“Faith is an Open Door” – John 20:19-31 – April 19, 2009
There is a recent book which is on the list of best sellers called The Shack, by William P. Young. The Shack revolves around Mack (Mackenzie) Philips. Four years before this story begins, Mack’s young daughter, Missy, was abducted during a family vacation. As the story begins, Mack, who has been living in the shadow of his great sadness, receives a strange note that is apparently from God. God invites Mack to return to this shack for a get together. Though uncertain, Mack visits the shack and has a weekend-long encounter with God.
I won’t tell you the whole story but essentially the book deals with Mack’s struggle to forgive another human being for a hideous crime. The book is controversial because of our inability as humans to forgive. In his struggle, Mack eventually overcomes that inability as is transformed into a free man.
Forgiving others for harm or wrongs they have done to us is an almost impossible task for it involves making a decision, trusting God and surrender. In the gospel story of John we find the disciples behind locked doors and later Thomas appears but he has doubts about the resurrection.
Why are the disciples behind locked doors? For one, they were hiding from the authorities since they had a close relationship with Jesus, who was arrested and crucified. How could they possibly forgive them for what they did to Jesus? Secondly, they were also attempting to hide from God, because they were feeling guilty for deserting Jesus in his most crucial hour.
“Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” A second time his said, “Peace be with you.” Then he “breathed on them and said, ‘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.’”
The ability to forgive is Jesus’ prime message. He wanted the disciples to know that they were forgiven and at the same time they must be willing to forgive others. When that occurs the door will be opened and they will be able to step out in the world in freedom and faith.
How can we forgive someone for a hideous crime? That is part of what it means to be human. Like Mack Phillips, we all hold back on forgiveness because of the pain someone have caused us. We want them to be punished or ironically, “locked up.” We say we can forgive but we can’t forget. We are also like the disciples; we remain trapped behind closed doors because of our inability to forgive.
Fortunately, the door did open for the disciples. Jesus “breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.’” The Holy Spirit is the breath that sustains new life. This for the disciples was the beginning of a new mission. The mission as they chose to accept was to go into the world and be a community of believers who embodied forgiveness.
This whole story is couched in guilt and the need to embrace God’s forgiveness. The disciples were feeling guilty and yet they were forgiven. Receiving the Holy Spirit had to do with forgiveness. Prior to his death one of the last things Jesus said was, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus was free to forgive his accusers, those who had cast a death sentence on his life. We could say that the stone that was removed away from the tomb represented the inability of men to forgive. Thus, the door was opened by God to release God’s forgiveness to those who would believe.
We know from the story that the disciples didn’t march through the door and start practicing forgiveness. A week later we find them back in the same place, only this time the doors were only shut. They have become less fearful and perhaps more receptive to Jesus’ challenge to be forgiving. Once again Jesus appeared and said, “Peace be with you.”
Thomas, who was not with them the first time Jesus appeared, acknowledged Jesus’ presence. He said, “My Lord and my God.” He had moved from a position of unbelief to belief. He didn’t see before but later he did. What did he see? I believe he saw a God who forgives and a God who wanted him to forgive others. His eyes have been opened. Everything about who Jesus was and what he was about had come together.
Notice also that when the disciples said, “We have seen the Lord (vs. 20:25) it is exactly the same expression (in Greek) that Mary Magdalene said in verse 20:18. Mary Magdalene, a close follower of Jesus, is also mentioned in Luke 8:2 as “a woman who from seven demons had gone out.” Could it be that what Mary Magdalene received was God’s forgiveness?
Normally we interpret this gospel story to mean that Thomas and the others believe in the resurrection since Jesus had appeared to them. All those followers who came later, including us, were not there when Jesus appeared. Nevertheless, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet come to believe.” Believe what? That to believe in the resurrection of Jesus is to believe in forgiveness. The two are inextricably linked.
Every time we forgive we experience resurrection. Every time a person is forgiven they also experience resurrection. The story of Jesus appearing to the disciples is a story of hope and promise, not judgment and reprimand. They have been recipients of God’s grace and now they are commissioned to extend that grace to others beyond the closed doors.
So what does this mean for us? It means that when we are feeling trapped or locked up behind a door we will experience resurrection when we truly embrace God’s forgiveness. It also means others will experience resurrection when we unlock the door for them by forgiving them.
Why is it so difficult to forgive? Sometimes we want revenge. Other times we want those who have hurt us to be punished. When that doesn’t happen we get angry at God since the perpetrator has gone free. If God is just we want justice. When justice does not appear to be served we no longer trust God. It is not a simple thing to let God be God. Even Jesus had to come to that resolve. Remember what he said in the garden of Gethsemane? “Father, if thou art willing remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done.” (Luke 22:42)
It is also hard for us to receive God’s forgiveness. Others may judge us and we may even judge ourselves which keeps us from being forgive. Like Thomas, we doubt the forgiveness of God is real. Thomas overcame his doubt when he realized that a broken, scarred and crucified Lord was had indeed risen from the dead. What he realized was that God’s grace had prevailed over man’s fear and judgment.
Thomas’s inability to accept the resurrection was hindered by his despair. His grief over the loss of Jesus was painful. Likely he was depressed. Thomas didn’t give up, he just came a week later when he had the courage to face the other disciples. When he encountered Jesus he was not shamed, criticized or judged. No, Thomas was forgiven. Then Jesus invited him to touch him. This seems odd since earlier he told Mary not to touch him. (John 20:17) Perhaps Thomas needed more assurance. Or, perhaps he needed a “high touch” to move him forward.
I believe that there are folks who need that high touch in order to experience forgiveness. Seeing isn’t enough, we have to “feel” God’s grace. It’s like the song, He Touched Me. “Something happened and now I know, he touched me and made me whole.” Perhaps that is what is missing in today’s church. We are so rational, democratic and corporate-like we no longer extend that added touch. Quite honestly, I believe we suppress it. We resist tears, emotion, and intimacy. What is needed is heartfelt exchange or high touch. A forgiving congregation is one whose doors are wide open.
One time a man in a former church came to see me. He was a Korean War Veteran. He told me he was living with an incident in his life that he could not let go of. During the war he was taken prisoner and was being held in North Korea. At one point he had an opportunity to escape and he decided to go for it. He managed to get beyond the compound and the only thing that stood between him and freedom was a single Korean guard. He snuck up on the guard and killed him with a knife. When the guard fell to the ground his wallet fell from his shirt pocket and some pictures were exposed. There were pictures of the guard’s wife and child. The American soldier managed to escape and reach an American unit but he couldn’t get those pictures out of his mind. He lived with guilt all of his life since he had killed a man who was a father and husband.
I listened to his story, held his arm and let him cry. He said, “He never felt God had forgiven him.” I told him that I forgave him and after a pause he straightened up and thanked me. He told me no one had ever said to him, “I forgive you.” People would tell him he did his duty or that they would have done the same thing had they been in his shoes. I take no special credit for that moment of resurrection in the man’s life. I believe because I was also a veteran and could listen to his story without judgment may have made the difference. I say this not because I have any special powers, but because others have done the same for me when guilt overshadowed my life. When others have forgiven us for the things we have done it is much easier to forgive someone else for what they have done..
There are folks I know who refuse to read The Shack, because it is too painful. I respect their freedom. The story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is painful too. When we hear God’s message of forgiveness in the gospel story, the doors will also open for us.
Dr. Keith Wagner