Lost and Found
April 20, 25 Easter Sunday
John 20: 1-10, 19-29 (liturgist read italicized part)
Imagine we are Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples. We’ve been following him for three years. Do you remember when we first met him? We’ll never forget that day, will we?
We were in the water that day with John the Baptist. We had gone to hear John preach out by the Jordan River. John’s words struck home about our need to change our lives and start serving God. We walked forward to be baptized by John, who was known as the Baptizer. We wanted to put our past behind us, to bury it in the water. We looked forward to the new life we would experience as we came up out of that river. Right before John baptized us, he pointed to this relative of his.
John said, “I will baptize you with water, but this man will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. After I bring you up out of the water, I want you to follow this man, Jesus.”
The next thing we know, John has dunked us under the water. Then something happened that frightened us. John let go of us and we sank deeper, almost to the bottom. The thought of dying briefly flashed through our mind. Then we felt John’s arms pull us back up. When we came out of the water, we could hear someone laughing. It was Jesus.
He said, “I hope you don’t stumble like that every time John.” Then Jesus looked directly at us. Remember those first words he said: “Thomas, my friend, you’re going to remember your baptism, aren’t you?”
From that day on, we followed Jesus wherever he went. We were one of the original disciples. There were 12 of us. Living with that many others was never easy. It would often get tense among us. And you know what Jesus would sometimes do when we would get too serious or anxious? He would lighten us up by saying, “Thomas, remember that day when you were baptized…” He would tell again the humorous story of John the Baptist slipping and almost drowning us.
We were one of the twelve, but you know it seems like we were always on the fringe of the group. We went home more often than the rest. We weren’t like those who were closest to Jesus, like Peter, James, and John. They were with Jesus all the time and if Jesus said, “Jump”, they would say “How high?” That was not us, definitely not us. We were much more cautious and hesitant about all this. Anyways, we had our own lives to live.
We knew something was going very wrong when Jesus turned over the tables in the temple. As far as we were concerned, he was getting way too radical. “Jesus is going to get himself into trouble with the Jewish and Roman authorities. I just know it.”
Now, Jesus is gone. He’s dead. We didn’t stick around on that awful Friday. We ran. There was no way we were going to put our life on the line.
Let’s pause in the Biblical story and reflect on what this disciple is experiencing right now. I can remember when my kids were young playing hide and seek with them in large motel swimming pools. While they counted to twenty, I would swim away and hide under the water. I would hold my breath for the longest time in the far corner of the pool hoping they wouldn’t be able to find me.
Swimming away and hiding under the water. That’s what Thomas is doing. He wants to be safe and not found.
We do it all the time. We swim away and hide under the water, hoping no one will find us. We struggle with some personal issues that eat away at us and we swim away and hide. We get frustrated in a relationship with one of our family members and we swim away and hide. We come face to face with the reality that we will someday die and we swim away and hide. We hear God’s voice calling us and we swim away and hide.
We swim away and hide under our busyness. We swim away and hide under the television or the internet. We swim away and hide under alcohol. We swim away and hide by not talking, by not sharing the feelings of our heart. We swim away and hide by avoiding the church and God. We are good at this game of hide and seek, at least the hiding part.
Let’s return to the Biblical story. I’ll be playing the role of Thomas. Susan will be playing the role of Mary Magdalene. We as Thomas think the place we’re staying at is a secret, known to no one else, but there’s a knock at the door.
We say, “Who is it?”
Mary/liturgist: “It’s Mary. Let me in. I’ve got some news to tell you.”
“Oh, Mary. Go away. I don’t want to talk to anybody.”
Mary/liturgist: “Come on. Open up Thomas.”
“Get out of here Mary. I’ll be just fine by myself. I don’t need you or any of your friends to help me.”
Mary/liturgist: “Just let me in for a second. You can’t hide in there forever you know.”
“I’ll stay here as long as I want, thank you.”
Mary/liturgist “You won’t believe what I’m going to tell you.”
“Go away. It’s over. This whole Jesus thing is over. I’m sick and tired of everything. I don’t need you nor your religious friends in my face right now.”
Mary/liturgist: “Thomas, we’ve seen him you know.”
“You’re crazy, you haven’t seen him.”
Mary/liturgist: “He showed up while we were meeting together the other night. It was amazing. He’s alive.”
“Go away Mary, you must have been hallucinating. You always were a bit crazy.”
Mary/liturgist: “I’m not crazy. I saw him with my own eyes. You’ve got to believe me.”
