JOHN 20:20-31|“THAT WE MAY HAVE LIFE…”

“THAT WE MAY HAVE LIFE…”

JOHN 20:20-31

APRIL 8, 2018

I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH THE KEY WEST CITIZEN NEWSPAPER.  I’VE MENTIONED THIS PARTICULAR BONE TO SOME OF YOU, AND EVEN TRIED TO MAKE IT A TOPIC FOR THE CITIZEN’S VOICE, BUT IT WAS NEVER PRINTED.

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A PARTICULAR EDITORIAL STANCE, OR THE FACT, LIKE FOR SOME OF YOU, THAT DUE TO A LACK OF CARRIERS, I HAVEN’T BEEN GETTING MY PAPER – THAT’S NOT THE CASE FOR ME.

AND IT’S NOT ABOUT NO SUNDAY PAPER ANYMORE, THOUGH I DO MISS THAT!

I’VE BEEN PICKING AT THIS BONE EVER SINCE THE CITIZEN DECIDED TO SEND THE PAPER UP TO MIAMI TO BE PRINTED; THEN SHIPPED BACK IN; WHICH, OF COURSE, HAS MEANT EARLIER DEADLINES FOR STORIES.

BUT WHAT’S HAPPENED IS, BY THE TIME THE STORIES ARE WRITTEN, THE PAPER SENT OFF TO MIAMI FOR PRINTING, THEN SHIPPED BACK, AND DELIVERED TO MY DOOR, THE STORIES ARE NO LONGER NEWS.

THEY ARE A DAY, TO A COUPLE OF DAYS OLD, AND I’VE ALREADY SEEN, HEARD, OR READ ELSEWHERE, EVERYTHING I’M NOW READING IN THE PAPER.

I’LL QUICKLY GIVE YOU BUT ONE RATHER HILARIOUS EXAMPLE OF THIS.  ON MONDAY I WAS WATCHING THE EARLY MORNING NEWS FROM MIAMI; THE SPORTS TO BE EXACT.

I WAS WATCHING THE INCREDIBLE FINISH TO THE WOMEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT IN WHICH NOTRE DAME BEAT MISSISSIPPI STATE, ON AN END OF THE GAME, THREE-POINT BUZZER BEATER.

THE NOTRE DAME WOMEN, THEIR FANS, AND THE ANNOUNCERS, WERE LOSING THEIR MINDS OVER THE FINISH.  IT WAS ALL VERY EXCITING!

I FINISHED BREAKFAST, LEFT THE HOUSE, PICKING UP THE PAPER ON MY WAY OVER TO THE OFFICE, ALL BEFORE 7:00 AM, AND SAT DOWN TO READ THE PAPER.

I HAVE A STRANGE QUIRK OF READING THE NEWSPAPER FROM BACK TO FRONT, THE OTHER SECTIONS FIRST, THEN THE FRONT PAGE AND NEWS SECTION;

SINCE THE CITIZEN USUALLY ONLY  HAS ONLY TWO SECTIONS – I OPENED TO THE SPORTS PAGE – WHICH LED WITH A COLUMN ABOUT HOW NOTRE DAME AND MISSISSIPPI STATE WOULD BE MEETING IN THE BIG TITLE GAME;

THERE WAS AN ANALYSIS OF THE TWO TEAMS; THE MATCH-UPS; THINGS TO WATCH FOR IN THE GAME;

ONLY – THE GAME WAS ALREADY OVER; DONE WITH; DECIDED!

IT WASN’T NEWS – IT WAS HISTORY!

ALL OF THIS GOT ME TO THINKING ABOUT OUR LECTIONARY PASSAGE FOR THIS MORNING IN JOHN’S GOSPEL, AND THE APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN CHRIST, AND IN PARTICULAR, THIS APPEARANCE TO THOMAS AND THE OTHERS.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN INCLUDES FOUR APPEARANCES BY THE RISEN CHRIST.

THE FIRST, TO MARY MAGDALENE IN THE GARDEN, WHERE SHE INITIALLY MISTAKES HIM FOR THE GARDNER, UNTIL HE SPEAKS TO HER, AND THEY ARE REUNITED.

