As a church family we have gone through a real season of accidents and illnesses the past several months. A number of us have fallen, struggling to get back on our feet. Some of us have other health problems that we’ve been battling, hoping to find that treatment to feel better. Some of us have family members- friends – neighbors that are ill or been in accidents. I remember one Sunday there were five of us with walkers or canes. Remember that? Have I missed anything?
Pause and take a good look at our world. We live in a scarred world. Taiwan has been hit by a 7.4 earthquake. We just had a baby 4.8 earthquake on Friday. The Israeli-Hamas war is now stretching into five months. The Ukraine war has been dragging out for over 10 years. The human trafficking market is alive and well with 28 million victims worldwide. The gap between the wealthy and poor has been getting worse with no end in sight.
Because of all this, our reading from Luke about Thomas and the scars of Jesus resonates with me very deeply. Every year during the season of Easter we read this text of encountering a scarred but Risen Jesus. It’s one of my favorite readings. Every year I open my heart and reflect about wounds. Wounds from the deaths of my brothers and parents, my sister-in-law. Chronic Health issues in my family - that I must stay on top of. I bet you can all relate to that.
It reminds me of Forrest and how he carries his scars. .If you were to look at Forrest’s arms and hands, you would see the scars. Scars that came from a fire that claimed his mother’s life, claimed his sister’s life, and left him clinging for life, as an infant, for months. He bears these scars as a fact of life. He is not embarrassed by them, nor does he seek to draw attention to them. But these scars, and the suffering they represent, have forever shaped Forrest to be the kind of loving, giving, sensitive man he is, respectful of scars. Forrest has taught me a lot about living with scars. Scars, wounds, doubts in the life of faith, are meant to be vehicles of healing for ourselves, others and the world.
It comes to no surprise that not all scars are visible to the eye. We all have invisible wounds on our insides. Rejection. Loss. Insecurities. Traumas even. Our wounds are like an iceberg. Most of what we suffer is hidden beneath the line of sight. We simply don’t know half of what each other is suffering. This is why we are called to be gentle, humble and patient with each other. There’s no way we can know what everyone has gone through in their lives. Before each other, we stand on Holy Ground.
Our texts make it clear: the resurrected Christ is identified through his scars. Thomas had it right. Thomas has been criticized down through the centuries for doubting and not being able to believe until he saw the scars of the crucifixion. Thomas knew it was the passion of Jesus, the nail prints he bore, the wound in his side that would forever mark Jesus. Resurrection does not mean that scars go away. Scars remain. Jesus does not hide his scars; Jesus has made scars a matter of faith. Jesus says, if you want to find me, look to your scars. Look to the scars in those around you. The herald of resurrection is not the perfect body but the scarred body.
Notice when the scarred Jesus appears to his scarred disciples, - scarred from fear – scarred from the trauma of the brutal death of Jesus - he doesn’t berate them. He doesn’t judge them. His first words are words of peace. “Peace, I give to you.” We know that biblical peace, shalom, is a comprehensive blessing. The scarred Jesus graces the disciples with the desire for life, wholeness, security; not the absence of fear or hurt. The scarred Jesus then breathes on them, and gives them holy breath, Holy Spirit. With this breath he commissions them to engage in a ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus doesn’t send them out to preach dogmas and a creed, engage in theological disputes. Jesus sends them out to work on forgiveness. Because scarred people know their need for wholeness. Scarred people can understand the needs of others for wholeness. Jesus chose scarred people, like you and me to spread good news of healing and hope.
As we journey through the Easter season, and Pentecost, I would encourage us to find ways to share with one another – where both the hurts and hopes are. Let us name the hurts – especially church wounds – where we struggle with membership, caring for an aging building, caring for a membership and friendships where there are differences, similarities, disappointments but also dreams that won’t go away. That way we become more real to each other – the more connected and whole as a people we will be.
This same scarred, resurrected Jesus stands with us now, encouraging us to be brave, to touch his scars, to let him touch our scars so that love can flow through us into our scared and scarred world.
As we come to this table today, where the bread and the cup are transformed into the living, breathing, body of Christ, let us not be afraid to place on this table our scars and the wounds of us all. Let us bring the remember the suffering of our world, especially the silent sufferers. Let us bring our fearful world. Let us see each other, wounded, vulnerable and let the peace and love of God move among us, as a testimony to our Risen Lord. In doing so, may First Presbyterian Church of Freeport be a safe place, a nurturing place, a forgiving place, an open place where we can be fully and wholly ourselves – and scars and all - be at peace.
Amen.
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