ death and resurrection made this possible. Without Easter there can be no Pentecost. But with Easter, the prophecy of Psalm 133 comes true.

Then the next verse says “It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion.” Totally different concept now. Let me start by sharing with you a modern invention being used over in Israel.  The Holy Land, especially in the south around Jerusalem, is very hot and very dry – so it’s difficult to grow crops there. Today, one of the new things that’s happening in Israel is the practice of capturing dew, and condensing down it to water plants. Check this out. This photo shows one way dew can be captured to water crops. This is literally “causing the desert to bloom” as the prophet Isaiah said.

Of course back in Bible times these things hadn’t been invented yet. So the people watched for what they called the ‘dew of Hermon’. Hermon was (and is) a very tall mountain – over 9000 feet tall – tall enough to have a permanent ice cap. Whenever fog or dew or any moisture passes over Mount Hermon, it condenses – and create puddles and then streams that run down the mountain and water the land below. The “dew of Hermon” was life-giving good news.

As is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. This good news is like water in a dry and thirsty world.

Bottom line: if people are to dwell together in God, and in unity with one another, we need the oil of the Holy Spirit; we need the dew of the Holy Spirit, dropping on us, pouring into our lives, making us like Jesus, reflecting God’s image. The promise of God is that one day, in the power of the Holy Spirit, all the separations in the Body of Christ will be mended, and all God’s people will be united once more.

Then as we turn to the book of Acts, this reading continues talking about Christian unity!  Acts tells us that the believers were “of one heart and soul” and that they “held everything in common”.  This kind of unity was a powerful witness, and the Christian church in the early days grew like a weed. Acts also tells us the disciples – both men and women – shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with anyone who would listen. Furthermore, they sold their land and held the money in common so that all of Jesus’ people were provided for – no exceptions.

This particular form of Christian unity – this financial sharing – didn’t last long, historically speaking. It certainly is not expected of Christians today. Generosity is expected, but not holding goods in common. Most likely, back then, the disciples were expecting Jesus to return fairly soon – and when that didn’t happen, private ownership became the norm again.

Standard Monastery Layout

But I should add that, down through history, there have been communities of believers who do share everything in common. That practice never died out completely: monasteries, extended families, faith communities of various kinds. A lifestyle like this is not for everyone; and not everyone is called to it; but communities like this still are a powerful witness to what the Spirit of God can do. In our time, think of Mother Teresa: she was a member of an order called Missionaries of Charity, whose calling was to minister to the poor.  There’s another group I mentioned a few months ago, called the Iona Community in Scotland, which is an interdenominational ministry focused on worship. There’s another community nearby in Aliquippa called the Community for Celebration which focuses on worship and on justice in the workplace. Actually there are a number of religious orders here in Pittsburgh, from different denominations or from no denomination – including the one right across the street from Spencer UMC! All of these communities bear witness to unity in the Holy Spirit, in a very unique and powerful way.

So when the disciples in the book of Acts started sharing all that they had, that was a powerful witness, and still is today.

All of these things – everything we’ve talked about so far today – were made possible by the events that took place in the upper room as described in the gospel of John. John tells us it was the night of the first Easter day. And the disciples were gathered in the upper room, afraid, with the door locked so nobody could get in. Earlier that day, they had heard Mary say that Jesus was alive, but they hadn’t seen Jesus themselves yet; and they weren’t so sure that what Mary said wasn’t just wishful thinking. Besides, they were still scared the Romans might be looking for yet more victims for their crosses, so they hid.

In this kind of fear and tension, unity would not have lasted long. But it didn’t have to – because Jesus came, and removed all doubts. Jesus walked into the locked room – how, we don’t know, but it gives us a thrilling look at what resurrected life might be like.

This much, though, is sure: Jesus was not a ‘spirit’ or a ghost. He had a real body. The scars from his torture and death were still on it. This must have been very hard for the disciples to see, because so many of them had run away that night, afraid, and they never saw all that happened to the Lord they loved.