THE SECOND APPEARANCE JESUS MAKES IS TO HIS, NOW, TEN DISCIPLES; JUDAS, WHO BETRAYED HIM HAS LEFT THE GROUP, AND ACTUALLY, IS ALREADY DEAD, HAVING COMMITTED SUICIDED OVER HIS DECISION TO BETRAY JESUS.

THOMAS IS THE OTHER MISSING DISCIPLE, AND THERE’S NO INDICATION OF WHERE HE IS, BUT HIS TIME IS ABOUT TO COME.

THE THIRD APPEARANCE HAPPENS A WEEK OR SO AFTER JESUS APPEARED TO THE TEN; ONLY THIS TIME, THOMAS IS PRESENT.

HAVING HEARD FROM THE OTHER DISCIPLES THAT THEY HAD SEEN THE RISEN CHRIST, THOMAS WASN’T PARTICULARLY INCLINED TO BELIEVE THEM.

NOT IN THE SENSE THAT HE DIDN’T BELIEVE THEM, JUST IN THE SENSE THAT HE HADN’T SEEN IT WITH HIS OWN EYES.

LOTS OF PEOPLE BELIEVE IN UFOS; STATUES THAT CRY OR BLEED; IN BIGFOOT AND THE LOCH NESS MONSTER; BUT HAVING NEVER SEEN ANY OF THOSE THINGS MYSELF, I’M A BIT SKEPTICAL.

I’M NOT NECESSARILY SAYING THEY AREN’T REAL, THAT THEY DON’T HAPPEN; PEOPLE, GOOD PEOPLE, SAY THEY DO, AND THAT THEY HAVE SEEN THEM.

I’M JUST SAYING, HAVING NEVER WITNESSED ANY OF THOSE THINGS FOR MYSELF, I CAN’T SAY I BELIEVE IN THEM.

THIS IS THE KIND OF UNBELIEF THOMAS HAS.  “UNLESS I SEE THE MARK OF THE NAILS IN HIS HANDS AND PUT MY FINGER IN THE MARK OF THE NAILS AND MY HAND IN HIS SIDE, I WILL NOT BELIEVE.”

THOMAS WAS JUST THAT SORT OF GUY.  HE ALWAYS HAD BEEN.  NOT SO MUCH A DOUBTER, AS HE WAS A “JUST-THE-FACTS-MAM” KIND OF GUY.

WHEN JESUS SAID IT WAS TIME TO GO TO JERUSALEM, BUT THAT IT MIGHT VERY WELL MEAN HIS DEATH, AND POSSIBLY, THE DEATH OF THEM ALL, PETER TRIED TO DISCOURAGE JESUS FROM GOING.

NOT THOMAS – THOMAS SAID – “LET’S GO WITH HIM, AND WE’LL ALL DIE TOGETHER, IF WE HAVE TO!”

AND AT THE LAST SUPPER, WHEN JESUS IS TELLING THE DISCIPLES HE’S LEAVING; GOING AWAY; AND THAT WHERE HE’S GOING, THEY CAN’T FOLLOW; EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW WHERE HE’S GOING; THE ELEVEN OF THEM HOLD THEIR TONGUES, SAYING NOTHING.

NOT THOMAS – “LORD, WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING; HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?”  TO WHICH JESUS ANSWERS THAT “HE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE…”

SO, DESPITE THE UNISON CHORUS OF THE TEN TELLING THOMAS THAT THEY HAD SEEN THE RISEN LORD, HE ISN’T BUYING IT, UNTIL HE’S SEEN IT FOR HIMSELF.

JESUS OBLIGES HIM IN THIS THIRD APPEARANCE STORY – NOT ONLY ALLOWING THOMAS TO SEE HIM, BUT TO TOUCH HIM, AND TRUE TO HIS WORD, THOMAS FALLS TO HIS KNEES AND BELIEVES.

JOHN, THEN, SEEMS TO END HIS GOSPEL, BY SAYING THAT THE REASON HE’S WRITTEN ALL OF THIS DOWN, AND NOT ACTUALLY ALL OF IT, BECAUSE JESUS DID MANY OTHER SIGNS, WHICH ARE NOT WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK;”

JOHN SAYS HE’S WRITTEN IT DOWN…

SO, WE WILL READ WHAT HE’S WRITTEN, BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF GOD, AND THROUGH BELIEVING, HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME.

