Second Sunday of Easter April 12, 2026

Prayer of the Day
Almighty and eternal God, the strength of those who believe and the hope of those who doubt, may we, who have not seen, have faith in you and receive the fullness of Christ’s blessing, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: John 20:19-31
Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the authorities, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Jesus and Thomas 24
But Thomas (who was called the Twin[a]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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.”
26 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 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.”

The Purpose of This Book
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue[b] to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,[c] the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

SERMON
Doors locked…excellent idea. Will the locks hold? What if the authorities just kick down the door? If the door holds tonight, what about tomorrow? We might be talking about the disciples or we might be talking about ourselves. How soon before we can just take a breath and let our guard down for a minute?

We are forever changed since COVID and in ways we’re only starting to understand. Some researchers believe that we are still living in alarm mode even though the nature of the threat of COVID has changed. They conclude that living in permanent vigilance wears us down psychologically as well as physically.

You know the saying if you see the world as a nail the only tool you’ll learn to use is a hammer? I think the writers of wisdom literature like Ecclesiastes warn that we always reach for bigger and bigger hammers—we do what’s necessary to live life and that’s good. But we accumulate and strive and think our lives will be vouch safe…it’s security we’re after. Not a bad thing. Just not the only thing.

Every bump and squeak must have set off the inner alarms of the those gathered in that room long ago and far away. Having Jesus walk right through the door..not the doorway but the door itself couldn’t have been instantly reassuring. Jesus doesn’t rail against their fear. Instead he breathes peace upon them…he offers them himself—not an easy answer—his presence among them and God’s Spirit upon them.

The first hearers of John’s Gospel we need this story. John’s people lived with the prospect of being ousted by their faith community and they lived with the absurd cruelty of an occupying empire. Their lives were anything but secure. What a powerful thing if they could somehow trust in the Risen One though they hadn’t seen him.

John’s Gospel declares itself as being for us too. Despite savings accounts, insurance policies, door cams, and soft ware updates—we still feel jittery about the next visit to the doctor, or about whether our retirement savings will get gobbled up by inflated food prices. We wonder whether we’ve damaged the planet to the extent it won’t be able to support human life before too long. Trillions are spent on bombs and missiles while people starve. Is there a locked door strong enough to keep all that out? Maybe not. John’s Gospel itself says stories like this one we read today are so that we can trust in the One who walks right through our defences into our fear—and then breathes the Spirit of God among us and offers us his very self; wounds and all. We need these stories for when we realize the bolted door isn’t secure enough; not really, God’s steadfast love is. Having life in his name is about experiencing that steadfast love as it finds its way to us. Amen.