Unlocked – Second Sunday of Easter, April 28, 2019

Scripture

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.” John 20:19-23

Reflection

The disciples were hiding behind locked doors on the evening of Christ’s resurrection. We can only imagine what they were thinking, feeling, and talking about. The arrest, trial, mocking, painful torture, humiliation, and cruel public crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ certainly devastated their hopes, utterly dissappointed their expectations, and deeply frightened them.

Even though they had heard a report from Mary Magdalene that the body was missing and Peter and John had verified that the tomb was empty (Jn. 20:1-18), the disciples were still in the lock of bitter despair and dissapointment.

The phsycology of dissapointment is a growing field of study. Psychologists have found that there is a definite psysiological aspect to what happens to the brain when we experience the emotion known as dissappointment. Dissappointment happens when the outcomes we expected are not met. When expectations are not met, our tendency is to express blame, regret, anger, rage, and fear born out of uncertainty and perceived threats. We get locked into imagining what might have been in contrast to the current unwanted reality we find ourselves in. Dissappointment becomes exacerbated when we put forth our best efforts and resources toward a cause only to realize that what we worked for or desired did not happen or may never come to pass. At that point, we protest with anger toward ourselves, another person or group, or sometimes towards the whole world because anger allows us to continue locked into idealizing what could have been.

As the disciples, locked behind closed doors, wallow in the throes of dissappointment, despair, and fear, Jesus unexectedly and surprisingly appears and stands in the middle of them. He initiates three resurrection actions that console them, strengthen their broken spirits, and gives them direction to proclaim new life in his name. His actions unlock and free them from their despair, dissappointments, and fears.

• First, he double greets them with peace (Jn. 20:19, 21)
• Second, he shows them the marks of his crucifixion (Jn. 20:20). In doing so, he lets the disciples know that he shares in and understands what it means to experience pain, fear, rejection, and violence.
• And third, he breathes on them the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22-23) and sends them into the world to continue his mission of forgiveness and reconciliation with God through faith in him (Jesus) as the Son of God, the living water, the healer, the bread of life, the light of the world, the way and the truth, the good shepherd, and the resurrection and the life.

These three powerful resurrection and liberating acts of Jesus apply to us today.

Peace: All are in seach of the inward personal peace and the outward peace in the world Christ offers. This is a peace that is present not only when things go right or in ways that best suit us, but when life becomes dissappointing. Christ’s double portion of peace counters the marketing of fear, fault-finding, self-interest, and despair that overwhelm people in our communities.

Christ, the Center: All are in search of an authentic community constituted by the crucified and risen Christ who stands in the middle of it and holds it together by grace and peace when so many things seem to be falling apart. Although in the world we will have trouble, with Christ’s presence in our midst and his aliveness among us and in us, we take heart because through him and with him, we can seek goodness and beauty in the world and persevere through dissappointments with courage and hope.

Forgiveness: All are in need of the forgiveness Christ offers through the means of grace the church provides that redeems, restores, and transforms people and communities.

Dissappointment over unmet expectations are a part of life. If we’re not careful, we can get locked in by crushing despair and dissappointment that can manifest itself in unhealthy behaviors and attitudes such as resentment, blaming, apathy, and anger. The good news is that the Risen Christ unexpectedly and surprisingly comes and becomes present to us, freeing us through acts of worship, prayer, reading and study of scripture, singing hymns and songs of faith, partaking of the sacraments, Christian fellowship, meditation, and solitude. His peace is always seeking to make an abiding residence deep within our souls. He understands our struggles and hopes and does not leave us locked into despair and dissappointment. His abiding presence and Spirit renews us, restores our hopes, strengthens our broken hearts, invites, and sends us as his ambassadors of peace, faith, and forgiveness into the world with the good news of new resurrected life.

Christ our Lord is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen!

Prayer

Resurrected Lord, we thank you that you understand all that we face, that you see and you care. We lay before you all that locks us into despair and dissapointment – the pain, the past, the struggles. Thank you for the consolation, abiding presence, and power of the Holy Spirit. Enable to trust that all things work out for the good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Amen.