Sermon

Hear O Israel

By Jared Warner

Willow Creek Friends Church

May 12, 2019

Click to watch Video

John 10:22–30 (ESV)

I and the Father Are One

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

Whenever I read a passage of scripture, I find it fascinating. At times the fascination is something within the passage that I have not noticed before. At other times I am fascinated because God showed me something that either I have overlooked or those that taught me have overlooked for decades. Then there are the times I just sit and imagine the scene that is set there, and I just get caught up in it.

Today we meet Jesus in Jerusalem, this is before his trial and the days leading up to that. This is in the winter. The past few weeks during our Wednesday bible study we have been discussing a series called The Rock, the Road and the Rabbi, this series is by Kathie Lee Gifford and Rabbi Jason Sobel. While listening and discussing this series we have engaged some things that we do not normally encounter, simply because we are not Jewish. Rabbi Sobel is a Messianic Jew, he grew up in a Jewish family and he knows the traditions and history behind the various travels of Jesus. In the first session we started with the birth of Christ, so there was a discussion over the actual day of Christmas. To be honest I am no closer to knowing the actual day Jesus was born than I was before, but in the course of that discussion Hanukah was mentioned.

While I was growing up, we did not discuss Hanukah, and when it was mentioned I was told its Jewish Christmas. For a while I accepted this and did not think anything about it, because as far as I knew it was not mentioned in scripture. Well it is mentioned, and today’s passage tells us that Jesus celebrated Hanukah, because it is a celebration and feast in remembrance to the rededication of the temple of God. The actual rededication of the temple is not mentioned in our bibles, but it can be found in first and second Maccabees, which is one of the books of the Apocrypha. The celebration is in remembrance of the miracle where the sacred oil that should have only lasted one day lasted long enough for the blessing of more oil. This is a simplified explanation, but the reason this is important was because after the rebuilding of the temple the Hellenistic overlords after the campaigns and death of Alexander the Great, wanted to force the Jewish people to submit. And they decided that to do this all Gods should be worshiped in the temple. They brought a swine into the temple and offered it as a sacrifice on the alter. This was called the abomination that causes desolation. This act rendered the temple unholy, so from that moment on the Jewish people whose faith revolved around the temple could not be assured of God’s favor. But some priests in saved some oil and were able to get that sanctified oil safely out of the temple so that it was not desecrated with the rest of the temple. This oil was to be used in the sacred lampstand, the menorah, which represented the eternal light of God present in that place. There was not enough oil to keep the lamp burning for the time required to rededicate and purify the temple, but the priest decided they would act in faith and proceed with the dedication, trusting that God would provide. God did provide, and this dedication of the temple inspired the nation to fight for their independence which they won.

Jesus celebrated this feast, the feast of dedication. He celebrated this feast at that very temple. I encourage you all to look into the celebration of Hanukah it is a beautiful celebration, one that lasts eight days. I encourage this because there is something of value to it. The light burned for the necessary time because God provided. In the darkest days, when hope was nearly extinguished the light remained.

Light is a powerful symbol. In most traditions of faith there is a place for light and fire. Even our own tradition which strips away most meaning from physical symbols, uses the mysterious term inner light. Light represented the presence of God, it represents knowledge and wisdom, that we are not alone. In our world of electric lights, we do not quite grasp the fear of the dark that many in the ancient world had. We do not understand because it is rarely dark now. We have night lights in the rooms of children so they can see the path to their parents’ room. We can yell at Alexia or Google and our smart light fixtures will turn on and if we are tech savvy, we can program music and our thermostat to adjust along with it. But in those ancient days the only light that they would have would come from a small oil lamp. That single flicker of light in the darkness, is enough to calm a startled heart. Light is powerful.

Jesus is at the temple celebrating the feast of dedication. He is walking among the people that winter day, looking at the temple, which is larger than an NFL Football Stadium, walking around in the complex that can surrounds it. And we are told he is walking in the colonnade of Solomon. The temple itself was built to the exact dimensions recorded in scripture, but when Herod renovated the complex, he extended the court of the gentiles to the west. The eastern wall where Solomon’s porch was located remained in the same position that the eastern wall had always been. Jesus walked along this area. This covered area that was originally built for the king to enter the temple grounds without facing the elements. Some believe that this portion of the temple complex was the only remaining remnant of the original temple. When the temple was rebuilt and remodeled, they surrounded the entire complex with these covered walkways, and within these porches or colonnades the various teachers would teach. I do not know if there is any special significance to this colonnade, but we do know that it became the place of meeting for the early church prior to the destruction of the temple.

Jesus is walking to the temple during the feast of dedication, he is walking in the Colonnade of Solomon the king of Israel known for his great wisdom. He is walking the pathway the kings of Israel would have walked into the temple, and he is walking among the Jewish teachers and those wishing to gain God’s holy wisdom. The image this first couple of verses has is astounding. He is walking and those around begin to ask questions. “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ tell us plainly.” They say. I want us to just sit with this image in our mind. The Jerusalem temple complex is probably the greatest religious complex ever built by mankind. The greatest scholars gather in these colonnades every day to teach those that want to learn, daily. And on that day, a day dedicated to celebrating the temple Jesus is asked of these things, while he walk through the porch the kings once walked.

“Are you the one?” they ask, “will you just tell us plainly.” Jesus responds, “I told you and you didn’t believe, I showed you and you did not believe.” Imagine hearing this. Did they miss something? Jesus then goes on, “You do not believe because you are not among my sheep.”

These people are not common people out in the Galilean countryside, they are the ones at the temple. These are the devoted faithful members of society. These are the religious elites, and Jesus looks at them and said you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. Jesus is telling them straight up that if he is the messiah, they are walking the wrong path. If he is the Christ, then they are following the wrong shepherd. If he is the one, they claim to be looking for then they are looking in the wrong place, because his teaching and his lifestyle should show them exactly what they need to know. His sheep know his voice.

As I considered this passage this week, I thought a great deal about Hanukah and the significance of that celebration. I thought about the temple and the words that Jesus spoke, and I thought about my mom, because it is Mother’s Day. And then I thought why on earth did the lectionary put a Hanukah passage during Mother’s Day. I thought maybe I would teach on one of the other passages, but the Acts passage in the lectionary is about a lady dying and I really did not want to talk about that either. But I got to thinking the relationships we celebrate this day. I know that for some of us our relationship with our mother may have been stained. I know that for many of us our mothers are no longer with us. For some of us we had wonderful mothers and they live far away. I know some of us have not been blessed to be mothers, and others might like some time off from that blessing. But there is a unique relationship the feminine aspect of humanity brings to us that should be celebrated. One that often resembles a flickering light at night.

Jesus told them that his sheep hear his voice, that he knows them, and they follow. There is a security in that voice, a peace. Just last evening Albert tripped while playing and scrapped his arm along some bricks. He came running into the house looking for only one person, mom. He sat with mom and cried. There are those people we go to when we are hurting, when we are scared, or do not know what to do next. They are safe and provide reassurance like no one else can. That first person is often mom. I am a lucky one, because my mom was and is that safe place. I know I can tell my mom anything and she will listen and encourage. Now that I am an adult, she does not always have advice to give because my course in life is different than the course my parents took, but she listens, and she encourages. And I know she wishes her son would let her listen more, but I just do not talk much. My mom is encouraging to me because she points me back to Christ.

Twenty years ago, I was a scared kid with a secret. I sat in my bed not knowing what to do, I thought I had brought shame upon my family. I came to my mom confessing that I had gotten my girlfriend pregnant. That day was the hardest day of my life, but I could not sleep until I told my mom. My mom’s reaction that day has more to do with why I am standing here than anything else. She did not yell, she did not scream, she did not belittle or condemn me at that moment. She looked in my eyes and she saw the fear and she cried with me and gave me a hug. She loved me even though I felt as if I should be rejected. She brought me in she made sure I knew that I was loved before she did anything else. She showed me Christ. She provided a place of comfort, security, and acceptance no different than when my wife held Albert while he was hurting last night. My mother empowered me to move forward, she encouraged me to stand strong and to face the challenge set before me. Were there cross words, absolutely, but all were deserved and spoken in a context of acceptance.

