Second Sunday of Easter (C) 2019

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: John 20:31
Theme: ‘That You May Believe’



Christ is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!


Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

It must have been a long week for Thomas! As far as we know, the entire week passed before the apostles saw their resurrected Lord a second time. Thomas did not have the benefit of the first eye-witness meeting with the risen Jesus. He was skeptical. What the others told him seemed too good to be true. Perhaps they were giddy from grief? Perhaps they’d dreamed a vision of Jesus? Perhaps they were trying to spare his feelings? It didn’t matter. Thomas insisted on seeing the flesh-and-blood Jesus with his own eyes. The Lord was gracious enough to yield to his request. “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”1 Suddenly his confession of faith was resolute.

Thomas doubted, but he was not a deserter. He was not a traitor. He struggled with a truth so inconceivable that even the hard evidence seemed insufficient. We should definitely not be too judgmental. In the encounter between the risen Jesus and the ‘doubting’ Thomas, the relationship between evidence and faith takes center stage. The Bible certainly doesn’t dismiss the importance of empirical evidence. The historical credibility of people, places and events is established by it. In the rational world, seeing is believing. But when it comes to the promises of God, empirical evidence must take second place to faith. Not everything can be explained to the satisfaction of the senses. This is one of the great crises of the past 200 years.

Dear friends, if the existence of God is ruled inadmissible from the start, then another explanation will be sought for every phenomenon regardless of how implausible. It must be. If the sun were to stand still in the sky the atheist would need to account for it by proposing that some intergalactic upheaval had taken place. (It doesn’t remove the possibility that the Holy Spirit could convert the person through such a miracle- insofar as it is predicated on God’s word.)
Miracles are only truly such to believers because they recognize them as acts of God. To the faithless, miracles are inexplicable natural phenomena, but finally they are judgments against unbelief.

Some approach belief in God from a worst-case scenario mindset. It is logical to them. It’s done both by people of good intention and by the hypocritical. The premise goes as follows: If hell is real, if everlasting punishment is true, if eternal separation from God will come to pass for some, is it not safer for me to ‘believe’ in God than not to? The potential liabilities of being on the wrong side of the equation are enormous. Conversely, it seems like a fairly effortless thing to pledge some association with Him. What’s the most it could cost me in this life? Some time? Some resources? A little inconvenience? What’s the worst that could happen in the bigger picture? That I find out it’s all a misguided hope and there is no heaven or hell or life to come? Then we’re all in the same boat anyway. Aren’t we? Therefore, in the interest of safeguarding my well-being, it seems sensible to ‘believe’ in God. Be aware, dear friends, that people aren’t always self-aware that this mentality is their true motivation. Satan is subtle in his manipulations.

You can see, firstly, that this approach is based on ifs. Fear of possibilities, or probabilities, leads one to the position that certain liabilities should be considered. What if this should happen? What if that is true? What if this goes wrong? In our daily affairs this is a wise approach. It is the reason we buy insurance and invest in all sorts of resources to mitigate risk. But what seems reasonable from a logical standpoint doesn’t transfer spiritually. The Holy Spirit doesn’t gift people with conditional faith. There’s no, “I’ll trust God if…,” Or, “I’ll trust God under these circumstances and conditions.” That approach amounts to no real trust at all. So, faith is not a tool to mitigate risk. We can’t make any ‘pre-nuptial’ agreements with God.

These realities aside, the approach is popular. It is appealing to our natural tendencies of self-preservation. Some people pursue it honestly, others duplicitously. Hypocrites use the name of the Lord in derision, calling out God for failing to act when they think He should, or, calling on Him in desperation. When you’re at the end of your rope and all human powers have failed you, why not try your luck with God? Such attempts are futile because they don’t originate from faith. In response the Lord says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”2 God will judge.

Of course, the enterprise will still continue. God’s name, truth, and word will always be manipulated in pursuit of personal gain and fortune. The merchandizing of religious commodities is as old as the trafficking of sex. Some people are always willing to pay for quick fixes and ‘miracle cures’. Someone always wants to bargain with God. But none such efforts will be successful in the end. Christians can have clear consciences when it comes to speaking openly about God’s love and truth. There is nothing secret about it. Therefore, the apostle Paul says, “We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”3



The mission directive for the Christian church is clear: Set forth the truth plainly. The risen Christ greeted the bewildered and incredulous disciples with forgiveness and peace. He authorized them to extend that forgiveness to others. His directive to the apostles is the basis for the Office of the Ministry. Ordained pastors are representing the living Jesus when they say, “On behalf of my Lord Jesus Christ, and by his command, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”4 When Christ gave the apostles this command He also gave them the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit no one can discern that Christ is the Son of God. And the Holy Spirit does not promise to convert anyone without the external word. Without the written and incarnate Word of God no one can discern between the works of God and the works of Satan.

Thomas wanted to touch and see the Risen Lord. That sounds sensible to us. But God gives firmer assurance than our senses can grasp. Right here at His altar is the closest we come in this life to touching the risen Lord. It’s as close as we need to get. When you take His body into your hands and His blood upon your lips the crucified and resurrected God, the one who has saved us from sin’s condemnation and eternal separation called hell, bolsters our faith- a gift of veracity that survives all absences of empirical evidence, both temporary and permanent. In short, there’s more certainty in accessing God where He wishes to be found- in His word and sacraments- than where we’d like to find Him- through the apprehension of the senses. Consider how this chapter of John 20 ends. Firstly, with Jesus saying, “Because you have seen Me you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”5 And then the apostle saying, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”6

Christ is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
+ In nomine Jesu +

Second Sunday of Easter
28 April 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 20:27
2 Matthew 7:21
3 2 Corinthians 4:2
4 LH, p.7
5 John 20:29
6 John 20:30-31