Text:
John 20:19
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."
Prayer:
from Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable
to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Mary and I, with some other members of our family, went to Philadelphia this past week to see the Cézanne Exhibit at the Museum of Art. At one point during the day I saw my sister-in-law sitting on a bench in the main hall. I sidled up to her and asked, “Madam, are you lost?”
She turned to me and said, “No. I know exactly where I am. Are you lost?” Most of us like to think that we know exactly where we are. And, I suppose, physically, at least, most of the time, most of us know exactly where we are.
I remember, however, one occasion where a parishioner was lost. Joe had been showing signs of forgetfulness. His wife was worried about it, and she had told me about it. But Joe was an independent sort and he went his own way in his little red Volkswagen bug.
One day Joe was missing. He’s been missing for more than 12 hours with his little red car. Carol had phoned her friends and relatives. But there was no sign of Joe. She had informed the police who said that they’d be on the lookout for the red car. She called me and I went to her home. I didn’t know what to day. She asked me to pray. I searched for the right words.
And then it hit me. Joe wasn’t lost. God knew exactly where he was. And so I offered a prayer that began with gratitude. “Good Shepherd, we thank you that you know where Joe is, and that he is secure in your hands.” I ended with the entreaty that we might learn his location.
Several hours later the police phoned to say that Joe had been found 120 miles away where the road came to the end at Montauk Point in Long Island.
Even though most of us know where w are, by the same token, I believe, that some of us, some of the time have no idea where we are emotionally or spiritually. Some of the time, we are lost. Even then, however, the Good Shepherd knows where we are, and he will come to us.
On the day of resurrection the disciples of Jesus were lost. They were lost emotionally and spiritually. They were fearful, guilty, confused, anxious and adrift.
They were fearful. They were hiding behind locked doors. They were afraid of the authorities. It could very well be that the religious leaders would set them up with false accusations of treason. It could well be that the officers of the governor would come after them. It could well be that they too would be liable for execution on a cross. They were afraid.
They felt guilty. After all they had deserted their master. When things got tough they fled like thieves in the night and left Jesus alone to face his fate. And, Peter, well, he had denied him three times. Yes, they felt guilty, and had every reason to feel that way.
They were confused. They had heard reports that something had happened, but they couldn’t understand it or believe it. The women had told them that Jesus wasn’t in the tomb. Two disciples had told them that they had seen Jesus on the road to Emmaus. There were other reports. Among them was the rumor that the body had been removed from the tomb by the temple police or the governor’s soldiers. They were confused.
They were anxious and adrift. They had lost their rabbi, their master, their leader. They were rudderless and had no idea where they were going or what they were going to do.
In other words, they were lost, spiritually and emotionally lost. But they were not lost to Jesus.
Jesus comes to them. In spite of the fact that they had deserted him, he comes to them. In spite of the fact that Peter had denied him, he comes to him. In spite of the fact that they were hiding out, Jesus finds them and comes to them. In spite of the fact that they were barricaded behind locked doors, he comes to them. And he comes to them saying, “Peace be with you.”
Thomas was absent. He wasn’t there when Jesus appeared that first time. And Thomas doubted the reality of it all. He doubted that Jesus was alive. He doubted that his brother disciples were telling the truth. He would not believe. So Jesus comes back again. Jesus doesn’t give up. He comes back a second time just for Thomas.
During the course of the week, Mary asked me about the sermon topic. I said that I was preaching about Jesus appearing to the disciples again, and again, and again. Mary said, “He’s pesky isn’t he?” Yes he is. Jesus is pesky. He doesn’t give up. He’s persistent. He’ll find us. We’re not lost to him.
There are churches where they have a “seeker service” on Saturday night or at some other time of the week. What is a seeker service? It is worship for those who don’t know much about church, where music is easy to sing and ideas are simplified. It is designed for people who are “seeking” for something better in their lives. And, the church should reach out to people who are seeking for something better in their lives. Trouble is, that’s not the way the Bible portrays it. Scripture is not a story about how we keep seeking God. It’s a story about how God keeps seeking us.
A pastor related a visit to a parishioner who was a few day away from his death. The minister asked him if he was fearful.
“Fear? No,” he responded, “I’m not fearful because of my faith in Jesus.”
Somewhat piously the pastor said, “We all have hope that our future is in God’s hands.”
The parishioner countered his pastor, “Well, I’m not hopeful because of what I believe about the future. I’m hopeful because of what I’ve experienced in the past. I look back over my life, all the mistakes I’ve made, all the times I’ve turned away from Jesus, gone my own way, strayed, and gotten lost. And time and again, he came back for me. He found a way to get to me, showed up and got me, looked for me when I wasn’t looking for him. I don’t think he’ll let something like my dying get in the way of his love for me.”
That’s the message. Of Good Friday we say that Jesus died for us. Of Easter we say that Jesus lives for us. That’s what the risen Lord does. He comes back again and again, even to the ones who deserted him, even to the ones who turned away from him, even to the ones who disappointed him. He appears to them and to us. He seeks us. He finds us. He grabs us. He holds us.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, Christ is with us.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.