“Listen, Mary, I won’t believe a word you’re saying is true unless I actually see the scars of the nails in his hand and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side.”
Mary/liturgist: “Thomas, I don’t think you’re going to get the opportunity to see and do that unless you come back.”
“I’ll be just fine by myself, thank you, Mary. Leave.”
Back to my game of hide and seek with my children… After I stayed under the swimming pool water a while I eventually had to come to the surface. I was always very cautious, because I knew when I came up out of that water, it would be easy for my kids to spot me. There were a couple times when I was at the bottom of the deep end hiding when it seemed like I waited too long.
For a brief moment, panic would come over me as I rushed up to the surface. It was probably the same feeling that Thomas had when John the Baptist baptized him. You remember when John stumbled. And later Jesus said, “You’ll remember your baptism.” You’re under the surface a bit frightened as to whether you will make it up in time.
It’s interesting to notice that being under water and death are two images that went together for those in the early church. Paul said in Romans, chapter 6: “For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of God, so also we might live a new life.”
The death of Jesus and our death to our old way of life are symbolized by the going under the water in baptism. The resurrection of Jesus and the new life we experience in Him are symbolized by the coming up out of the waters of baptism. That’s why for many centuries the church made it a point to baptize new followers of Christ on Easter morning. The morning, on which we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead, is the perfect morning to celebrate through baptism the raising up to a new life in Christ.
Easter is the appropriate time for baptisms; persons baptized symbolically die and rise with Christ. It has also come to be seen as a most appropriate time for congregational reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant. As Congregationalists we don’t believe in being baptized more than once, but we do have a service in which everyone can reaffirm their relationship with God. We remember our baptism and re-experience what that baptism was all about.
Let’s return to the story about Thomas. He stayed in his hideout for days, but the walls started closing in on him. The thought of just ending it all flashed through his mind a couple times. But in the midst of his despair, he remembered Mary’s words, “I saw him with my own eyes. You’ve got to believe me.” And “Thomas, I don’t think you’re going to get the opportunity to see Him unless you come back.”
Eventually Thomas started that long walk through the streets of Jerusalem back to the group of disciples. He felt like many of us here today, showing up in church probably won’t hurt us and maybe, just maybe there is something to all this “Jesus is alive” stuff. Maybe, it might not only be true, but also it might have something to do with us, with our lives today. Continuing to do what we’re doing right now doesn’t seem to be working as well. So, why not give it a try. Go back and check out the disciples. Return to church, at least for a day. It’ll just take an hour or two.
Of course, the other disciples welcomed Thomas with open arms just as I hope you were welcomed as you walked through those doors this morning or will be welcomed before you leave. It feels good, but unfortunately a friendly welcome doesn’t really solve anything in our lives.
The disciples talked with Thomas till late in the evening about their meeting with Jesus. Thomas just kept shaking his head saying, “I’m sure” and all the while thinking, “These folks have gone off the deep end.” Have you ever been around people talking about their relationship with Jesus? “Jesus this… Jesus that…” And you think, “What fanatics!”
I’m under the water in the deep end of the pool hiding from my kids. I’m looking away from them thinking maybe I’ll be more hidden that way. Like the shy little kid hiding his face thinking no one can see him if he can’t see them. The next thing I know, there is a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and there our son Scott or our daughter Sarah is. I’m found. It’s time to come up out of the water.
Thomas was heading to bed when suddenly there was a figment in front of him. It appeared to be a person. From this person’s mouth came these words, “I still remember your baptism.” Then there was this chuckle. Thomas’ mouth dropped open. It was Jesus. Thomas fell to his knees as Jesus said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said, “Thomas, put your finger here and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Believe!” Thomas answered with an affirmation of faith he had never said before, “My Lord and my God.”
It’s like Thomas getting this big tap on his shoulder. He turns around and there Jesus is. Thomas is found. It’s time to come up out of the water. The game of hide and seek is over.
But being found is no failure. Instead, it is life itself. We’ll die if we stay under the water, but instead God taps our shoulder and suddenly we can come up to the surface and breathe fresh air again. (breathe) “Oh, it’s good up here.”
It’s like that new life that Paul talked about when he said, “Just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of God, so also we might live a new life.”
The human Jesus stood in front of Thomas and said, “Put your finger here and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Believe!”
The divine Jesus Christ stands in front of us gathered here this morning and invites us to reach out our hand and touch him. He wants us to know that He is real and alive.
Jesus Christ invites us this morning to remember our baptism We remember how we have been brought to new life through His resurrection.
Let’s remember and celebrate our baptism this Easter morning.
