Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
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Christ is risen, the tomb is empty, but the doors are locked. Resurrected life, it seems, did not come easily to them, nor does it to us.
I suspect we all know about locked doors. Sometimes it seems that God rolls back the stone and we follow behind locking the door. God declares forgiveness and we continue to live in condemnation of self or others. God defeats death but we still live as if it is the final word. God offers new life, but we live in the past. God declares we are loved, and we lock ourselves out of that love. Maybe our wounds are so deep it does not seem worth the risk to step outside. The locked doors of our lives are not so much about what is going on around us, but what is happening within us: fear, anger, guilt, hurt, grief, the refusal to change. The locks on the doors of our life are always locked from the inside. Every time we shut the doors of our life, our mind, or our heart we imprison ourselves. For every person, event, or idea we lock out, regardless of the reason, we lock ourselves in.
I believe, that’s what Thomas was struggling with when he said, “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.” Jesus never accuses Thomas of doubting. That’s how we ‘ve translated and interpreted the Greek. Rather, Jesus, says, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” He could just have easily said that to the other disciples as well. One week after seeing Jesus’ hands and side they are still in the house behind locked doors.
Belief in Jesus’ resurrection is not a question of intellectual assent or agreement. It’s not about evidence or proof. Belief is more about how we live than what we think. Resurrection is not just an event or an idea. It is a way of being and living. It is the lens through which we see the world, each other, and ourselves.
Resurrection is the gift of God’s life and love. Living resurrection, however, is difficult. It is neither quick nor magical. For most of us it is a process, something we grow into. Resurrection does not undo our past, fix our problems, or change the circumstances of our lives. It changes us, offers a way through our problems, and creates a future. Christ’s resurrected life inspires us with his spirit, invites us to unlock the doors, and sends us into the world. One week after Easter, is our life any different? Are we living in the freedom and joy of resurrection or behind locked doors? What doors have we locked? If you want to know what you believe, look at your life and how you live. Our beliefs guide our life, and our life reveals our beliefs.
The resurrection is not Jesus’ private miracle; it’s the new shape of reality. It’s the new shape of the world filled with grace, with possibility, with newness. Resurrected people know that faith and life are messy. They ask hard questions rather than settling for easy answers. They don’t have to figure it all out before praying, feeding the hungry, forgiving another, or loving their neighbor. They trust that what God believes about them is more important than what they believe about God. They are willing to unlock doors even when they do not know what is on the other side. They believe even if they don’t understand. They may never see or touch Jesus, but they live trusting that they have been seen and touched by him.
Jesus says to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Then Jesus turns to us and says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Jesus is always entering the locked places of our lives. Unexpected, uninvited, and sometimes even unwanted, he steps into our closed lives, closed hearts, closed minds. Standing among us he offers peace and breathes new life into us. He doesn’t open the door for us, but he gives us all we need so that we might open our doors to a new life, a new creation, a new way of being. This is offered all the time.
Regardless of the circumstances, Jesus shows up embodying and offering peace and life. Life and peace are the resurrection reality that sets us free to unlock the doors of our lives and step outside into his life.
+Amen.
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