But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.

What we celebrate today on this Easter morning -- every prayer, every song, every thing we do, and every beat of our hearts -- it all contains a message for each of us. On the first day of the week, the women were making their way to Jesus' tomb to make final preparations for his burial. When they came to the tomb, they saw angels dressed in dazzling white, who said, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is risen -- remember how he told you about it in Galilee!" This is God's word for each of us today. Easter comes alive for us today because Jesus is remembered. When the angels tell the women to remember, it is not a simple act of recalling the facts, or a feeling of nostalgia. They weren't just telling a story of what happened in the past. The angels say, remember his words, and that is what the women did. Have you ever had a moment when God's word was quickened for you? All of us can probably think of times when God brings a special word to our mind at some point during the day, or maybe when we are meeting with a friend who needs to hear an encouraging word, or perhaps when we are seeking a word of guidance. This is what happened here for the women. They remembered Jesus saying, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." (John 11:25)  Our lives are gifts from God. All that we have -- our families, our children -- are gifts. Through God's grace, we receive God's riches. The women were perplexed at the tomb, until they remembered. What is perplexing you today? Do you have a difficult problem at work, or are you struggling with a difficult relationship, or are you dealing with health problems? Remember the words of Jesus. Remember how he loves you and knows every detail of your problems and whatever might be perplexing you today. This is what we are celebrating today -- the women went to the tomb perplexed, but then they remembered. Remember today the words of Jesus, and you can experience the power of the resurrection in your own life.

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." But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So 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." A 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." Then 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." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." 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 Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:19-31

In today's passage, we read of the rather inauspicious beginning of the Church. This is the final climax of John's gospel. The disciples rejoiced when they saw Jesus. The Church was complete -- the Lord was risen, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they were a community of believers committed to spreading the word. You would think that the people would be converted without question. But this was not the case for Thomas! Instead, Thomas said, "Unless I see the mark of the nails, I will not believe."  At this point you could say that the disciples were batting zero!  The very first person they told about Jesus would not believe. What happened to cause this?  First of all, we must remember that people have a free will. God created us with the ability to choose. The disciples couldn't make Thomas believe; he had a free will. Jesus told the disciples that if they forgive the sins of anyone, then they are forgiven; and if you retain the sins of anyone, then they are retained. Implicit in these words is the fact that there will be people who choose not to believe.  Thomas' lack of belief does not take Jesus by surprise. Notice too that the disciples don't try to argue Thomas into heaven. No one is ever debated into the kingdom. When Thomas told the others of his disbelief, the disciples could have argued with him and started a debate about how he was wrong, but instead they just let it rest. This tells us that we need to have a faith that is dependable. We need to be prepared to give a testimony of our faith to those who might be questioning. We are called to provide answers that allow us to move forward in our faith. Today's passage says that a week later, which is today -- the week after Easter, Jesus appeared to the disciples again. This time, Thomas was there. And after saying, "Peace be with you," Jesus goes right to the heart of the matter. He goes right to Thomas and tells him to stop doubting and to believe. Thomas' disbelief did not catch Jesus off guard; Jesus is not stopped by locked hearts. This is the work of the Spirit in our lives. This is how we are changed, and how we grow in our faith.  This is the challenge for us today: Pray against the "but first" syndrome. If there is anyone in your life who would like to believe, but keeps saying, "But first I need to...", then pray against this. Pray against the "but first" syndrome in the lives of those you love. Pray against debating and arguing. Pray that God would instead unlock their hearts.

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tibe'rias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'ael of Ca'na in Galilee, the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. John 21:1-14