END OF STORY!

ONLY, JOHN ADDS ANOTHER CHAPTER, AND ANOTHER APPEARANCE STORY, THIS ONE ALSO SOME TIME LATER; TO SEVERAL OF HIS DISCIPLES; ONLY, NOT IN JUDEA LIKE THE REST; BUT IN GALILEE;

UPON THE SEA OF GALILEE; AT THE SECOND GREAT CATCH OF FISH; BY CELEBRATING THE FIRST BREAKFAST WITH THEM;

AND FORGIVING PETER; AND ALL OF THEM, FOR THAT MATTER, FOR THEIR FAILURES TO BELIEVE; THEIR DENIALS, BETRAYALS, ABANDONMENT OF HIM.

IT’S A SECOND CHANCE; A DO-OVER; A SHOT AT REDEMPTION, YOU MIGHT SAY;

AND THEY SEEM TO GET IT THIS TIME, AND THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IS BORN!

BUT I WANT TO GO BACK TO SOMETHING JESUS SAYS TO THOMAS AT THE TIME OF HIS APPEARANCE.

“DO YOU BELIEVE,” JESUS SAYS, “BECAUSE YOU HAVE SEEN ME?”  “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET HAVE COME TO BELIEVE.”

WHICH, OF COURSE, IS ALL OF US.

WHO OF US, IF WE HAD THE CHANCE, WOULD NOT HAVE SWAPPED PLACES WITH THOMAS – SEEING, HEARING, TOUCHING THE RISEN CHRIST?

YET, THINK ABOUT THIS: BY THE TIME JOHN WRITES HIS GOSPEL, THIS BOOK HE’S “WRITTEN SO THAT WE MAY COME TO BELIEVE,” PRACTICALLY EVERYONE WHO MIGHT HAVE SEEN JESUS IN THE FLESH, WAS DEAD AND GONE.

A SIX- YEAR- OLD CHILD WHO MIGHT HAVE SEEN JESUS RIDE INTO JERUSALEM ON PALM SUNDAY – WOULD HAVE BEEN IN HIS SEVENTIES BY THE TIME JOHN WRITES HIS GOSPEL.

YOU SEE WHAT I’M SAYING?

EVEN THOSE, THOSE IMMEDIATE READERS OF JOHN’S GOSPEL, IF THEY COULD READ AT ALL, WERE IN THE SAME BOAT AS WE ARE – BLESSED, YES; BUT HAVING NOT SEEN, BELIEVING.

AND TO WHAT END?  “THAT WE MAY HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME.”

I SUPPOSE, FROM TIME TO TIME, WE ALL PLAY THE “WHAT MY LIFE WOULD BE LIKE IF…” GAME.

WE PLAY IT FROM THE OUTLANDISH, MAKE-BELIEVE, FANTASTIC FANTASY SIDE OF THINGS:

“WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF… I WON THE LOTTERY?!”

“WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF… I WAS IN CHARGE; IF I WAS KING OR QUEEN OF THE WORLD?!”

“WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF… I WAS A FAMOUS FILL-IN-THE-BLANK-HERE?!”

BUT WE ALSO PLAY IT FROM SOME PRETTY SERIOUS, REAL-LIFE PLACES AS WELL.

“WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF… I HADN’T GROWN UP IN AN ABUSIVE FAMILY?!”

“WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF… I WAS SOBER?!”

“WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF… I HAD BEEN BORN IN A DIFFERENT TIME, A DIFFERENT PLACE, WITH DIFFERENT IDEAS AND IDEALS?!”

“WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF… I HAD ZIGGED INSTEAD OF ZAGGED AT ANY GIVEN POINT?!”

MY MOTHER USED TO CALL THIS “WISHING MY LIFE AWAY” AND SHE WAS RIGHT, TO A DEGREE;

BUT IF THESE “WHAT IF…” SCENARIOS SET US TO IMAGINING, TO BELIEVING, TO LIVING DIFFERENTLY, BETTER, PERHAPS, THEN THEY ARE TIME WELL SPENT.