Jesus said to those around him that day that they do not believe because they are not among his sheep. Do you recognize just how heavy those words are? Here they are sitting in the colonnade of Solomon on the eastern wall of the temple during a feast celebrating God’s miracle and Jesus is telling them they do not believe because they are not among his sheep. They are unable to see the hand of God when Jesus heals, even when they are celebrating a feast to remember God’s hand providing. They were unable to hear the voice of God even when they were listening to his teaching. They were unable to see or hear the truth because they were not among the sheep. Which leads to a question who where they among?

Looking at this passage we can determine that having the proper belief does not determine salvation. Participation in religious activities also does not determine our place with God. It is hearing his voice, knowing him, and following. I say this as someone that loves religion. I am someone that loves theology. I love knowing and deepening my knowledge. Yet this means nothing if I do not listen, know the voice, and follow.

Jesus is saying, like he says so often, that the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God is right here all around you if we would turn, repent, or change directions. This was the message he preached throughout his ministry; it is the message that John preached in the Jordan. It is the same message that the prophets of old spoke, and it is the same message that has been spoken by Moses and was given to the Fathers of Israel. “Hear O Israel the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This very prayer said by every person that day and many today is crying out to Israel to listen to the voice of God, and to follow. This is the eternal light celebrated in Hanukah, to trust in the one that can make something out of nothing and bless it. And what does God say to Israel? “’Love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

I love religion, I love theology, I love spiritual disciplines that can direct people into a more satisfying spiritual life. All of that is just empty if I do not listen, hear, know, and follow him. I could stand here and debate why my faith is true, but if I do not live it out what value does it have. I know many people that had all the right answers, but when I got to know them, I stopped listening because everything they said was empty. When I was in college, I even tried to distance myself from religion wanting instead to be a man of science. I still love science. But that rejection of God and embracing the ways of the world had consequences. That day I confessed to my mom; I saw the truth. “Hear O’ Israel the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” That day I saw acceptance and encouragement. I saw someone willing to live out everything they professed. Someone loved even when I failed to meet the expectation.

Jesus walked in the colonnade of Solomon, that winter day, going to celebrate the feast of dedication. The light of the world, when to celebrate the light that persisted. Israel faced darkness at that time, and God provided the light they needed to accomplish the task set before them. We have enough darkness. We have enough people hurting, we have enough rejection, and injustice. We can see the darkness, but what about the light? That day Jesus told Israel that he and the Father were one, of the same substance, equal, they wanted to kill him for that, and they eventually did. But the light persisted.

Do people see the light when they are among us, or do they see shadow? Hear O Israel, listen and know, obey and follow. Are we among the sheep or somewhere else? Hear O Israel. The Lord is my shepherd. We have enough darkness step back and let the light shine. We have enough fear step back and let the shepherd lead. Turn and repent. Love God embrace the holy spirit and live the love of Christ with others. I am here today because someone I was around did just that, are we willing to do the same?

Redeemed Failure

By Jared Warner

May 5, 2019

Willow Creek Friends Church

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John 21:1–19 (ESV)

Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

21 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. ² Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. ⁷ That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. ⁸ The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

⁹ When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus and Peter

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Last week we met with the disciples in the upper room. They sat in this room because it was where they stayed just prior to Jesus’s trial. This was the room where they celebrated their Passover meal, it is where Jesus washed their feet and where Jesus explained the meaning of life. Which is what I think the elements of communion represent. They came to this room and they stayed in this room because it had meaning to them. It was a safe place for them, comfortable and secure. They could stay in that room sitting securely behind the locked door, they could stay in that space not worrying about what the world might think of them. Not worrying that maybe on the other side of the door they could face trials as well. They stayed in that room because they were surrounded by friends and family. People that had similar ideas and experienced similar events. We like the safety of the familiar. No matter what happens in life it is good to know that you can go home. I yearn for places like that at times. Places where people do not judge my success or care about what I am doing. A place where a hug is the greeting and food is soon to follow.