Halfway through the Easter season, the high of Easter Sunday begins to wear off. The resurrection glow begins to fade. The Easter lilies look wilted. You begin to feel like you're in the empty tomb, rather than with the Risen Christ where you belong. Something about today's gospel lesson seems to relate to that feeling. By all appearances, life has gone back to normal for the disciples. You remember, in the first two appearances Jesus made to the 11, they were near the scene of the crime... they were in Jerusalem. In some room they had locked up, against all possibilities, the Lord walked back into their lives without even knocking on the door. Then a second time, for the sake of Thomas, the Risen One greeted and blessed them from the far side of death. Finally, they all could say, "We have seen the Lord!" It seemed like a good place to end a gospel. So that's what John did. Chapter 20 is an ending. But, lo and behold -- it's not the end! Somehow there's more to tell, and John has to go back to his writing table and tell it. Out comes chapter 21. This is one of those gospels that ends twice! Maybe John wrote it this way because life is this way. Life, after all, is what the Spirit is teaching us about John. And life -- as we know it -- comes to an end. In our experience, it sometimes comes to an end more than once.  At this point in the story, Jesus' disciples have gone back home to Galilee. Are they back in Galilee because Jesus told them to wait for him there? Or, are they back in Galilee because they've decided there's nothing left to wait for? We aren't told. But the tie that bound the disciples to each other seems to be unwinding. The company of the 12 that became 11 is now only 7. Time and distances take their toll, especially time and distance without Jesus. For whatever reason, Simon Peter says, "I'm going fishing." The other six say, "We'll go with you," even though a few may not even know how to fish. Well, no matter; Peter and Zebedee are professional fishermen. They know the Sea of Galilee like their own backyard. As a matter of fact, the Sea of Galilee is their backyard. If anyone knows how to fish, they do. But we've just read the story, and we know something more to the point. The disciples don't catch any fish without Jesus. From the day Peter and James and John meet Jesus, there is no record that they ever catch any fish without Jesus. And on this occasion, after fishing all night, they have nothing in their nets. They have nothing but their nets. The sun is just rising when they hear a voice from the beach. "Hey guys, do you have any fish?" Anyone who has ever fished knows this is the most tempting moment to lie. But they don't. They answer, "No. We don't have a single fish." The stranger on the beach says, "Throw your nets on the right side of the boat." Since they don't know him, I'm surprised they don't ignore him, or at least tell him what he can do with his free, unsolicited advice. But they take his suggestion; and when they do, they can't stand up in the boat without hanging on. The boat is tipping from the weight of the fish that have somehow found their nets. And now, although the nets call for all their attention, my bet is that all their eyes are on the beach, where between the glare of the rising sun and the fire on the beach stands a lone figure who they are frantic to identify. We all react to light differently, as the story shows. But when the eight of them are finally in a circle around the glowing fire... they had trouble seeing. "No one dared ask him, 'who are you?', because they knew it was the Lord." They recognize the one who knew how to live. A reunion with friends, breakfast on the beach... life doesn't get much better than that! Jesus is the One who made them want to live again. In the gospel according to John, you spell Jesus L-I-F-E. "I came that they might have life, and have it to the full," Jesus taught. Life is what he poured all his energy into, until it was all poured out. And now, would you believe? He is overflowing with life again. "It is the Lord!" What strikes me is that the Risen Lord's life is an ordinary life. Never was the Risen Christ more ordinary than here. Eating breakfast on the beach. How much more ordinary can you get? Maybe when we fail to recognize the Risen Christ, that's why. Maybe if we can't recognize the Risen One in the people we eat breakfast with, or in the people on the train or the school bus, maybe then we can't expect to encounter him here in church. Or maybe it's the other way around. If we learn to discern the Real Presence of Christ in our worship, and in the breaking of the bread, and in our prayers and meditation, maybe then we can learn to discern the Presence in the people we work with and live with. And even discern his Presence in persons and places where we don't expect him at all: in the shelter for the homeless or the shelter for abused women, or in the teenage prostitutes who line up on Sheridan Road in uptown Chicago hoping to make some fast money which they can take home to their parents and smaller brothers and sisters.  If we want to know the Risen Lord, we need to discern the Presence all day long, and in every place and in every person... including the least of the brothers and sisters. We can encounter him when we least expect him: when we are in traffic waiting for the light to change, or when we are waiting for our life to change. We can encounter him when we feel like there is nothing left to wait or hope for. In some ways we are all like the alcoholic who confessed it took her four years after she became a Christian to become sober. Why? Maybe she wasn't willing to give up a life of shame and failure without a struggle. Maybe because she thought real life in Christ was more than she could handle. Real life in Christ's unconditional love may seem too much for you to handle. But John's closing story says that it is not more than we can receive. If we are willing to extend our empty hands, our empty hearts, and even our empty nets to Jesus, then it's not the end... it is only the beginning.

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one." John 10:22-30

About this time a year ago, I was struggling with some health problems. On some days I experienced such fatigue that I wondered if I would even be able to continue on with my job. But even though the situation was difficult, I never doubted God's faithfulness. Each day I anxiously waited to see how God would be glorified through this situation. I wondered how God would work through this, and what he would reveal. It was during this time that God spoke to my heart and said, "It's not what you do for me that causes me to love you; I just love you."  I recalled my life verse, Phil 1:6 -- "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." The Lord said to me, "No one can remove you from my hand -- not even yourself.  My work on the cross is finished.  I'm just asking you to know that I love you."  Such grace, such love. Not out of fear, or obligation, or of guilt, but out of joy do we receive unconditional love.  While I was undergoing medical tests and awaiting the results, I leaned on Christ even more. I asked each day for strength.  A verse I was given during that week was from 1 Peter: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." (1 Pet 4:12-13)  The reading from Acts today says, "Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it."  Paul spoke up and said that he had a word of encouragement -- Jesus went to the cross and died for us, even though he was innocent. By his suffering, we have been set free from our sins.  If we want to be a part of being more like him, we will have to suffer and experience hardships, or else we wouldn't know a true need for him. We can't plan what God will be teaching us, and we can't assume that we are not going to suffer. But we can know that God will never leave us or forsake us. God has won the battle, regardless of our health situation, or any other challenge that we may be facing. God is with us all of the time, not just when things are going well. The Lord is always there as our Good Shepherd. We are his sheep, and he knows us and understands us. And no one can snatch us out of his hand.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:31-35

