Sunday, April 19, 2020 Reading: John 20:19-29 Worship Leaders: Pastor Meredith Bedker Musaus, Pastor Drew Yoos, Pastor Sara Yoos

Sermon by Pastor Sara from April 19 I remember the first time I learned that I was Asian, and that being Asian was different. I was very young, and I had a friend over for a play date when my dad came home from work. And my friend, never having seen my dad before, started to cry and say she wanted to go home. Before then, I don’t think I knew that being from Japan made my dad different. I didn’t know that made me differ- ent too.

I think every person of color has some version of that story. Of the moment they learned that their race, their “non-whiteness” made other people uncomfortable, even afraid. And we learned it was our responsibility to make ourselves as invisible as possible. So that we wouldn’t have to experience that feeling of rejection or hurt again.

This worldwide pandemic has created a lot of fear for many of us. But it has especially been fearful for the Asian American community. Asian-owned businesses are being vandalized, and hate crimes are being reported across the country. Racial slurs and violence towards Asian Americans have es- calated in these past few weeks. This rampant fear and racism towards Asian Americans has prompted taglines from the Asian American community like: “We Asian Americans are not the vi- rus”

But of course Asian Americans aren’t the only ones living in fear right now. We are all afraid to leave our homes. Like the disciples, we are all locked in our homes, hiding in fear: fear of getting sick, fear of loved ones getting sick, fear of death.

Even though we just celebrated Easter. Even though the disciples heard that Jesus had risen… fear still took over. We are all hardwired to hide when we are scared, and to survive by any means nec- essary. To keep more than we need, to build walls, lock up, to blame those who are different – all so we can feel safe and in control.

But in this time of fear, we may as well admit we do not feel safe. We are not in control. And any sign of peace seems far away.

How can I be at peace when thousands are dying every day? 1 in 10 Americans are unemployed right now – in WI the most recent statistic I saw was 27%. That’s almost a third of people who have lost their income and health care, who are worried about paying bills the longer this stretches out. Parents struggling to work and tend to children, students worried about graduation future plans. Jesus came to his disciples in such a time as this too. They had left everything to follow Jesus, and with Jesus gone, they probably were going through the same feelings of unemployment – that loss of purpose and sense of what’s coming next.

But I expect they were mostly hiding because they were afraid they would be next in line for cruci- fixion. They had watched their beloved teacher die, and they were certain they’d be found guilty by association. So they were in quarantine, locked in their homes, for fear of being recognized and tar- geted. And it was in their fear that Jesus showed up. He showed up to bring them peace.

I wonder what would it look like for us to receive the peace Jesus is offering? Because just as Jesus surely entered his disciples’ homes and said “Peace be with you,” so too he is in your home right now, offering those same words to you: Peace be with you. Breathe. Receive the Holy Spirit… the spirit of peace. Peace doesn’t mean all of our fears will go away. Peace means looking at our fears in a new way.

A lot of us look to Jesus to bring peace in a very specific way. For Jesus to unlock our doors, elimi- nate fear, in powerful, grand gesture of victory: a miraculous coronavirus cure, instant worldwide healing. Our faith, we think, means trusting Jesus to prove to the world that he is going to rescue us from death. The thing is, Jesus has rescued us from death. It just doesn’t look the way we thought it would.

Because when Thomas begs for proof of the risen Christ, Jesus does not answer Thomas by getting rid of the threats against the disciples’ lives. He doesn’t overpower the Roman soldiers or the reli- gious leaders. He doesn’t provide them with a stockpile of guns to fight back. He does not elimi- nate the danger and reality of death. He comes into the room with them and shows them his wounds. The scars where he was pierced. The gash on his side from where he bled to death. He shows us the daily death counts. He interviews the grieving families. He speaks to us through exhausted and concerned health care workers.

If we are looking for proof of Jesus through some instant fix, we won’t find him. If we are looking for Jesus in signs of normalcy, in the expectation that things will soon go back to normal, he’s not there either. Instead, we find Jesus in the wounds of others. We find Jesus among those who are hurting.

And, we also find Jesus as, in the words of Mr. Rogers, we look for the helpers. We find Jesus in the sewers who are making masks. We find Jesus in the teacher who stood outside a student’s window with a white board to explain something she was having trouble with. We find Jesus in the parade of cars waiting outside a girl’s house in celebration as she came home from her last chemo treat- ment.

We are all afraid right now, and that’s ok. We can choose what to do with that fear. We can choose to channel that fear into racism. We can choose to hide. Or we can choose to be compassionate. With ourselves. With others. We can ground ourselves in the peace of Christ. We can notice the wounds in others. Because it is in those wounds, we find proof of the resurrection.

We find proof that even after death, Jesus still shows up. We find proof that even when we are afraid, Jesus still shows up. We find proof that even when others are afraid of us, Jesus still shows up. We find proof that even when we think we are un-findable, un-loveable, and un-saveable, Jesus still shows up.

Jesus shows up to us, for us, because we need the peace only he can bring. There’s a special way Jesus shows up for me in the wounds left by that memory of learning I am different. He shows up in my daughter’s face whenever my dad is around. Those of you who have been around my daughter probably know how wary she is of other people. She takes a while to warm up. But the one person who has always had her instant affection is my dad. She has this smile – I’ve never seen on her face except around him. It’s a smile that lights up her whole face. And that smile… is for me, proof of Je- sus’ resurrection.

It is proof that Jesus breathes new life into old wounds. It is proof that Jesus is always working to bring us healing, and peace, and redemption. The way she looks at my dad is the way I imagine Je- sus looks at each of us.

Jesus sees who we really are, and he doesn’t hide. Or cry. Or run away. Jesus sees our deepest wounds, our greatest fears, and through them, he shows up to bring us peace. He shows up, and he brings us new life.

John 20:19-29 Jesus Appears to His Disciples On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Jesus Appears to Thomas Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” “At the Foot of the Cross” L: We gather at the cross to lay before you in prayer all that we hold in our hearts. L: At the foot of the cross we place the anxieties that distract our minds, disrupt our sleep and strain our relationships. C: At the foot of the cross, we place our anxiety. L: At the foot of the cross we place our desires for possessions, power and people. C: At the foot of the cross, we place our selfishness. L: At the foot of the cross we place the sufferings of our bodies, our minds, and our souls, that you may bear with us what we cannot bear alone. C: At the foot of the cross, we place our suffering. L: At the foot of the cross we place our concerns for family members and friends, so that our prayers might accomplish what our worry cannot. C: At the foot of the cross, we place those we love. L: At the foot of the cross we place our concerns for this fragile planet and all its inhabitants, remembering that this is the world you have come to save. C: At the foot of the cross, we place your creation. L: At the foot of the cross we place our goals and dreams, knowing that you can accomplish far more than all we can ask or think. C: At the foot of the cross, we place our longings. L: At the foot of the cross we place the many endings in our lives, that we may release the past with grace and embrace the future with courage. C: At the foot of the cross, we place our past and our future. L: At the foot of the cross, we commit our bodies and souls and all that is ours. Grant us pardon and peace that we may live as your people, die in your grace, and rise in your likeness. C: Amen.

Holy Cross Lutheran Church, ELCA W156 N8131 Pilgrim Road, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051

Phone: 262-251-2740 Email: [email protected] Website: www.holycrosslutheran.org