The disciples had stayed in this place for a while now. They had been there for over a week eating and worshiping together. They were trying to grasp just what life from this point on would be like. They had spent three years following Jesus. They walked where he walked, ate what he ate, served where he served (or where he directed them to go). For three years Jesus was their life. They believed that he was going to be their king. They thought that he was going to unite Israel and usher in a new era like that of their King David. A time where they could live and worship without any fear or outside influence. They desired a safe kingdom where they would be free.

But something happened that changed everything. One of their own betrayed Jesus, and the result of that betrayal was the death of their king. They watch him walk through the city carrying a cross. They watched as people mocked and spit on him. They watched as their own nation rejected the very person, they devoted their life too. They watched with the knowledge that just a few days prior the very same city cheered and proclaimed him to be their king. But everything changed. The king was hung on a tree. Shamed and cursed. The injustice of that event rattled them to their very core.

They buried him in a grave. They wrapped his broken body with strips of linen, and they watched as government officials sealed the tomb with a massive stone. They watched as everything they lived and dreamed was sealed in cold stone. Do we understand how significant this would have been? Their dreams died, and what they lived for was sealed away never to return. The loss they must have felt. Total loss.

Then something amazing happened. After three days Jesus rose. He visited them as they sealed themselves in a room. They went out and they found their remaining friends and brought them back to the room. He lives…but what does that mean?

They remained in that room unable to find a direction forward. The betrayer killed himself. And the others sealed in a room, self-imprisoned. Why? Because most of them were no better than Judas and they knew it. Peter denied Jesus three times on that night. Mark is believed to have run away naked. And every one of the men but John had pressed back into the crowds as their teacher faced his greatest trial. Each one in some way rejected their beloved teacher. He lives but who are they? Are they still disciples, do they still have any claim to faith? They denied, they doubted, they ran away, they cried when they should have stood firm, they let an injustice happen and they took a step back and watched. And they locked themselves in a room, afraid to move forward and afraid to leave. They wanted to stay, but could they? They, in their mind, had failed their king. He was triumphant, but who were they? In that place, Peter stood, and he said, “I am going fishing.”

The most amazing thing about scripture, is that the people within it are so real. In so many systems of belief those people regard as sacred are larger than life and can do nothing wrong. Our scripture has amazing and miraculous feats, but it also shows the humanity. David was a man after God’s heart, but David was a terrible father and a womanizer. Solomon was the wisest man of his era, attracting the attention of the rulers of the entire world, yet he the man who built the temple of God was an idolater. Samson killed an army with the jaw of a donkey yet threw away his entire lifestyle for the attention of a daughter of his enemy. The Apostles could heal the sick, yet they locked themselves in a room. Peter the rock of faith denied his Lord. Our heroes are human. They are very human, like us. They do amazing things at times and they fail miserably.

They sat in that upper room, they considered what to do next. Jesus had not told them what to do and he had only come to them a few times. They know that everything was changing but they do not know what to expect. Peter stands up and says, “I am going fishing.” In that one seemingly simple statement Peter expresses what so many of us feel. When he says I am going fishing he is saying, I am going back to my old life.

I want us to sit with this phrase for a while. “I am going fishing.” He like so many of us tried and failed. He tried to live a life of a disciple. He tried to do good works. He tried to be a good person. But when the test came, when he could have stood in faith and support of his Lord, he denied him. He denied Jesus his best friend, he denied him because he was afraid. We often think of our spiritual leaders and spiritual ancestors as being heroic in their faith, but each one of them is human and they often fail. I am not excusing the injury that people might cause to their friends and families, but we all struggle in life.

People have this idea that they are too sinful to be in the church. That they need to get their life together before they can attend. If this was the case every church building would be empty today. We all fall short of our own personal expectations; how can we stand before a God whose expectation is Jesus? We fail, so we like Peter say, I might as well just fish.

The man who struggles with addictions to explicit materials tries to stop, but he fails. He says to himself I am going to turn over a new leaf and be pure from now on, and ten minutes later something triggers in his mind and he falls again. So often we judge that man and tell him it is unacceptable, and we are right it is unacceptable. It injures the ones closest to him, it erodes trust and it creates expectations on others that cannot be fulfilled. We judge him, condemn him, we see his struggle, but do we help? Those that are struggling need encouragement not judgement. When they face judgement from others or themselves, they look at their life and say I might as well just fish. I give up. I can’t be holy. And they return to a lifestyle of harm.

