Born Again to a Living Hope – Easter 2

Born Again To A Living Hope

Easter 2 T John 20:19-31

INI

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

All throughout the Scriptures, baptism and faith in Christ is called a ‘new birth’. We remember the night when Nicodemus came to Jesus. Jesus told him, “Unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (Jn 3:5).” That is, one must be born again, born from above, by the spirit-accompanied water to enter the kingdom of God.

Likewise, our epistle text says “according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of the dead.” This is GOD’S WORK, not ours. HE gave us new birth. We didn’t ask for it. He delivered it – through His Son’s resurrection from the dead.

The Holy Spirit that accompanies Jesus changes lives. It emboldens faith. It causes a true repentance and change in the way we think, act, and believe. In our Lutheran Confessions, we see how this new birth causes a fundamental change of life – it says “You are all of no account – whether you appear publicly to be sinners or saints. You must all become something different from what you are now and act in a different way, no matter who you are now and what you do (Smalcald Articles, Part 3, Article 3).”

There’s no clearer 180-degree change in someone’s life than Thomas. We all known him as “doubting Thomas.” Because when the Lord had appeared to the other 10 disciples in the Upper Room, showing them His wounds and side, delivering peace to them – Thomas wasn’t there. For whatever reason, he was absent.

So, when the disciples started telling Thomas that His Lord Jesus had actually RISEN from the dead, he met this claim with skepticism. Rightly so. He saw, or at least knew, Jesus’ crucifixion was brutal. There’s no way He survived that. So, he needed proof to verify a resurrection. And the only thing that would convince him were the wounds in Jesus’ hands, feet, and side.

Notice how Jesus treats this doubt. He doesn’t cast Thomas aside on account of a “weak faith”. He doesn’t demand that Thomas simply believe blindly. Instead, Jesus meets Him at His level. He offers His very body – in a similar way He offers His body and blood to you at this altar – to bridge the gap between doubt and faith.

I think it’s unfair to single out Thomas as the “doubting one” – as if he were inferior to the rest. Remember, the rest of the disciples locked themselves in the Upper Room. They were hiding because they feared they were going to be killed next. They followed Jesus. Confessed Him as Lord. Loved Him. Lived out His teachings. But at this point, they did it in secret. Because they feared for their own lives. And that fear is just as sinful as doubt.

We must ask ourselves – what “Upper Rooms” do we try to hide in? It’s easy to want to hide faith when it might affect what other people think about us. Or, when “social norms” push aside a living faith. We let fear of the world’s judgement or fear of our own uncertainty lock us away. Like the disciples, our preference would be to live a comfortable, safe life over the boldness of the Gospel.

 But really, that’s antithetical to what it means to be born again – to be a part of God’s kingdom. So, what made those disciples hide? And what caused Thomas’ doubt?

Well, they hadn’t yet received the full boldness of the Spirit of God. After they all experienced the resurrected Jesus, Jesus gave them this charge – “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld. (John 20:21-23)”

Jesus comes to the disciples in the Upper Room, speaks peace, and shows them His hands and side. The same risen Christ who showed them His wounds now delivers forgiveness through His Church. This is what is called in Luther’s Small Catechism “the Office of the Keys.”

This office is a gift given to the Church, and exercised by her pastors for the spiritual welfare of God’s people. When forgiveness is given through the Word of God and our Lord’s body and blood is received in the Divine Service, we can rejoice and be assured that our sins are truly forgiven. This isn’t the pastor’s forgiveness, but God’s, spoken through the mouth of the Pastor. Conversely, when one has been taught to receive the Sacrament, and yet it’s withheld, this indicates that forgiveness is not given to the individual. Why? Because of unrepentance. They find greater comfort in their sins than the turning away from sins and finding refuge in Christ.

But the Office of the Keys isn’t meant to stay behind locked doors. It’s meant to be sent into all the world. This is the mission Christ gave to the disciples, and He gives to the Church still today. They are sent out into all the world, proclaiming not only the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, but that the Holy Spirit frees sinners from their enslavement to their own desires. They go out proclaiming a new birth – a new living hope that comes to them through Word and Sacrament – so that they may not despair in the trials of this life, but rejoice in the faith they’ve been given.

The disciples are living, breathing examples of this 180-degree turn. The once fearful disciples who hid in the Upper Room – fearing execution by the Jewish authorities – became the men who couldn’t be silenced. Having seen the risen Christ, and received the Holy Spirit, they left that Upper Room to proclaim the forgiveness of sins to the world. And when they went, they didn’t fear any man, institution, or social norm.

In our first reading from Acts, these disciples boldly proclaimed a message of true repentance and forgiveness to the men they once thought would kill them. They said “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him. (Acts 5:31-32)”

            They knew the threat of preaching such a message. To the ones that crucified Jesus, they preached a message of repentance – a turning away from their unbelief, so that they might seek forgiveness in the one they killed. No doubt, they would be met with threats of death! But out of God’s grace, He preserved their life. Instead of being killed, they were beaten and sent on their way. And the disciples didn’t whine about being persecuted. They weren’t downtrodden. They didn’t cry out to the authorities for injustice. They rejoiced! They rejoiced that they had been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus.

            Jesus wounds gave meaning their wounds. His suffering gave meaning to their suffering. And so, when they suffered for Christ’s sake, they rejoiced – and were glad!

            Now that we have heard the apostolic proclamation too, and now that our faith is once again reminded of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and now that we’ve confessed with Thomas that Jesus is “My Lord and My God”, we can also have joy in our trials without fear.

            This joy isn’t a “feeling” of God’s goodness when things go wrong. This joy doesn’t ignore the sadness of a loved one’s death, a terminal diagnosis, or that the world is hostile to the truth of the Gospel. It’s a joy that sees life’s end through the hardships we experience now. For what God says about your life has been spoken to you through the Office of the Keys. You are forgiven. Jesus has risen, and He gives this victory to YOU.

            So, when you suffer, you aren’t punished. You’re being conformed to the image of your Savior. His wounds give meaning to your wounds. When you’re tempted to be silenced, He gives you the courage to be bold. Not because you are strong, but because He is. And He gives you the Holy Spirit to empower and embolden your witness to the world. You can speak the Gospel to your neighbors, your children, your co-workers – not as someone vindicating your own belief or trying to win an argument. But as one who has been given a new life – a life that even death cannot take away.

The same Jesus who stood among the disciples stands among us – delivering the same peace, the same Spirit, the same new life. He doesn’t leave you to find your own way – He meets you here – through Word and Sacrament – to lead you towards repentance and forgiveness. Therefore, don’t be faithless – but believing. And go out into the world not as ones hiding in fear, but as those who have been born again to a new a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus.

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

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston