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The Spirit of the Risen Lord
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The Spirit of the Risen Lord Breathe Upon The World, Alleluia!
John 20:19-31
The Spirit of the Risen Lord, oh, breathe upon the world, Alleluia!
Christ is risen, Alleluia! He is indeed risen! Alleluia!
Easter continues….
Easter continues in this congregation, in choir’s singing, in dancers dance, in people’s cooking…in Linda’s singing…in birds chirping, in people’s faithfulness….in Hyunji’s claiming what she wants…
In Hyunji’s blue sweater…
Would you be able to continue?
The Spirit of the Risen Lord, oh, breathe upon the world, Alleluia!
The Risen Lord is standing in front of us in the form of which we could recognize…
How has the risen Lord stood in front of you, next to you and behind you during the last week?
In my case I felt the presence of the Risen Lord stood when I participated in the wedding ceremony of two young people who, after struggling in first marriages, chose to be united in a simple ceremony in a small elegant corner of downtown, with only a few close friends and some flowers, Champagne and creamy yellow cake from a special bakery called “Copps.”
This does not mean that I had no moments of fear and doubt…One morning when God woke me up, I stayed in bed, locking my door, let the thoughts flow here and there…Instead of letting the Spirit of the Risen Lord breathe upon on me so that I might welcome and rejoice in the Lord.
I may have avoided the Spirit for a while, but the power of the Risen Lord doesn’t let us be locked away for a long time. The Spirit has a way of insisting on coming through our locked doors to breathe upon us, Alleluia!
This weekend I had the chance to see my husband in a professional setting. He was asked to be a judge of the Wisconsin Regional Artist program, speaking about his journey as an artist, and critiquing the participant’s artwork. What impressed me most was how each person was breathed with new energy when it was their turn to show their artwork. When the people go to talk about their art, their face would fill with feeling and passion for what they had created. In turn my husband would affirm the strong points of whatever work was presented by these amateur artists…He was giving himself fully—his professional knowledge and personal caring.
I briefly imagined our church that way….Sunday morning service with people more engaging, not with a preacher only talking…..
The Spirit of the Risen Lord, oh, … breathe upon the world...alleluia!
When I reflect on the gospel reading, I wonder why Jesus brought the word of forgiveness in this context … “Receive the Holy Spirit! If you forgive the sins of any, you will be forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, it will be retained.”
I imagine that retaining sins is like staying in the locked room. We may think the room is more secure if it is locked but Easter is a time for opening up not huddling in a locked room. My experience of lingering in bed when I should be getting up is like being in a locked room. The bed may feel secure, but I end up being tormented by this or that thought. I think that forgiving sins is an integral part of receiving the risen lord because if we retain sins, keeping them inside us we are not ready to receive Christ…
That happens particularly when some fear or unpleasant things happen, or stress…it’s as though I am retaining the sins...in my body…whereas if I say yes to God’s invitation of breath….everything which I have retained will disappear…
Jesus did not retain sins. He did not scold the disciples for fleeing, nor did he blame God. Jesus was killed cruelly and needlessly, yet he held no grudge. He obeyed God’s will even unto death…and was raised. Death has no power over him. The resurrection was God’s final word to this world.
So Jesus says to the disciples, “Why are you in fear…if you forgive the sins of any it will be forgiven, if you retain the sins of any it will be retained”….let all go—death, power which pushes you down…..and …receive the holy spirit…or as you receive the holy spirit, everything will get disappear…
The spirit of the Risen God oh breathe upon the world, alleluia!
Thomas happened to be absent when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room…so when the disciples told him, we have seen the Lord, Thomas said, “I won’t believe your word unless I put my fingers and hands in his side and hands.”
He was asking for real tangible things to believe… In fact the day when Jesus appeared to Mary, that same night, Jesus appeared to the disciples, through the locked room, and showed them hands and side, together with the word, receive the Holy Spirit and the disciples rejoiced in the Lord.
So the request from Thomas—wanting to really see the tangible things -- to believe Jesus’ bodily resurrection wasn’t as different as what Jesus offered to the disciples for believing.
In fact the word which was often translated into “doubt” would be better translated as faithless or disbelieving…….lack of trust… So Jesus was saying, instead of “Do not doubt, but believe…” “do not be disbelieving, but believe….”
Not skepticism in terms of fact…but belief and trust in terms of relation…
Thomas’ exclamation, “My Lord and my God” is not yes you are truly God, your divinity got proved, rather, “thank you, Lord, you really love me enough that, despite my disbelief and shortcomings, you came and showed what I needed for belief…” It is an exclamation out of gratitude and being touched…amazing grace.
God comes to us despite our shortcomings…and he will keep coming to us in the form which we would recognize … …. to us the ones who have to see, touch, hear and taste….amen…
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University United Methodist Church
608-256-2353
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