We see this in many forms. We see it in those that struggle with body image issues, with people that struggle with substance abuse, with students who struggle in a subject in school. They face a challenge and instead of asking for assistance they just throw up their hands and give up. “I am going fishing.” Peter says, and what do the others say. “We are going with you.”

They might be there to support their friend who is struggling, but I do not really think so. I have a feeling they are all looking at their lives of the past few years and they all feel the same. They are thinking, “Peter you are right. You denied him, and we ran away too. We do not deserve to be in this room, we do not even deserve to say that we were once Jesus’s friends. We let him down and we might as well fish too.” I thought about this and wondered what Matthew would have done on that boat. They all went, even the ones that were not fishermen. They stayed together even in their disgrace. They go out on the boat and they fish all night catching nothing.

Imagine how they might feel at that moment. Many of these men were experienced if not masters in their trade. They left that life to follow Jesus, they left this life they knew and were secure in. They left that life, risking everything only to return feeling as if they failed. Jesus lives but what are they? They get on the boat, and they fail again. They fail at the one thing they had going for them. They go back and they cannot even catch enough fish to feed themselves. Imagine sitting on that boat. Imagine the anxiety and the depression they may have experienced. They went home and a hug was not waiting for them and the smell of grandma’s cooking was not filling the air. They labored all night and they experienced yet another failure.

Have you been in that place? Have you found yourself so focused on the things going on around you that you are not able to lift your head to see what is in front of you? They struggled all night throwing the nets out and pulling them in. They rowed to another area and threw the nets out again, and again, and again. Their bodies are fatigued, their emotions are a wreck, and they are now starving and have no fish. Then someone on the shore yells at them. “Children, do you have any fish?” You can almost feel the tension in the air but look at their response. They only say one word, “No.” They feel like failures. They feel as if they have nothing to offer the world, but in their frustration, they reply to this question as men with integrity. The reality of the situation is even though they feel like they have nothing to offer the world or God, when they respond to those around them, they are not angry or bitter, but they are polite. Then the guy on the shore had the nerve to tell them to throw the net on the other side.

What would you say at that point? I think at this point the disciples were probably beginning to laugh a little. They were probably thinking they were in experiencing déjà vu.  They throw the net and struggle to pull it back. The ones in the other boat come and join them when they see the struggle they are having and together they pull. As they are doing this John and Peter look at one another and John says, “It’s the Lord!” Jesus lives and they feel as if they failed. He takes them back to the beginning of their journey. To the moment they first believed and reminds them of who they are. Peter reaches for his clothes and jumps into the water. He swims as best he can to the shore. While the others row to shore.

In their failure and in their back-sliding struggle Jesus finds them. He tells them to bring some fish and to come and eat breakfast. He reminds them of who he is and who they are. He is with them as they recollect the memories of their past experiences, and slowly they begin to reemerge. Jesus sat with them eating bread and fish. He laughed with them and he looked into their eyes and saw their sorrows.

They had met with Jesus now three times after his resurrection, and they are still unsure as to what to do. They want to continue but how? Jesus looks at Peter in this moment and he asks him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” This statement is filled with such relational history. When Peter’s brother Andrew first brought Peter to see Jesus this is how Jesus addressed him. “You are Simon Son of John, you shall be called Cephas (which means Peter).” Jesus is reminding Peter who he is. Then he asks do you love me more than these? I have heard many comments on this, but as I was studying the commentator says that Jesus is reminding Peter of his own words during their Passover feast. That Peter loved Jesus more than anyone else and would give his life for him. Jesus is reminding him of who he is, he is reminding him of what Peter claimed, and he is reminding him that nothing has changed. Peter answers yes. Jesus asks again two more times and Peter affirms that he loves Jesus. He does this right in front of them all. Imagine the pain that Peter was experiencing, imagine the pain Jesus must have been experiencing as he watched and pushed his friend to tears. But it is important.

