Passing of the Peace OR I Love you, Pass It On (John 20:19-31)
Passing of the Peace OR I Love You, Pass It On
By April Mills
April 27, 2025
John 20:19-31
Friends, our scripture reading comes to us from the Book of John, Chapter 20:19-31, which reads:
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were 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 Thomas 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 that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
This is the word of the Lord of the Harvest. Let us meditate on the wisdom of the Vine-grower, that we may all labor peaceably in our shared vineyard to bring forth the good bounty of their creation.
Many of you may know that the Easter Season continues with us for the next 6 weeks until the Season of Pentecost when Christ ascended and the Holy Spirit would become our constant Counselor. By design, this spiritual season is meant to be a time of renewal and calling, throwing wide the church doors and sending us all out to share the good news of Christ’s resurrection. In other words, my friends—welcome to the season of Evangelism.
Now, judging by the looks of some, I see this could be a bit of a hard ask. I am guessing maybe you doubt your ability to engage in evangelism. Perhaps like Thomas, you are vacillating back and forth, trying to decide if this is really your responsibility. Inwardly, you might think, “Maybe I could, but I am probably not the right person. I am not confident in any way to talk to my best friend, let alone a stranger on the street.” To you I say, “Peace, my friend, your wavering is natural. The Grace of God will precede you in all that you endeavour to do.”
You see, Thomas didn’t doubt because he was short on desire. What incredible honesty Thomas demonstrates to say that no account other than his personal witness of Jesus’ scarred hands and speared side could make him believe in life after crucifixion.
Have you ever heard that before when trying to share the word? “Show me the proof! Where is your evidence?” In the context of today, Thomas’s ambivalent reply was the result of good intentions and poor execution. In short, the Disciples fumbled the handoff. If we look to the verse just prior, we can unpack what frequently goes wrong when we try to share the message too hastily.
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.” And how did Thomas respond—warily, hesitantly, reservedly—much like so many of the hundreds of unchurched here in our community. They get told and told about the who, what & why of God, but less frequently shown how to sit in the presence of God in spite of their struggles.
Not that the Disciples did anything wrong per se. They were just beyond excited. Like Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, and the other beloved Disciples did just days before, they jumped for joy and immediately started talking to one another about this incredible miracle.
And in that excitement, they missed the mark—totally forgetting the duties as assigned by Jesus only the day before. Recall Jesus had said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.”
Did you catch it? The 10 disciples were not commissioned to preach to Thomas. And they couldn’t preach to Judas, because he was no more. They were sent to the masses—the unchurched and unbaptized. Great intentions aside, their aim was off. Not off by one person. Not off by two people. But 10 whole people lost the original message to go beyond the church doors and offer forgiveness to those struggling many, not to witness to the one guy that wasn’t in the room and already knew Christ in person.
Stated another way: evangelism is not church swapping. I am going to be the one person who says that. Jesus’s missional call to the world is not about prying the active “others” away from their faith practice or community and convincing them we have a better, more truthful brand. I don’t care if they are Jews, Buddhists, Catholics, Muslims, Nondenominational Christians, LDS, or spiritualists, and even pagans. Let me be clear, Evangelism in our current context today applies to the unbaptized and the unchurched. Right now these disconnected folks, our neighbors in Pocatello Chubbuck area, amount to about a third of the people that we rub elbows with. They are friends, coworkers, family members and associates whom we already drink coffee with.
What you might not know is that some are secretly spending a little time each week attending the church of the self. Some are out fishing. Others are skiing or hiking in nature. Some sit on the couch with their phones grabbing occasional memes and sourcing spirituality from online content.
But they are seeking. If you get below the surface of their solitary sojourn outdoors, or the media grabs on the couch, you will find our friends are struggling to deepen their connection in God, looking for forgiveness, but ultimately foundering because they have no viable community with which to commune.
Missed mark or not, even the Disciples’ fumbled efforts had purpose. Jesus, omnipotent, intentional, deliberate Jesus, was priming the well and giving us a model to work from. In evangelical lingo that is to say that God’s prevenient grace was preparing Thomas ahead of time to accept the unbelievable. That kind of grace, the grace that primes the well, is the kind of grace your friends are currently cultivating outdoors and yes, even on the couch. Meanwhile, I imagine God must be enjoying the view equally well indoors and out.