But now they see it, and they are shocked and full of sorrow. But Jesus speaks peace. He tells them they are forgiven, and all doubts set aside, and Jesus shares with the disciples the Holy Spirit – like that holy oil running down Aaron’s beard. And Jesus says, “as the Father sent me, now I am sending you.”

I think all of us may feel like Thomas sometimes: the guy who wasn’t there when the big thing happened; the one who didn’t see with his own eyes. We really can’t blame Thomas for wanting to see what the others saw; and in fact he finally did get to see, and to touch, and to know. Jesus doesn’t fault Thomas for wanting to see – in fact Jesus welcomes it. But Jesus also says, “Blessed are those [like you and me] who haven’t seen and still believe.”

By the power of the Holy Spirit, by the power of that oil running down the beard of Aaron, each one of us is called, to be together, to work together, in the power of Jesus’ resurrection – which makes forgiveness possible, and also makes it possible for us to do the work that God has called us to do in this world.

Each one of us has a story – the same way that Thomas had a story – about how God has reached out to us; how Jesus has touched our lives, how we have entered into forever-life with God. Easter is where our story begins. The resurrection of Jesus – and the unity of the believers around us – makes possible the witness we bring to the world. AMEN.

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Blessing, Rejoicing, and Faith

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  ⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  ⁵ who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  ⁶ In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,  ⁷ so that the genuineness of your faith — being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  ⁸ Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,  ⁹ for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. – I Peter 1:3-9

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When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

     ²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

     ²⁶ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”  ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  ³¹ But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. – John 20:19-31

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If I didn’t get the chance to wish you Happy Easter last week – “Happy Easter!”  I hope it was a good one!  I was noticing the other day on the church calendar: the Easter season is a week longer than the season of Lent, which I think is totally appropriate. Let the celebration continue!

Our scripture readings for today give us a lot that’s relatable and a lot to think about. To get a handle on all these things I’d like to propose three common threads – three categories in which to put our thoughts:

1. Blessing – that is, God’s blessing – on all people, on everyone who believes in Jesus, no matter where we’re from and no matter what’s in our past. God gives us rich blessings through Jesus’ death and resurrection! Our reading from I Peter talks about these blessings.
2. Rejoicing – God’s people celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. The Lord we love is not dead. He’s alive! Jesus cannot be held by death. Death has done the very worst that it possibly can – and as far as Jesus is concerned death is dead! We celebrate this because we love Jesus… and because his victory over death also gives us victory over death.
3. Faith – God’s blessings and Jesus’ victory over the grave, taken together, give our lives a foundation of faith, both in this life and the next.

Blessing, rejoicing, and faith – these three things are huge subjects, and I can really only touch on each briefly today, but listen for these three threads in our readings for today and as we continue through the Easter season.

I’ll start with Faith first and our reading from the gospel of John. This is a very familiar story of a man known as “doubting Thomas”. I think Thomas has gotten a bad rap BTW. Thomas wasn’t asking for anything more than the other disciples had already experienced. Thomas wasn’t with the others the first time Jesus showed up after his resurrection; all the other disciples had the chance to touch Jesus and look at the marks of the nails; so when Thomas says, “I’m not going to believe unless I see for myself” – it’s not that he’s doubting Jesus so much as he’d like to share in what the other disciples have already experienced.

~Side note~

There must be something very different about resurrected bodies. In all the resurrection events in the New Testament, Jesus is not immediately recognized even by the people who knew him best. Mary, in the garden on Easter morning, mistook him for the gardener. The disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Jesus until he broke the bread. When the disciples met Jesus in Galilee they didn’t recognize him right away. Something about Jesus’ resurrected body was different. His body still had the scars from the nails; but Jesus was also able to walk into locked rooms without opening the door. His resurrection body was not the typical human body!

Speaking as a lifelong science fiction fan, my imagination is tempted to have a field day with this. Imagine the possibilities! But bringing it down to reality, there is definitely something different… something… not entirely of Earth… about Jesus’ resurrection body: which is as it should be, since Jesus has passed through death and into eternal life.