They are all feeling like failures, wallowing in their own self judgement. They have lost sight of who they are or what they are to do. Peter was the one taking this all the hardest. He said he would die for Jesus, yet he denied him three times. So, Jesus asked three times do you love me. Three times peter answered yes. And in that discourse Jesus tells us the point and purpose of the church. Do you love me? Feed my lambs. Do you love me? Tend my sheep. DO YOU LOVE ME? Feed my sheep.

They forgot who they were, because in their mind they were cowards and failures, unworthy to call themselves disciples. Yet Jesus will not leave them there. He takes them back to the beginning the moment they first believed. He reminds them of the begin of their relationship, and that he called them. He acknowledges their struggle, and he meets it head on. Do you love me? I know you denied me I told you that you would, but do you love me he asks. If you love me, feed and teach the young. If you love me encourage those around you. If you love me, help provide for the needs of others. If you love me, Jesus says, follow me. Just like you did when this all began.

We get caught up on many things. I am not good enough, I sin, I am not the best. Or maybe they are not good enough, they sin, and are not the best. Friends this is not what we should worry about. Of course, they sin, of course you sin, we are human we struggle, and we fail. And we fail with gusto. This does not mean we stop. It does not mean we should lock ourselves in a room. It does not mean that we should go back to our previous life and lifestyle. We are people loved by God. Loved to such a degree that he sent his son to live among us, to teach us, to encourage us and to die and rise to save us. He came to redeem us, to restore us to our rightful place, in communion with God. Never forget that. I am Jared son of Carl, but I am also beloved child of God and so are you. Because of this follow and return to your rightful place, follow your creator, redeemer and friend. Follow and as you do feed his lambs, tend his sheep, and feed his sheep. You are beloved and so is every other person. They are his not ours, and they are also loved. Feed those that need it and tend those that are injured. Remind everyone you meet that they are loved.

We can often lock ourselves in rooms out of fear. We can also turn our backs on who we are and return to our old ways. We can be distracted, and our attention moved from truth to a lie. But one thing remains. God loves you. God wants you. God came for you. And God wants to bring you home. As we enter in to this time of open worship. Answer the same question that Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love him.” If you do what is he calling you to do?

The Door

By Jared Warner

April 28, 2019

Willow Creek Friends Church

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John 20:19–31 (ESV)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus and Thomas

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, 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 in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, 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; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, 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 believed.”

The Purpose of This Book

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

Have you ever sat and wondered what the conversation of the disciples was that first Easter morning? Maybe I am the only one that does this sort of thing, because I tend to have an overactive imagination. I do not think this is a bad thing by any means, because it causes me to investigate things that some people just take at face value. What were the disciples thinking that first Easter morning?

Mary Magdalene and some of the other female followers of Jesus had visited the tomb in the early morning hours, and they had come running back to tell them all that the tomb was empty. Shortly after this, Peter and John ran to the tomb to investigate. Why was it only Peter and John? Did the other nine disciples not have their sandals on yet or what? And why did John need to let everyone in Christendom know that he won the race to the tomb? These are question that we really need answers for, but we will not know those answers until we can ask them on the other side of life’s veil.

They had heard of and some saw the empty tomb. They sat in that room wondering what had happened. What they saw did not really make sense to them either. The burial clothing was removed. Who would remove the burial clothing if they were going to steal the body? These are deep questions, questions that I have wrestled with along my journey of faith. Yet the only answers I find raise more questions. Peter and John returned explaining what they had seen, and Mary remained at the tomb. They left her there. The only possible answer running through their mind was that someone stole the body. This is a serious crime, because the tomb was sealed by the government, meaning if you messed with the stone covering the entrance you could face death. The men returned to the room and locked the door and they left Mary there.

