Easter II

And so, after the joyful celebration of the resurrection we are left wondering, what now. We enter the seven week period of pondering after the highs of Easter as we await with the apostles the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Just as Easter was set to eclipse the Jewish Paschal Festival of Passover, Pentecost coming 50 days after replaces the Jewish Feast of Weeks which came 7 weeks later. Jesus came up to Jerusalem and was betrayed and crucified. Three days later the women discovered his open and empty tomb and Jesus' followers, disciples are in hiding lest they suffer a similar fate. With crowds coming to attend a high Jewish Festival it would seem an appropriate time to 'come out' and proclaim the Gospel but seven weeks is a long time to huddle in secret in fear and anticipation of what was to come.

Once more the first lesson is from Acts and paints a rather utopian picture of early Christians. It sounds rather like a group expecting the imminent second coming or eschaton. We now know this did not happen in their lifetimes and is not likely to occur in ours. Psalm 133 continues in a similar vein.

The Epistle summarizes the Gospel and the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ.

A great deal is happening in today's Gospel from John. The disciples are in hiding behind locked doors.  Jesus appears to them:

Joh 20:21  Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."
Joh 20:22  And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
Joh 20:23  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."

A great many sermons have been preached on the topic of Doubting Thomas which follows because the three verses above slip by so quickly it is easy to miss their significance.

First God's Peace is proffered twice, no small matter. The next line goes further than the Great Commissioning in Mat_28:18-20 making it clear that we are sent to spread the Gospel just as Jesus incarnation revealed God's Word to the world. Next here without waiting for Pentecost Jesus breathes on them giving them the Holy Spirit. Finally John's version of the giving of the Keys of the Kingdom which forms part of the ordination of every pastor.

Once more we see that each Gospel writer presents the Good News from a different perspective placing emphases where he feels the need.

The next eight verses address the question, how are we who have not been in Jesus' presence to believe? A question that was probably real even for the writer of this Gospel.