Jesus says in John 12:24 “unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Those of us who have been planting gardens in this beautiful spring weather understand that. The seed that is planted doesn’t look at all like the plant that grows. The human bodies that we see and live in – in a lot of ways – are like seeds; and what Jesus has become is the plant that grows from the seed. And we will share this future someday.

~end of side note~

Back to Thomas. The apostle Paul once said, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  It’s interesting that Paul does not say “faith comes by seeing.” (I’m told it’s much easier to deceive the eye than the ear.)

And yet, like Thomas, we would love to see with our own eyes. Is this wrong? I don’t think so. Where it comes to Jesus I think it helps to have as many of our senses involved as possible. On the other hand, Jesus says, “blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe.” This is a word of comfort and encouragement to all of us who have never had the opportunity to see Jesus with our own eyes or touch him with our own hands. In this life we walk by faith, and not by sight.

We turn next to Blessing. In case any of us has any doubt: God wants to bless us. Psalm 115 verse 12 says, “The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us.” Verse 18 of the same Psalm says, “we will bless the Lord”. That’s a cool thought isn’t it, that we have the ability to bless God? The blessing goes back and forth: we bless God, God blesses us, in a relationship that goes on for eternity.

God blesses us in so many ways we’d be here all day (at least) if we tried to name them all; so just to name a few: God blesses us with peace. Jesus greets the disciples with the words “peace be with you”. God speaks calm and assurance into the hearts of disciples whose lives were shattered just a few days ago.

God also gives us new avenues of ministry. Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any they are retained.” What an incredible responsibility God has given us! And since this is true, how very much we need to be guided by the Holy Spirit as we forgive and as we live out our lives!

Jesus’ resurrection makes it possible for us to know Jesus personally even without having met face-to-face, in the power of the Holy Spirit. We’ll talk more about the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. For now, we remember that without Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit would never have been available to us. It is Jesus’ dying and rising again that allows the Spirit to be given to God’s people.

And last but not least there’s Rejoicing. At this point I turn our attention to the reading from First Peter. This passage has a special place in my heart. It’s a passage we don’t hear often, which is too bad. In this reading Peter explains exactly what salvation is, and why we sometimes pass through dangers and difficulties in this life. His words lead us to rejoicing.

In this letter, Peter is writing to the early Christian church, which has just begun to suffer persecution. The first few years of Christianity were fairly peaceful; but when the faith spread beyond Judea, and Roman citizens began converting in large numbers, Rome took notice… and since emperor-worship was the order of the day in Rome, they were not happy about this new religious movement. The persecutions began.

Peter is writing to encourage Christian believers who are being persecuted, and his thoughts are amazingly relevant for us where we live – not so much under persecution, but in dark and violent times.

Peter starts out by saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”  Peter can praise God even in dark times because he believes in an Easter Savior – a Savior who cannot be defeated by evil, in this world or any other. Peter says:

“…God has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

Jesus’ death and resurrection give us what Peter calls an “inheritance” – which is the right word to use for something we receive as a result of someone’s death. However this inheritance is not money or things, and it can’t be taxed (thank God). This inheritance is imperishable (it can’t be destroyed), it is undefiled (no dirt or rust on it) and unfading (it shines like the sun). All of this barely begins to describe our heavenly home in God’s kingdom. Imagine the celebration and rejoicing on that great day when we’re all home at last!

Peter says we are born again to a “living hope” – the knowledge that our sins are forgiven, and eternal life begins now and lasts forever. All this is being guarded and kept safe by God himself.

Peter says the rejoicing has starting already! Even though the world around us grows more difficult and dangerous, even though our beliefs may be ridiculed, even though we may be in danger sometimes, Peter says any trials we go through in life purify our faith the way that fire purifies metal.

We here in the Steel City, we understand about fire and metal. We know that it takes a very hot furnace to purify steel, to burn away its imperfections; but we also know how strong steel is once it’s been heat-treated. Peter says that’s what happens to our faith as we pass through tough times: our faith is being strengthened and tested in order to make us strong as steel, to bring us praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus is revealed.