Sometimes we fail to recognize the immense fear that earliest followers of Jesus faced that day. In today’s passage we get a glimpse into it. They locked the door for fear of the Jews. I want to stop right there and make a comment about John’s language. The Jews are not bad people, they were the very people we draw our spiritual heritage from. To hold any ill will toward a people group for any reason is not a testimony that is compatible with the teachings of Jesus. When John says, “the Jews,” he is referring to the religious leadership. The early followers of Jesus were Jewish people, all the disciples were Jewish. They worshiped and continued to worship at the temple and in the synagogues while Jesus ministered and after. The reason they stopped worshiping with the other Jewish people is because they were put out of the synagogues. This means that they were rejected by the community, they were no longer accepted. This rejection eventually leads to violent encounters where the leadership would work the masses up to the point people were willing to take up arms against fellow human beings over a different interpretation of how to live life. The followers of Jesus hid in a room afraid of their fellow countrymen. They were afraid because those very people had used their influence to take an innocent man to trial and allowed even demanded that that man be executed. What standing did they have?

They hid in the room, because they had already considered fighting. They had taken swords with them to the garden with Jesus. They had taken up arms, and Jesus himself told them to put the swords away. If their leader did not want them to fight for what they believed what were they supposed to do? They hid. Then they heard frantic knocking at the door and the voice of Mary. Mary was ecstatic, she was uncontrollable, was she being pursued, should they open the door or let her suffer fate? They had no idea what was going on. Eventually they let her in, and she excitedly told them a story that was beyond belief. She told them that she had seen the Lord, she had seen Jesus. And they locked the door.

They locked the door. They locked the door out of fear. They locked the door out of fear of their own friends, family, and their religious leaders. They locked the doors because they were afraid. They had listened to one of the greatest stories that any human being could possibly hear, Jesus had risen from the dead and Mary had saw him, had even touched him, and they sat there behind closed locked doors.

Mary saw this great thing early in the morning. The women went to the tomb before the sun even rose above the horizon. Peter and John raced to the tomb early in the day, probably before most of us even wake up. They returned to the room and locked the doors. Sitting there in that room for the entire day wondering about what was going on. These were men and women of strong faith. They had walked with Jesus for three years. They had heard him teach, they had seen him heal, they had even participated in these same things. They had watched as Jesus provided food for multitudes, they were at Mary’s house when Jesus had called her brother from the tomb, the tomb he had been in for four days. And they had listened to the testimony that Mary had provided. Imagine what was going through their mind. Imagine what you would think if you were sitting in that room with them. Imagine all of that and consider why the door was locked.

That locked door is what I have seen this week. That locked door is often the thing that is before me. That locked door. You have seen that door looming and casting its shadow over your life. That locked door is fear, doubt, uncertainty, self-righteousness, and many other things within our lives. That locked door is everything in our life keeping us from engaging the world just beyond. That locked door is in front of us. It is a barrier. Something that gives the illusion of safety and security but has become something that restricts and imprisons us. They sat an entire day behind a locked door out of fear, when their teacher was seen standing outside the tomb, they had laid him in three days prior. Their teacher lives, yet they sit behind a door.

I sat this week looking at that door as I contemplated this passage. Over past couple of weeks I had read or listened to the complete Gospel account, I had considered the amazing life of Jesus and the adventures the disciples had experienced as they followed him. And I sat looking at the door. These men and women had given everything for Jesus. They had left jobs, they had turned their backs even on family members to follow, they had devoted their lives to their teacher, and they sat that day staring at a door, paralyzed, unable to move or act. Fear had grabbed hold of their lives to such a degree they could barely breath. The door.

The sun had made its course through the sky. They had seen the rising and the setting is upon them. They had listened and retold all they heard and seen, and they watch the door. What will happen next. What do we do now? The air is heavy, thick, and stale as it often gets when a group of people are confined in a room. They sweat. Someone asks again, “Mary are you sure it was Jesus?” and they stare at the door. And someone checks the lock one more time.

They are watching the door, and out of no where someone says, “Peace be with you.”

I want to know why John is so careful and diligent to inform us that, “the disciple Jesus loved” won the foot race to the tomb, but he neglected to mention the numerous curses that were probably uttered the moment Jesus opened his mouth in that room. We have all been startled at least once in our life and know exactly what reaction we have. Imagine what reaction you would have had if you had been safely secured behind a locked door, the door you had been looking at all day, and have someone came in (not through the door) and say, “Peace be with you.” I have been known to jump out of my skin if a garden hose looks a bit to snakey in the yard.