IT’S THE STUFF OF DICKEN’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL, AND JIMMY STEWART’S IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE;

A CHANCE, PERHAPS MINUS THE GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE, AND WITHOUT THE ANGEL CLARENCE, TO SEE WHAT OUR LIVES MIGHT BE LIKE, IF WE HAD LIVED; IF WE LIVE, DIFFERENTLY.

WHEN JOHN SAYS THAT WHAT HE’S WRITTEN IS FOR OUR BENEFIT – THAT WE MIGHT READ, AND BELIEVE, AND BELIEVING, HAVE LIFE IN JESUS’ NAME – HE’S SETTING US UP FOR “WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF… I LIVED IN JESUS’ NAME?!”

IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES; THE JOYS; THE CHANGES, PERHAPS, IN ATTITUDE AND ACTION.

TRUTH IS, WERE WE TO TRULY “LIVE OUR LIVES IN HIS NAME” WE MIGHT FIND WE’D BE A LITTLE SCARED OF WHAT IT MIGHT ALL MEAN.

SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE READ THE BOOK, THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY, BY A J JACOBS, OR NOW SEEN THE NEW SHOW ON ABC, LOOSELY BASED UPON THE BOOK, LIVING BIBLICALLY.

AS IS USUALLY THE CASE, THE BOOK IS BETTER THAN THE SHOW, BUT THE SHOW CAN BE PRETTY FUNNY, AND EVEN THOUGHTFUL, AT TIMES.

BUT WHEN JOHN SAYS THAT WHAT HE’S WRITTEN, HE’S WRITTEN, SO THAT WE MIGHT READ, BELIEVE, AND LIVE IN CHRIST’S NAME…

I DON’T THINK JOHN MEANS SO MUCH BY THE BOOK, BY HIS BOOK, OR EVEN BY THE BOOK, THE BIBLE, AS HE DOES, LIVING IN CHRIST’S NAME – IN HIS LIFE, IN HIS WORDS, IN HIS DEEDS.

LIVE HIS LIFE IN YOURS, IS WHAT I THINK JOHN HAS IN MIND.  LIVE YOUR LIFE IN HIS.  THE YEAR(S) OF LIVING JESUS-LY.

NOT BY THE BOOK, OR BY THE NUMBERS, OR BY THE RULES, ALWAYS COLORING WITHIN THE LINES…

BUT AS JESUS LIVED – SELFLESSLY; LOVINGLY; LAVISHING GRACE UPON GRACE; POURING OUT HIS LIFE FOR OTHERS;

HAVING THEIR BEST INTEREST AHEAD OF OUR OWN; “WHOEVER WOULD BE GREAT AMONG YOU, MUST BE SERVANT OF ALL…”

I KNOW PEOPLE LIKE THAT; SO, DO YOU.  YOU MAY ALREADY BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE.  ONE OF THOSE “JESUS PEOPLE.”

AS I SAY, I DON’T THINK THAT MEANS WE GO AROUND LIVING BIBLICALLY ALL THE TIME; QUOTING SCRIPTURE IN EVERY OTHER BREATH; TALKING ABOUT GOD ALL THE TIME; OR EVEN NECESSARILY, LIVING PERFECTLY.

JESUS’ DISCIPLES CERTAINLY DIDN’T PULL THAT OFF, AND I DARESAY, NONE OF US WILL EITHER.

BUT WHAT THEY DID DO, WHAT THOMAS DID, WAS TO SEE, BELIEVE, AND LIVE OUT CHRIST’S LIFE IN THEIR OWN…

HOWEVER, IMPERFECTLY IT MAY HAVE BEEN.

LIKE THOMAS, AND PETER, AND ALL THE REST, WITH LAVISH BOASTS AT TIMES: “LET’S GO WITH HIM, AND WE’LL ALL DIE TOGETHER IF WE HAVE TO…”

TO ASKING BEWILDERED QUESTIONS: “LORD, WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING, HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?”

TO MAKING SIMPLE STATEMENTS OF FAITH: “MY LORD AND MY GOD!”

“DO YOU BELIEVE BECAUSE YOU HAVE SEEN ME?”  JESUS ASKS. “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET HAVE COME TO BELIEVE.”

THAT’S YOU, AND ME, AND PRACTICALLY EVERYBODY ELSE WHO HAS EVER BELIEVED IN HIM…

AND FOUND LIFE IN HIS NAME.