There is a great day coming: a day when we will rejoice in Jesus’ return, and Jesus will rejoice in all that has been created in us.  Peter sums it up this way:

“We rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy…  ⁹ for we are receiving the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls.”

Without Easter, this rejoicing would never happen; but by the power of the resurrection, it’s a sure thing.

In the middle of all of life’s trials, we can trust Jesus and follow Him.  The joy the Holy Spirit gives, joy that is “filled with glory”, reassures us that we belong to God.  In this confidence we can face all of life’s trials.

On this second week of Easter, by the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection: blessing, rejoicing, and faith are given to us, in Jesus’ name, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let the Easter celebrations continue! AMEN.

Preached at Carnegie United Methodist Church and Hill Top United Methodist Church, 4/16/23

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A Unity of Eyewitnesses

(Scripture readings are included in full at the end of the message.)

It’s kind of unusual to read all four lectionary readings in one go, but our four lectionary readings for today shed light on each other, enhance each other, and speak to each other, so I didn’t want to leave any one of them out.

Since we have so many passages, to help us organize our thinking, I’d like to highlight two things as we look at these passages: (1) the unity of believers; and (2) the disciples’ very real, in-the-flesh eyewitness to the resurrected Jesus.

Starting off with Psalm 133, the psalmist writes: “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like… oil on the head, running down… on the beard of Aaron, running over the collar of his robes.”

Oil in the Old Testament represented God’s anointing, and God’s blessing. And unity is a rich blessing from God.

Today we live in a nation that is deeply divided. And we worship in a church that is deeply divided, and which would be true no matter what church or denomination we were sitting in this morning. We so rarely witness Christian unity, when we do, it stands out. For me it was around 35 years ago, and I remember thinking to myself in that moment, “take a mental snapshot of this – use your mind like a camera (this is in the days before cell phones) because it’s not going to last long and you’re going to want to remember it.” And I was right – it didn’t last long. Not because people started fighting with each other but because people moved, were transferred, retired… within two or three years most of the group was gone.

There have been other experiences of unity since then, smaller ones, and I hope that’s true for you too. I hope we can all say together, from experience, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity.”

The apostle Luke, in our reading from Acts, echoes this sentiment. He says: “the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul… everything they owned was held in common… and great grace was upon them all…”  This passage is often mistakenly interpreted to mean the early church was a sort of Christian commune, sharing all things together, but that’s not what the original Greek implies. What it implies is that the people in the early church provided for each other as needs arose – sometimes selling possessions or land in order to meet the needs of others. So no follower of Jesus went hungry. No follower of Jesus went without medicine. Everyone saw to it that needs were met. And their neighbors noticed, and they wanted to be part of this. Witnessing the unity of the believers, who were one in heart and soul attracted people to the faith.

And the unity of believers in the early church had its foundation in witnessing Jesus alive after the crucifixion. They all saw with their own eyes, and touched with their own hands, the prints of the nails and the scar from the Roman spear in Jesus’ side. They had seen him die, and they saw him alive after he’d been buried. They talked with him, ate with him, and spent time with him. Most members of the early church died a martyr’s death rather than deny that they had seen him alive.

You and I, of course, only have their word to go on. None of us have seen Jesus in the flesh. But I trust that those hundreds of early disciples would not have been willing to give their lives for a lie. I believe Jesus walked out of the grave alive, because they believed it. They stayed together even to death.

With this in mind, we now look at the story of “Doubting Thomas”. The Sunday after Good Friday, the disciples were together, and they were hiding inside a locked room, being afraid of the people who had killed Jesus, and then Jesus walked right through a locked door and said, “Peace be with you.” I would love to know more about this walking through locked doors… but for now, we focus on the fact that Jesus showed the disciples the scars in his hands and side. And the disciples were able to touch them and see that they were real.

But Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, wasn’t there that day. He missed it. The other disciples told him “Jesus is alive” and Thomas says, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in his side, I will not believe it.”

Thomas has taken a lot of flack over the years for saying this. But when we look at what Thomas is saying, he’s not asking to see anything more than the other disciples had seen, or do anything more than the other disciples had done. And Jesus doesn’t criticize Thomas for this. The next time the disciples are all together, Thomas is there, and he sees the scars in Jesus’ hands, and he puts his hand in Jesus’ side, and he declares “My Lord and my God!”

And Jesus remarks: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Why? Because Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of Christian unity.  It is the ground on which all of us stand. And John adds: “these things are written so that you (that is, us) may believe that Jesus is the Messiah… and through believing have life in his name.”

John defines the message which all Christians are given to share. He also defines the evangelistic challenge we all face, which is: how do we communicate the reality of Jesus’ resurrection to people who have not been eyewitnesses?

In these passages, Christian unity – the community of faith – bears witness to God’s truth and Jesus’ resurrection.

So does this mean that we as Christians always have to agree with each other, in order to bear witness to the world? No. Does it mean we have to do the things the same way or live the same way? No.

300 years ago John Wesley took up that question in a sermon he preached called On a Catholic Spirit. (By ‘catholic’ he means it the way we mean it in the Creed – in the sense of ‘the whole church’, not in the sense of Roman Catholic). The sermon On a Catholic Spirit can be found on the internet, and I recommend it, even though Wesley’s old-fashioned English makes for slow reading. But translating his core thought into modern English basically what he said is this:

First off, (1) all people are unaware of many things – that is, there’s a lot we don’t know; and (2) all people are mistaken about some things, that is, none of us is perfect. So Wesley’s question to people is always this: “Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?” In other words, if you love and believe God, as I do, then you and I stand together – no matter what any other differences may be. Wesley says:

“Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?” And he goes on to say: “I will not ask, therefore, questions like, Do you belong to my church? Do you have the same form of church government? Do pray the same way? […] (Wesley says) My only question to you is, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?”” – do we love and believe God?

With this in mind, we turn now to John’s epistle. John says to those reading his letter:

The things we share with you are things “we have looked at and touched with our hands” – and we are writing this to you, “so that our joy may be complete” – that is, so that you may become one with us and we may all know the same joy. John continues:

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness… if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.”

Furthermore, “the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.”  This is why the Cross was necessary. John says Jesus is “the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Jesus is alive – death and sin couldn’t hold him – and he is the one who invites us to see his scars.

The challenge, back then and today, is how to share this good news with others: how to tell people that Jesus died and walked out of the grave alive? How to tell people this isn’t a fable, that men and women (including Thomas) have seen him alive and touched his scars? How do we share this unlikely story with people who doubt it, or who have never heard it?

The solution to the challenge is our unity: being of one heart and soul; showing the world a better way. If the message of Jesus is true – if, as our creed says, Jesus is the one and only unique son of God, who was crucified, died and was buried, and who rose again on the third day in fulfillment of the scriptures, then the Spirit of God who made this miracle happen will also bring about the miracle of Christian unity.

John Wesley asked, “May we not be of one heart, even if we are not of one opinion?” And Wesley’s answer to that question in daily life was the founding of the Methodist Church: a church known through its history for generosity, for members who minister to the poor and the sick and the suffering, and for willingness to study together and serve together. Being of one heart, even if we’re not of one opinion – through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection – shows the world something new and different. People notice.

May God make us one in our witness in our day, as John Wesley was in his day, and as the apostle John was in his day. AMEN.

Preached at Fairhaven United Methodist Church and Spencer United Methodist Church, 4/11/21

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Psalm 133:1-3  A Song of Ascents

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!  ² It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.  ³ It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

 Acts 4:32-35

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.  ³³ With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.  ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.  ³⁵ They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

1 John 1:1 – 2:2

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life–  ² this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us–  ³ we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.  ⁴ We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.  ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;  ⁷ but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  ⁹ If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;  ² and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”  ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  ³¹ But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

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