Imagine the shock. Imagine the fear and relief. Imagine the shame. Imagine the tears and the laughter. Imagine the bump on your head or the bruise on your knee where you probably hit the table. Imagine. Because you know that feeling. Jesus startled them, he took them by surprise, he did the one thing they least expected. He found them in their place of fear, and he met them there.

He lifts his hands. He holds them before their eyes, he probably smirks in a way that they all recognized because he had caught them once again doing something that he disapproved of yet found funny. He stands there, and slowly they catch their breath. Slowly they recover from their shock and Mary probably bandages someone’s forehead. He stands there as they begin to smile at their teacher, as the tears begin to turn from fear to joy and he says to them again, “Peace be with you.” And adds, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

He then breaths on them. I do not know exactly what that looks like, but as I read this, I imagine that Jesus goes to each one of the disciples and takes them by the head and embraces them. Pressing his forehead to theirs. He embraces them, shares the air with them so to speak. Who knows, he might have had to give CPR to one of them. But he breathes with them in such a way that they know something very intimate and special is occurring. Something sacred and empowering. The man, their teacher who was once dead, is now clasping them and breathing words of encouragement to them. Saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Consider the scene. Consider the confusion and the fear. Consider the joy and excitement. Consider the door looming behind them locked. Yet the one they loved, the one they had left everything to follow found a way to be with them even though they had sealed themselves into a room cutoff from the world around them. Jesus came into the midst of their fear, and he breaths new air into that stale room. And he gives them a challenge. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold the sins of any it is withheld.”  Imagine you are standing in that room on that day as the sun’s light dims behind the horizon and imagine the door.

There is a door somewhere in each of our lives. A door that is locked out of fear or maybe for some other reason. A door that is locked separating our lives from something we consider dangerous or threatening. There is a door, a locked door. CS Lewis in his book The Problem of Pain, says that the gates of hell are locked on the inside. This means that we are the ones that close the door, we are the ones that lock them, we are the ones that stand behind them hoping that whatever is beyond those doors does not enter. We are hiding behind the doors living in hell because hell is a place where we seal ourselves off from others, we find ourselves alone, isolated, and imprisoned. There was song that was popular when I was in college that says,

A court is in session, a verdict is in, no appeal on the docket today just my own sin. The walls are cold and pale the cage made of steel. Screams fill the room alone I drop and kneel. Silence now the sound my breath the only motion around. Demons cluttering around my face showing no emotion. Shackled by my sentence expecting no return, here there is no penance my skin begins to burn…I hear a thunder in the distance, see a vision of a cross, I feel the pain that was given on that sad day of loss. A lion roars in the darkness only he holds the key, a light to free me from my burden and grant me life eternally…I cry out to God seeking only his decision, Gabriel stand and confirms I’ve created my own prison. (Creed- My Own Prison)

I have locked myself in a room. Locked from the world outside, locked from others alone in a cage with only ourselves as company. Our fears, our efforts, our disgrace. We isolate ourselves. We shackle ourselves. We create our own prison and we dwell there in our own hell.

We lock ourselves into a room for fear of our own neighbors, our own friends, our own countrymen. We are not even afraid of the world we fear ourselves, so we lock the world out. Yet in our fear, Jesus meets us, he holds us close, and breaths on us saying “receive the holy spirit.” Receive the very breath of God and open the door. Forgive and its forgiven, release the burden because that fear, that bitterness that judgement we hold against others is keeping us within a locked room. And if we are in that room isolated from others we are prevented to serve. Jesus is sending us. He is sending us to bring hope and healing. He is sending us outside of our rooms to bang on doors and encourage others to open their doors too.

Jesus meets us in that darkest place. He is with us in the tomb, dwelling there in the darkness with us. He is beside us as we face our fears, as we encounter those areas of rejection and distress. He is with us in our personal hell. But he will not stay in that prison. He rolled away that stone and opened the door. He embraces us and tells us, “Peace be with you.” You do not have to stay imprisoned by fear. But embrace life. Unlock the door, forgive, and loosen the bonds that keep you. Live life loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others!

Jesus finds us in our locked rooms staring at the door, the door we locked. And he whispers to each one of us. What is he saying to you?