Jesus in the locked houses

Painting of Thomas with Jesus by Caravaggio

Now, it was Sunday, and Jesus’ followers were locked in their homes.  Some were fearful of coronavirus and what it meant.  Jesus came and stood among them and said: “Peace be with you!”, and then he showed them his hands and his side.  He told them that these wounds were a sign of how he carried the wounds of the world on the cross.  All our hurt, and suffering, our sense of separation from God and each other, our fears and even death.  As he showed these wounds he said again: “Peace be with you!”. 

Thomas was not with them when Jesus came, and he said, I can’t believe that it is true. I saw him die.  I need to touch him to know it is true, then I will believe.  Jesus, not wanting anyone to miss out on knowing that he really is alive, comes again into the locked room.  Standing there again he says: “Peace be with you.” Thomas, sees him and doesn’t need to touch him to know him: “My Lord and my God”.  

John, writing all these things down for us (John 20.19-31), says that these things are written for us that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and in believing that we might have life in his name.

And so this is where the rubber hits the road for us.  We have journeyed with Jesus to Jerusalem.  We have witnessed his death.  Last Sunday we celebrated his resurrection.  Now a week later we are still in lockdown, not knowing for how long or what the future will bring.  This is where we are faced with what we really believe.

Over the last couple of weeks I have heard some Christians talk about this period of time as being an extension of Holy Saturday, that time of almost limbo and waiting to see whether the death on Good Friday really will lead to the new life promised for Easter Sunday.  But I think that this part of the Easter events resonates more.  Jesus is risen, and for those in lockdown, for us in lockdown, can we believe that it is true and that Jesus is really risen?

In John's gospel, firstly we read about Peter and John believing that Jesus is alive when they see the linen cloths collapsed as the body they had wrapped became a new and very different body.  Mary’s testimony after Jesus called her by name was: “I have seen the Lord.” Now the disciples in the locked room believe when they see and hear Jesus standing among them.  Jesus is no ghost, his physical body holds wounds he invites Thomas to touch.  At a time where we feel so aware of what and who we touch this offer seems more powerful.  It is in the offer to touch the wounds of Christ that Thomas’ eyes are finally opened and he calls Jesus his Lord.  Says Jesus you are more powerful than my fear or my unbelief.  You are Lord of all.

If we think about ourselves in our current situation, I wonder how you are feeling?  Are you fearful at home?  Are you unsure about the future? Perhaps like Thomas you feel isolated from your family and friends? Do you have a desire to know that Jesus is with you?  

You might be feeling all of these, and so perhaps more than ever we need to remember the promise of God that nothing can separate from the love of God found in Jesus Christ, and even in our locked down state, Jesus comes to be with us.

In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2.22-32), Peter quotes from Psalm 16 as he talks about Jesus journeying through death and out the other side.  Jesus was not abandoned to death, in fact through his death he freed all those who had died! Today the Orthodox church celebrates Easter, and what you see in icons of the resurrection is Jesus leading the dead from their tombs.  Jesus raised from the dead promises that we can join him in eternal life.  And that eternal life, life in the kingdom of God can start for us now!  Psalm 16 includes this verse which Peter quotes: “You have made known to me the paths of life, you will make me full of gladness in your presence.”

As we begin to talk more about the effects on our mental health of living locked down and often in fear, then psychologists are recommending practices that Christians have followed for thousands of years.  Looking for things to be grateful for is one.  Just take a moment now, look around your room or out the window.  What are you thankful for? 

The verse says ‘you will make me full of gladness in your presence’, when Jesus comes into the midst of fear and locked down houses, he does not bring coronavirus, his presence is a different sort of contagion, he brings contagious holiness, contagious peace.  Imagine again that Jesus is present with you now in your room.  If he were there, what would he be saying to you?  Can you hear him say: Peace be with you?  It may feel impossible to imagine Jesus is with you, but Jesus did do the impossible.  The room was locked. But when the disciples realised that Jesus were there, they were glad.  “You make me full of gladness with your presence”

And Jesus leads us into paths of life.  Our life currently feels very different, but Jesus breathes on the disciples in the locked room, breathes the Holy Spirit on them.  Remember, Jesus is the one who baptises us with the Holy Spirit, and gosh don’t we need the Holy Spirit to help us!  We are probably all feeling more helpless than we have ever done, more uncertain about what the future holds. But in the midst of that Jesus says: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Let us pause for a moment, you might want to be still close your eyes and turn your hands upwards as a sign that you do want to receive the Holy Spirit.  It is not magic, but God always wants to work in partnership with us, and as physical people our actions help to focus our minds and demonstrate the intention of our hearts.  Jesus says: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus more clearly to us. It is good to ask God to help us know the presence of Jesus more clearly at this time, and to ask for the peace that passes understanding, and the perfect love that casts out fear.  Perhaps you need self-control, or patience as you live more closely with others.  Perhaps you need to rediscover joy, or to reconnect with kindness. Perhaps you need God’s help to forgive.  These are the work of the Holy Spirit in us.  