In a wonderful art piece called “Go On, Saint Thomas,” by Jack Baumgartner, one artist goes to great lengths to reinterpret the cliché of Doubting Thomas for a modern Christian. Jack depicts Jesus embracing Thomas, folding around him like a shield, covering all but the crown of Thomas’ head and the outermost parts of his back. It is as if Jesus is wholly incorporating Thomas into the wildest possible body type there could be. The body of “we”. We the People. We God’s Beloved. We the Seeking. We the Disciples. Jesus seems in this image not to be separate from but in fact a part of Thomas and indeed all of us.
If you take even more time to consider the portrait, maybe blurring your eyes just a little, Jack’s magical art shows the intimacy of human embrace as a fully rounded circle. The rounded backs of the savior and the saved, the learning and the learned, the togetherness of two and not the impotent power of a self-doubting and separate one picking at healed over scars on the Ribs of God Made Human To walk Among us.
Think back on a time of grace that came when you awakened to your new identity as God’s beloved. Whole. When you came under the power of Jesus’ loving embrace, being still scarred but no less whole. Weeping wounds no longer gushed the grief. And you were forgiven the frailty of human error. I think Jesus kept his scars because he knew we would certainly keep ours.
And like the Prince of Peace, we can invite others into our embrace. Make fast a circle of wholeness and offer tangible, undoubtable proof as lived evidence that through God, we were forever changed from our shadow self. Gone are some of our frailties. No more do we experience wavering self-awareness. The wounded part of ourselves having long since scarred over and healed. The presence of such a healing is witness to our Thomas Twin-self currently struggling with our old issues.
In these moments I encourage you to listen closely for the Spirit and engage in the passing of the peace. In so much as Jesus spoke peace to Thomas, and the tradition continued for millennia down unto us, so we must speak peace to others and be Jesus to a new generation of seekers. We must be deliberate, we must be patient, and we must be intentional about this intimate moment with our neighbors as Jesus was deliberate, patient and intentional for us.
Etscko Schuitema, a practicing Sufi, had this to say about leveraging the power of intentional action: “Intention refers to the deliberate and conscious decision to act in a particular way or achieve a specific outcome. It is closely related to purpose, as purpose provides the overall direction and motivation for our actions.”
Friends, intention and purpose go hand in hand in God’s work here with our neighbors. We can live into our purpose by answering that call to evangelize the right way in this community. Evangelism, good evangelism, begins with deliberately aligning ourselves next to our unchurched or unbaptized friends and associates, and speaking peace to them behind closed doors when they are protected but still curious.
Consider this about yourself: Are you willing to let Jesus use you to prime the well? Perhaps in last week as you went about the work of being Jesus to someone, you heard the cries of an unchurched family member, friend or associate and it sounded like this:
My partner just left me. She was my everything. We shared the same meals. We shared the same wardrobe. We even liked the same movies. It was perfect. I don’t understand. What is wrong with me? I thought I was doing everything right. I just love her so much. And now I have to face my parents.
Christians speak peace and be willing to come alongside your neighbor. Let God’s love dispel heartache.
I’m just too tired to get out of bed. I’m numb. I’m done. There’s no air in the room. I don’t wanna be around people. I don’t wanna go to work. I don’t even wanna turn on the television.
Christians speak peace and be willing to come alongside your neighbor. Let God’s love dispel depression.
Oh my gosh, I am screwed. My rent is due, I barely have any food in the fridge, and I just got a notice that my electricity is getting shut off tomorrow. I don’t have the money. I can’t donate plasma and I’ve already pawned my car title. What am I going to do?
Christians speak peace, and be willing to come alongside your neighbor. Let God’s love dispel anxiety.
Passing the peace in this way is the best use of our intentional gifts. It is this deliberate process that you have been designed for, training for, and indeed doing for others within the congregation. Are you willing to extend the purposeful use of your gifts elsewhere and build momentum behind your neighbor’s closed doors?
If we are truly in tune with the example of Christ Jesus as our guide, I hope that you see what good evangelism looks like. It starts with stepping behind closed doors. It starts with speaking peace to your neighbors and loved ones in their hour of distress. It starts with forsaking the self for the community of we by letting someone in an showing them that your God loves and accepts all kinds to the table. Amen.