Christ Church

Eureka California
Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:27-32, Psalm 118:14-29, Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
April 11, 2010
The Rev. Ron W. Griffin
“Passing the Faith Along”

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant
of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body
may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

John 20:19-31

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." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his
side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace
be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed
on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus
came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them,
"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."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although
the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and
put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my
God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in
this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Good Morning,
It is amazing what a difference a week makes. Last week we were finishing up a
power filled 3 days of the Treduum of Holy Week, and then services on Easter Sunday.
As this first week of Easter began, like many of you, I had to get on with life in
2010, paying bills I had delayed until Monday, preparing for this months responsibilities at
the church and preparing for today. This Sunday has another name besides the second
Sunday of Easter. It’s typically thought to be a bit of a yawn and has been called for
hundreds of years low Sunday, because attendance is normally, low. And as all of you
know Thursday will be tax giving day.
In the spirit of Tax giving day and this being Low Sunday I found something true,
ironic and hopefully humorous to help us get started today. Here is an actual letter received
by the IRS.
Attn: IRS Enclosed is my tax return & payment. Please take note of the attached
article from USA Today newspaper. In the article, you will see that the Pentagon is paying
$171.50 for hammers and NASA has paid $600.00 for a toilet seat. Please find enclosed
four toilet seats (value $2400) and six hammers (value $1029). This brings my total
payment to $3,429.00. Please note the overpayment of $22.00 and apply it to the
"Presidential Election Fund," as noted on my return. It has been a pleasure to pay my tax
bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year. Sincerely, A satisfied
taxpayer.
As the text from John’s gospel opens today, it is still Easter Sunday. The disciples
are still reeling from the week’s events. A powerful group in authority had executed their
beloved leader and they were known to be his followers. A locked door would seem to be
the right thing to do and fear would seem to be a reasonable response by Jesus' disciples. In
the midst of all this energy, Jesus arrives, shows them his stigmata and the scripture tells us
then they believed and rejoiced, experiencing the resurrection. The Ten then reported this
to Thomas who wasn’t there, what had happened; and John’s gospel tells us he was not
convinced. This scripture is read every year, a week after Easter Sunday as we move from
the slow motion and detail of the Passion and Holy week and back to real time of the
beginnings of the church)
What a difference a week makes as Jesus is with them again and this time Thomas
is there. Throughout, John’s gospel presents Thomas as a committed disciple willing to
place himself at risk to help others and to support the ministry of Jesus. He is as bold as
Peter.
In today’s scripture Thomas becomes the example of a re-occurring theme in
John’s gospel. What was the gift of sight was now being passed on as the gift of hearing
through sharing, (witnessing). It was a real dilemma John the gospel writer faced that is a
continuing dilemma for the church. How do we pass the faith along when Jesus isn’t
around to touch or feel or see anymore? How do we recognize our life is found in sharing
and not just consuming our faith?
There is a little phrase we say every week in the Nicene Creed.
Most weeks we move right through it, some folks (those from protestant traditions)
might stumble over a word at the beginning but I don’t think most people even pause at the
second half because we are almost at the end. The phrase is “We believe in one holy
catholic and apostolic church.

That second half is for us today, the word apostolic. It is often defined as relating to
the apostles or the teaching of the apostles. But it is much more and it is a word we should
stop and consider for us and for those who will come after us. As John remembered and
recorded this moment between Jesus and Thomas, Passing the faith along suddenly became
a vision of a long line of believers from the first eye witnesses all the way to us. Sharing
what has been remembered and recorded since those who saw and began to tell the story,
and from that first evening there has been a connection of people and their witness that is
called the church.
If we are following The Way today, we have someone to thank. Our faith wasn’t
formed in a vacuum but in community and the succession of those authentic and reliable
voices all the way back to the beginning, forms our apostolic connection. But just as
important was the willingness of those first eye witnesses to write down all that they could
recall so that all would be able to listen and hear and then see as well. Even when the line
of lives from the beginning would get tangled for a moment, the map was intact with all
that had been written down so that we would always be able to find our way back to the
line of lives all the way back to the first see-ers. And when we become discouraged by the
journey, the gift of the advocate the Spirit of Holiness, the Holy Spirit will bring our
believing to life and keep us connected when we and others have our doubts.

Its in today's gospel, John recalls and records this conversation, so we can stand
with Thomas and hear the beginnings of what will be the church. Blessed are those who
have not seen and yet have come to believe.
Apollo Anton Ohno who is the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete
of all time. Had an often commentated preparation for every short track race he competed
in. As the world watched him prepare and get ready to race they wanted to know, is he
bored is he tired. Is he pretending he is a lion? In preparation he would yawn. Yawning,
one of the most shared actions ever identified within every human community.
Can you all yawn right now? That’s right, try a yawn. See if you can yawn. . .Okay,
you can stop now .Really . you can stop now.
We judge a yawn to be a sign of tiredness, or lethargy, or just plain boredom. But
the physiology of a yawn suggests the opposite. Without thinking about it we open
ourselves up, our mouth stretches wide, and we take in as much life-giving oxygen as we
can. The slowed down, extended exhalation blows out excess carbon dioxide. And the
whole body participates. What looks like a first step toward sleep walking is in reality a
full-body work-out. As we yawn, we open ourselves up to a breath of fresh air, fresh
insights, and fresh pathways.

It might be a bit embarrassing when done loudly in the middle of a sermon, it

actually works to wake us up! And it not only wakes us up. It wakes up those around us,
and it shares the wake-up call to all who are within its influence. It’s time to put the
“yawn” back into our faith. It’s time to “yawn” others back into their faith. It’s time to
share with others with the love of Christ. And a yawn is one of the most shared actions
ever identified within every human community, so should our shared story of those first
see-er all the way to us. It’s time to open our selves and our stories of the faith received,
so that others will also come to believe and experience the fresh air, fresh insights, fresh
pathways, of a living faith.