So my prayer for you all this week is that you will find space to be quiet this week, to remember that God is with you, and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who will comfort you and help you.  

Transformation

This evening I was preaching on 1 Corinthians 15.12-34 at church, and we were talking about what it means to live life differently as a result of believing that Jesus rose from the dead. Paul clearly expected that the gospel, the good news about who Jesus is - his life, death and rising again, would make a difference to the way that Christians lived. In fact he says that Christians are to be pitied if the gospel is not true because we have chosen to live a difficult life of loving our enemies, putting others first, forgiving, suffering and even dying for our faith.  So I asked how our lives today as Christians look different from the lives of non-Christians around us.


We had a good discussion, and coming away from it I was struck particularly by three things. First, on the face of it, the lives of Christians day-to-day don't generally look much different. But underneath the day-to-day sameness, I think (and hope) that Christians are holding a shifted perspective on things, asking what God thinks about a situation, and asking God what they should do in a situation. The outcome might be the same, being kind to a stranger, or helping someone out, but the motivation comes from wanting to serve God, rather than feeling better about yourself, or wanting to gain something from another. In a sense Christians have already died. Baptism is a death to self, and new life post-baptism means living for God, not yourself.


Second, Christians are in the process of being transformed into more Christ-like versions of themselves. You may not be the most loving or giving person, but there is a transformation going on that means, as you become more aware of God at work in your life, and ask God to help you change, you gradually become more loving or giving or more whatever it is. Ask any Christian that you admire and they will be pretty clear that there are all sorts of areas that they are changing and growing in. It is a slow process of submitting our lives to being shaped by God through the Holy Spirit, but God is faithful to God's promise to complete the good work begun in us (Philippians 1.6).


Finally, Christians are more likely to play the long game. The life of faith looks ahead to a heavenly home. Someone read out Hebrews 11.13-16 - those who believe in God will not be totally settled on earth, there is a confidence in a final destination beyond death. Whilst it doesn't make pain and suffering in this life any less real or difficult, it does become more temporary. Hope stretches further than the life we see around us.








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Place and space

Psalm 84 opens with the words 'How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord', the NET Bible translates this as 'How lovely is the place where you live, O Lord who reigns over all!'. Of course the Psalmist is referring to being in the Temple in Jerusalem with God, this was the special place where heaven and earth met in the Holy of Holies.

Since you could only go into the Holy of Holies once a year and then only if you were High Priest, there were not many people who were dwelling with God.  The Psalmist was desperate to even just be in the courts of the Temple and satisfied that God was near. The arrival of Jesus into the world changed the place where God dwelled.  Jesus is God, and so wherever He was there was a meeting of heaven and earth and an opening of the divine.  We often call this the Kingdom of God, and where Jesus was, there the Kingdom started to become a reality on earth. 

This is what makes being a Christian so amazing because when Jesus was killed by us, that was not the end, He broke through death into new life and assures us that by having faith that He is God we can both still be sure of His presence with us always (Matt 28:20) and  that He has opened a connection between heaven and earth (Heb 8-10), a way for us to be in the presence of God.  This is not just a hope for the future, it is a hope for now, that as Christians we can expect the Kingdom of God to be manifest where we are because God is with us there. 

So anyway, all this got me thinking about place and space....

At the moment in the UK, the two areas where people increasingly have a Christian engagement are in cathedrals (attendance up 30% in the last 10 years according to Church of England stats) and in churches with a Pentecostal emphasis (see Christian research stats), i.e. those churches that emphasise direct personal experience of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.  I think this should be of no surprise to us.  We live in a culture that is looking for meaning in life, and essentially because God created everything this means that searching for meaning is searching for God. Searching for where He dwells. 

I think this is where place becomes important. When Christians gather, there is God (Matt 18:20). When this happens repeatedly over many years in places that act as memorials to encounter with the living God, in places that proclaim His glory through their beauty, then I think it helps us get caught up in the big story of God that stretches through the past, present and future, anchoring us and giving us hope. I think this is what cathedrals are starting to increasingly be symbols of, that God is present in places, He is not remote from us.

I think this is also why space is important.  Churches (or us in our individual Christian lives) that make space for an encounter with God, will experience an encounter with God. Churches with a Pentecostal emphasis seek to do this and teach this. The book of Ephesians talks about us being a dwelling place for God as individuals (Eph 3:17) and as a corporate body, a community built together by God (Eph 2:22). And because we are known fully by God, making space for an encounter with Him brings meaning, understanding and transformation to our lives.

Back to Psalm 84 then, and the reason for the name of this blog. I want to be where God dwells, my heart and soul yearn for Him. I want to see the places where He is dwelling and at work, and I want to make space for Him to dwell in my life and the lives of people around me.