God’s Shalom for All!
“Now the doors of the house where the disciples had met - all of whom were Jews! - were locked...for fear of...the Jews.” [i] The Jews were hiding, for fear of the Jews. Let us all ponder that statement for a moment. Silence. Nearly two thousand years of anti-Semitism began with our misreading this and other passages in John, that sound like accusations. So, we substitute “Judeans.” Why? Because that literally is what is in the Greek text, rather than perpetuate the poor translation choices of those who were under pressure to produce a Bible for King James.
We read this the Sunday after Easter every year. So, this needs to be addressed. Judea was a pluralistic and diverse population, which at the time of Jesus had been overrun by Romans: Roman Soldiers, Roman Bureaucrats, and Roman Overseers. It was as if after some thirteen hundred years of living on the land, interrupted for some who spent time in the Babylonian Exile, had suddenly morphed back the Empire of Egypt. Empires are like this. For the record, the Romans are now lumped in with the rest of the Judeans who come from all over the ancient world. For fear of these Roman Judeans? Who wouldn’t be fearful of them?
Someone on Facebook who has read the Bible every day for over fifty years wrote the other day that all of Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and the New Testament can be summed up like this: We are meant to see that everyone’s needs are met, and to protect the small folks from the big folks. The big folks are represented in the Bible as empire and monarchy. What today we might call authoritarian regimes.
It had been a long day. Mary Magdelene had found the tomb to be empty. She went back and told the disciples, who were hiding behind closed doors, because of fear – fear that their association with Jesus who had been crucified could result in the same for them; fear of Roman Centurions searching the streets for anyone associated with the man from Galilee; and just fearful and confused about what to do next. They had always followed Jesus. What now? They were not inclined to believe her. This gathering behind closed doors is more than just the twelve, and at least one of the twelve, Thomas, for whatever reason, was not present when it happened. If Mary Magdelene was right, and the tomb is empty, all the more reason to be fearful. Now it was night time, and a new reason to be fearful appeared – appeared to come right through the locked doors.
The apparition greets them, “Shalom! Peace be with you.” He shows them his hands and his side which had been pierced to make sure he was dead. Suddenly, they rejoice! It’s him! Again, he says, “Shalom! Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Then he breathes on them. As the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had done with that first handful of dust and water to create the first human – breath means life. Breath is what makes the difference between the living and the dead. Breath is what Jesus must have received to return from being dead and breathless. This is resurrection breath. New life breath. The gathered room full of followers are receiving new breath, new life, a new spirit, and a new vocation – they are the ones being sent to bring the good news to a broken world. News that there is new breath, new life, new spirit, if only we will receive it. If only we will breathe it in and allow Jesus and his Father make us whole again. Alive again. Without fear again. To be sent to repair a broken world that seems to be running out of breath. They are to bring this new life and new breath to all the world.
Then along comes Thomas, who hears Jesus had been risen and says he will not believe them unless he sees “the marks on his hands and the mark on his side.” Thomas remembers what had happened to their Jesus. He remembers the torture. He remembers the physical violence. He remembers the soldiers mocking Jesus. Thomas has long been a man of integrity among the disciples. It is good that he remembers. He says he will not remain faithful until he sees for himself. He is right to say so, for any talk of resurrection, and recovery that moves forward will have no integrity if it forgets the past. Any moving forward that forgets the past violence, mocking and torture will be ill prepared to deal with the very ongoing reality of people who are tortured, mocked, abused and violated every day. To forget the past makes it impossible to repair the breach. Makes it impossible to bring good news of new life and new breath to the world.
Eight days later, Jesus returns to stand among them, the doors are still shut. He says, “Shalom! Peace be with you.” Then turning to Thomas he says, “Do not be unfaithful. Touch my hands, put your hand in my side and know, this is me, Jesus, to whom you have been faithful for all our time together.” Thomas then makes the single most bold declaration in all of the New Testament. He says, “My Lord, and my God!” Then Jesus says, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." It may as well be addressed directly to us. To all of us. Those of us who are here and those of us who are not here. All who are as faithful as Thomas are blessed. And those who are blessed are to be those who are sent to be a blessing to others. To attend to their needs and protect them from the violence of empires.
By the way, in its original Greek there is no discussion of doubt. The word doubt is not in the text. The word in the text is faithfulness. Thomas was no doubter. Jesus knew that. He emerges as possibly the most faithful of disciples. When the other disciples were fearful to go with Jesus to Jerusalem, it was Thomas who had declared he would go with Jesus, even if it meant dying alongside Jesus. Let the reader be sure to understand, Thomas is the very model of a faithful disciple of Jesus. Thomas was not hiding behind locked doors for fear of the Judeans. Thomas shows no fear. Thomas asks to see the marks on his hands and side. Thomas remembers the violence of the empire. Thomas is faithful. A repairer of the breach. A bearer of the good news.
Jesus says, “Shalom!” three times. Shalom, which means more than peace. It is a peace that sees to it that the needs of all people are met, and that the small folks are protected from the big folks. Protected from the violence of empires. God’s Shalom is the Good News.
Storyteller John concludes, “Now Jesus did many other
signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But
these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
That is, the story is told for our sake. Not for John’s sake. Not for Jesus’s sake. But for our sake. So that like Thomas we might be without fear. So that like Thomas, might be faithful to the one who promises to be with us to the end of the age. So that we, like Thomas, may without fear declare, “My Lord and my God!” So that we, like Thomas, might be those people who remember the violence, mocking, torture and abuse of empires has no place in God’s kingdom of Shalom. So that we might become repairers of the breach; that we might let ourselves be those people who repair the world rather than tear it apart; that we might become bearers of Good News, and forgiveness, and God’s Peace, God’s Shalom, for all the people in all the world. Amen.
[i]
John 20:19-31
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