Today's reading is from the upper room discourse, when Jesus and the disciples celebrated the Last Supper. Jesus says to the disciples, "As I have loved you, you also should love one another." If we are to do this, we should know how Jesus loved. The greatest example of Jesus loving us is his sacrifice on the cross for us and for the whole world. If you were living in Galilee during the time of Jesus, how would you know that Jesus was a loving man? What about his words, actions and manner would lead you to believe this?  There are many examples that we might think of. Jesus healed people. He let the little children come to him. He had compassion on sinners and tax collectors; he ate dinner with them and associated with them. He wept for his friend Lazarus at his death. He changed the lives of the disciples when they met him. He affirmed the faith of the woman who touched his cloak, and that of many others. He was slow to anger. He was willing to engage people and give them his full attention. His love was demonstrated in his passion for life. He went to many social gatherings and was always in the midst of people who were celebrating life. He drew close to the Father in prayer on a regular basis. He honored his mother. He honored women in general. He shared his knowledge and wisdom. He was a good listener. He met people on their own terms, and responded to their needs. He provided for the people in many ways -- gave them food, taught them, comforted them, healed them and loved them. Nothing was beneath him; he humbled himself and washed the disciples' feet as though he were a slave. He didn't judge people's lifestyles; he was quick to forgive.  Jesus is asking us today to love one another. This is what he is calling us to do. We can be Christ to others in the world by being like him and doing the things he did. How can you today be like Jesus? Which of the above actions can you do to show your love to the world? You can make your home, your work, or your school a corner of the kingdom of God by loving one another today.

"I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. "Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." John 17:20-26

Today we look at Jesus' prayer for all believers, as he prays that we all might be one, so that the world may know that the Father loves the world even as the Father loves the Son. He is not speaking of an institution, or an edifice, but of the love that the church creates through the love of the Father. Throughout time, the historical church has been very well organized, but this is not what has made it great. The church historically has given its people a set of beliefs that were to be upheld and conformed to, but of course this has not been the case. We have not had complete conformity in the church, so this has not made the church great. What, then, makes the church great? It is the love of God poured out amongst us. Jesus asks the Father that "the love with which you have loved me may be in them." This is the love that lasts a lifetime. There are three pictures of the church's love that we can look at: family, fellowship and the body. First of all, Christians have the love of a family. St. Peter commands that we "love one another deeply, from the heart." (1 Pet 1:22) This does not simply mean that we should belong to a certain club, or organization; but that we are family. We are all God's children; we are born of God. (John 1:13) We are committed by a spiritual bond that unites our hearts. We are brothers and sisters in the Lord. Brothers may argue or disagree, but they will never have an opportunity to forfeit the love they have for one another. We are called to love as a family of God -- first of all here at St. Mark's, but also in our community and even around the world. We are God's hands of love that reach around the entire world. Secondly, we experience and give love through fellowship. The Greek word koinonia which is used for fellowship actually describes a business partnership. It brings to mind the picture of a partnership -- we are in this together, forever. There is a commitment to one another; we will sink or swim together. Jesus prays for you and me: "The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one". Sometimes we talk about the "3C's" in a church environment -- celebration, congregation, and cell groups. At church, we have great moments of celebration. These might be holidays like Christmas, Easter or Mother's Day, or other significant events that involve the entire church. We also have subsets, or congregations. A congregation might consist of the people who regularly attend a certain service, or a group who attend a Bible Study. The smallest subset we sometimes call "cell groups". A cell group might consist of 2, 3 or 4 people that meet together on a regular basis for prayer or to study the scriptures together. It might consist of a few special friends that you regularly meet with for dinner and fellowship. These are the people that will change your life! Jesus prays for us, "that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me." Third, we show our love through the body. We are all called to serve. We have an interdependence on one another. Each one of us is vital to the body, and each one has distinct gifts. We are called to serve one another together.  Jesus prays for unity amongst believers; he prays that we may be one. May God's love be our love in us and through us, together, forever.