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1|Page Last Sunday we celebrated God’s rolling away the stone. The seal of death was broken and Mary Magdalene saw Jesus alive. That night, despite Mary’s good news, the disciples were fearful and hid behind locked doors. This fear continued for a week as they continued to keep themselves hidden behind those fortified doors. It is not just about the disciples, however. I suspect many of us know something about “locked doors”. Even though we celebrated Easter last Sunday and we left hopeful, maybe some of us had our spirits deadened 2|Page by the circumstances and news we had to face when we got home. God opens the “tomb” and offers new life but time after time we find ourselves choosing to “lock our doors.” God opens the “tombs” and declares we are sacred human beings with the capacity to love and be loved, yet we have a way of “locking” ourselves out of that life-changing truth. The “locked doors” of our lives are not so much about what is going on around us, but what is happening within us: fear, anger, guilt, hurt, grief, and the refusal to change 3|Page our perspective. There are a hundreds of different “locks” on the “doors” of our life but they are always “locked” from the inside. I believe this is what Thomas was struggling with when he said, “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.” It earned him the name Doubting Thomas. Jesus, however, never blames Thomas of doubting. Rather, Jesus, says, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” He could just have easily said that to the other disciples. 4|Page After all, one week after seeing Jesus’ hands and side, they are still in the house behind locked doors. Thomas’ unbelief is not in his question. He did not ask to see more than the other disciples saw a week earlier. His unbelief, and theirs, is in being stuck in the house with the doors locked. Belief in Jesus’ resurrection is not a question of whether or not we believe that Jesus actually rose from the dead. It is not about evidence or proof. It is not about getting the right answer. 5|Page Belief is more about how we live and how we sense the presence of the Spirit that is in us and all around us. As one astute teacher describes, “Resurrection is not just an event or an idea. It is a way of being and living. It is the lens through which we see the world, each other, and ourselves.” Living a resurrected life, however, is difficult. For most of us it is a process, something we grow into overtime. So, if we went home last week and we sensed nothing has happened because of Easter, be patient! God is not done with us yet! 6|Page Living a resurrected life does not undo our past, fix our problems, or change the circumstances of our lives. It changes us, offers a way through our problems, and creates a future. Christ’s resurrected life inspires us with his Spirit, invites us to “unlock the doors”, and let the resources of the Spirit do its thing with us. Again, I have to wonder, one week after Easter, is our life different? Where are we living? How are we living? Are we free and open to see and be loved? Or do we fret, worry and see our lives from a material point 7|Page of view? In other words, do we feel “locked away behind closed doors”? Or are we alive in, with and through Christ, our risen Lord? So, what do we believe about Jesus’ resurrection? Do we ever doubt that it happened? Resurrected people know that faith and life are messy. It is okay to have doubts. It is okay to ask really hard questions! Resurrected people do not have to settle for easy answers. They trust that what God believes about them is more important than what they believe about God. 8|Page They believe there are events and situations that are difficult to fully understand or explain, yet they can celebrate the mystery of God! And even when they do not feel God’s presence, they are comforted in knowing that God sees and touches them. We pray—Loving God, risen Christ, and blowing Holy Spirit: we are like your disciples: prone to doubt, full of fears, unsure of how to live, really live, as resurrection people. Come to us, this week and every week; grant us your presence and your peace; and grant us the lasting Light of real faith. Amen!