Text: John 20: 19- 23
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “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.”
Message
Before we go to the text let me share with you a folktale of the Ao Tribe of Nagaland. It is said that after the world was created the animals and birds in the jungle complained about the brightness and heat of the Sun. They always kept grumbling about the inconvenience the Sun caused their daily living. They kept requesting the Sun not to come the next day. This made the Sun very angry but he continued to appear every morning. As the complaints increased manifolds, the sun decided not to turn up this time and locked himself behind the mountains. When the allotted time came, the Sun did not rise as usual. The animals in the jungle were overjoyed and expressed their jubilation through dancing and merry making. The mighty Sun had been tamed. No more heat and no more annoying brightness. But the celebration was short lived. By the third day of the Sun not rising, the darkness and the gloom was felt all over the jungle. In the darkness food could not be found. Freedom of movement was lost. The animals that were rejoicing just 3 days back plunged into absolute despair. The Sun seemed in no mood to make a comeback. A delegation of Lion, Zebra and Deer took their request to the Sun to return to the skies. This delegations’ request was rudely rebuffed by the Sun saying “I was doing my duty that was appointed by the Creator and you kept complaining. I will not Rise again. You deserve to be in the darkness.” For a month the stalemate of a world without Sun continued. Finally a rooster volunteered to talk to the “Sun.” The animals were not very hopeful but in their despair they did not mind someone trying. The rooster with fear and trembling approached the magnificent ‘Sun’. He said “Dear Sun do not be locked behind those mountains. We need your light and your radiance. Please forgive us as we were hasty in dismissing you. But do not be under the impression that all wanted you to go. Without you, it is we, the small birds and animals who are suffering. In the dark we are attacked, we have no hope to live. We need your light and your presence. Please accept our plea.” Hearing the plea of the rooster the defiant Sun had a change of heart. He realized that the purpose of his life is to shine bright and to give light. The Sun said “I will come with you. But you have to promise that before I rise you will crow as a prelude to my rising.” The rooster readily agreed and the rooster crowed when he reached the jungle and the Sun rose in the sky to the utter delight and joy of the animals in the jungle.
Like the Sun that refused to shine, in life we too, quite often decide to lock ourselves behind the doors of fear, inferiority complex, lack of self-confidence. There may be a tragedy or a failure that has scarred us beyond comprehension. And we prefer remaining behind locked doors like the disciples in the text that we are going to meditate. They had enough reasons to be afraid of. The scars of the crucifixion of Jesus was still fresh. If Jews could kill their leader then logically they were the next on target. There also were rumors of the resurrection of Jesus in the air. How would they face him? They had been a failure. They all deserted him in the time that he needed most. In such a context a closed door that was locked was to be their only refuge and source of peace. In such a moment the risen Christ enters through the closed doors and appears in the midst of his fearful disciples. And the first thing he says is “Peace be with you.” Jesus reminds them that there is no peace behind the façade of closed doors. He reminds them a truth that he assured them before crucifixion. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” And then he shows them his hands that had the scars of the cross. How is that possible? The wounded hands and side remind the disciples and us that the resurrection still points at the cross and the costly forgiveness that Christ won for us who are behind closed doors. Even with scars, failures and rejections, Christ says that a resurrection is possible. He has won us the hope. We do not need to remain behind closed doors. He again says “Peace be with you.” And this time he breathes on the disciples. Behind the suffocation of negativity and dejection, Jesus breathed power of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. There is a beautiful transition Jesus was bringing in the life of his disciples. “From the emptiness of failure and fear he was leading them to the hope of Resurrection. From the hope of resurrection he was commissioning them out of the locked doors to reach out to people hidden behind locked doors.” He was giving them a commission. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Jesus too had a choice. To embrace the cross for the forgiveness of all or to take a convenient route avoiding cross. So in the commission too he gives his disciples a choice with the ministry of forgiveness. He knew that there are many out in the world who are behind closed doors of revenge, remorse and guilt. Jesus was commissioning his disciples let them know that they do not need to be behind locked doors. They are forgiven. As disciples of Christ let us also trace our journey with our Lord. Let us be aware that he has empowered us with a mission that we cannot avoid or pretend to be behind closed doors of the Church. We are sent out with Peace and Forgiveness with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
I just finished reading “Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl who is a survivor of the Nazi Concentration Camps where 6 million Jews were mercilessly and systematically killed. He observes “In the concentration camp I have seen the beast-like nature of humanity. One wonders how one human can treat the other with such absolute disrespect and disdain. Even the prisoners of the camp start losing hope and give up on life. They even betray their best friend to win favors from their captors. But even in such a place I have seen prisoners who live with hope. Who save their bread to give it to their fellow prisoners. When the captors beat them they choose to forgive them. They went about and talk to fellow prisoners giving them hope by praying for and with them. I learnt a very important lesson. No matter how cruel the situation is, one can rise above the situation and become messengers of hope and reconciliation” That exactly is the message of Resurrection. No situation or people can keep you locked behind doors. Christ gives us hope so that we can open our doors to hear, participate, cry and forgive people who have lost hope and zest for life. May The Holy Spirit Guide us.
Rev Merin Mathew
Mar Thoma Syrian Church
Guwahati
No comments:
Post a Comment