Who do you invite?

12He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14, NRSV)

Right now I think most of us would just open our door and let the world come in to be around us! We are all going stir crazy here, but who would you invite to a party?

Do we invite people who can invite us back? Do we do things for people who can do things for us in return or do we graciously give to everyone because God has graciously given to us?

Blessed are you who give to others as God has given to you.

Hope

13Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16, NRSV)

What do you hope for?

What do you hope in?

Do you see the difference?

I hope we will soon be out of the shelter in place. I hope we will be able to gather together with friends and families, to return to a way of life that is not us staying in our own places and away from other people. I am an introvert and love my time alone, but I have had enough of that and need interaction. I hope this will all be over soon.

But I can not use that as the basis for my life. My hope that I trust in and cling to is Jesus. I hope in Jesus. I know that Jesus will always be with me and His grace will cover me. That is my hope. That is the basis of my life and it is because of that grace, I hope we will be together again.

What do you hope in?

seeing isn’t believing

8Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, 11inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. 12It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look! (1 Peter 1:8b-12, NRSV)

This is what I was talking about in the last devotional. Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing. We have seen Jesus because we believe in the promises and the stories we have heard.

The truth of the promises overtake us and we believe with no discernable proof of the whole thing. But it goes back to that line from the Santa Claus 2, where Santa’s son Charlie is explaining to his high school principal that his father is Santa and that it is hard for adults to believe in Santa and the North Pole because we can not see it, but little children just believe, and therefore it is real to them.

Is Jesus real to you?

Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing!

a sign

38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. 41The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! 42The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!  (Matthew 12:38-42, NRSV)

Why do we need to see something to believe it?

We need to observe things with our eyes in order for it to be believable. And that is crazy. I have a friend in Washington state who is a pastor, a coffee roaster and a magician. I have seen him do things I can not explain on Instagram and Facebook. I have seen it and I believe that it happened but I also don’t believe it. When I was a kid I watched David Copperfield make the Statue of Liberty disappear. Did it actually disappear? No, it didn’t but it appeared to. One of my all-time favorite movie quotes is from The Santa Claus 2, “Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing.”

We don’t need a sign, God is good to the promises God has made.

So hold to the promises.

most to be pitied

19If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.  (1 Corinthians 15:19-28, NRSV)

How many of us remember B.A. Baracus, “I pity da fool.” This is an interesting passage for me because this says that “if for this life only we have hoped in Christ,” which to me means if we only hope in Christ for life now. And that is really the opposite of what I think most people hope in Christ for. Most people think that hope in Christ will get us eternal life with God. Which it will, but hope in Christ also give us abundant life now.

You see death came through Adam and our life comes through Jesus for life eternal and abundant now. It isn’t an either-or but a both-and.

Do not be one to be pitied, trust in eternal life and abundant life here and now. That is what Christ did for all of us.

Raised from the dead

12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 15We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. (1 Corinthians 15:12-20, NRSV)

We have to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. If we do not believe this then our faith is in nothing.

But if we believe that Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, why can we not believe that Jesus himself could walk out of the tomb?

You could say that we can’t prove it because we did not see it. There are a lot of things we can’t see but most of us still believe in. For instance, can you see the wind? You can see the effects of the wind, but we can’t see the wind. And even though I can’t see the wind I still believe it exists. And I know, you can see the effects of the wind, well I can see the effects of Jesus’ resurrection too. Life abundant all around me, and that is the life that walked out of the tomb.

Don’t be unbelieving of the resurrection of Christ. It is the foundation of our faith and the true hope of life!

Whating Thomas

19When 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.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.” 26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:19-31, NRSV)

Where was Thomas the first time Jesus came to be with the disciples?

But to the title of this post, this Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter is always this text from the 20th chapter of John about Thomas. It has been called Doubting Thomas Sunday, which is not a good title for Thomas and is a bad translation of the text. Jesus didn’t actually say to Thomas, “Do not doubt but believe.” Jesus actually said, “Do not be untrusting but trust.” or “Do not be unfaithful but have faith.” or “Do not be unbelieving but believe.” Jesus never said that Thomas doubted.

We have come to think that doubt is bad, but doubt makes us find answers. Doubt pushes us to seek the truth. And that is not bad, but to be unfaithful, untrusting, or unbelieving is bad.

So don’t worry about doubting or questioning, worried about not trusting what God has promised us.

Take refuge in God

1Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
3As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.
4Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.
5The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.
7I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
8I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
10For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.
11You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16, NRSV)

God will protect us. God is the place you can take refuge.

God will give us what we need. And will help us make it through anything that comes our way.

We can always be assured that God has us and is a place of refuge for us.

Trust in this. Hold close to God.

hold firmly

Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. 3For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11, NRSV)

Hold firmly to what we know is true, that Christ died for all of us and gives us new life.

Believe it and trust it.

The scripture tells us it is true and we just need to believe it.

Hold firmly to that and God will never let go of you!

Devote yourselves to prayer

2Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. 3At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, 4so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should. 5Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. (Colossians 4:2-5, NRSV)

Be thankful for what God has blessed you with.

A new day.

A place to shelter in place.

Health.

And all the other wonderful things…

And pray for all of those who may not have those things.

And be ready for God to reveal grace and love through you to the world.