Kris Litman-Koon, Isle of Palm, SC

 Warm-up Question

Think of someone who is not a member of your immediate family yet who has influenced who you are today. How did they do this? How would you describe their style of influence? (e.g. nurturing, stern, disciplined, laissez faire, hovering, etc.)

Achtung Baby

I am the father of 18-month old twin girls. That means my life has changed significantly in the last two years, and one aspect of my life that has shifted course is the content of what I read. Our home now has an entire shelf of books (if they were not strewn about the house) that discuss how parents can survive the stages from embryo through toddler. Then there is another shelf of books (likewise scattered) that say in summary, “So you have twins? Scrap everything the other books say.”

Any healthy parent desires to raise a child or children in the best way possible. Yet, there are many opinions and studies on what the best method is, and there is no definitive answer. That doesn’t stop people from publishing their theories, nor does it stop parents from clicking on links to read a new insight. (That new insight is usually a snippet from a newly released book that the publisher hopes will be added to the disheveled bookshelves of parents.)

One of the links I recently clicked took me to an article on NBC’s website (goo.gl/9iPtzv) about a German method of raising children called Selbständigkeit (have fun pronouncing it). The translation is “self-reliance.” The first takeaway of the article is that parents shouldn’t intervene in every dispute between children; by the time children are four-years old, they can possess the vocabulary and the skills to work out their own disagreements. Of course intervention is necessary if violence is erupting, however this philosophy inherently critiques the parental methods of always interceding whenever a child has a dispute with another child.

I’m certain this method expects that a lot of work has already been done in the first three years of the child’s life. Namely, the parent has talked with the child about the benefits of getting along, modeled how to build understanding and consensus, and taught the methods to establish a mutually beneficial ceasefire. Once the child has a grasp of those skills, the parent should allow the child to use them, even if the parent thinks it would be more efficient to intervene. The point is that the parent will not always be present to settle things and force the children to hold hands, so the child needs to develop the skills to resolve their own conflicts.

Discussion Questions

• Does this method of allowing children to settle their own disputes appeal to you? Why or why not?
• Have you had an experience when you had to settle your own dispute?
• Have you had an experience when a dispute needed a third party to settle it?

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 10:44-48

1 John 5:1-6

John 15:9-17

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Today’s gospel passage comes from Jesus’ final discourse with his disciples before his crucifixion. This passage is actually the continuation of last week’s teaching that Jesus is the vine and his disciples are the branches. So this passage is the application of that image to the church’s way of life.

If you didn’t keep count, the word love (agape) is used nine times in this passage. Also, the word friends (philoi) is used three times. However, our English word for “friend” does not fully suit what Jesus was saying, because the word philoi also derives from another word meaning love. Although it is not commonly used in English, the word “beloveds” is the best translation of philoi. These are people outside of the family who are loved as much as family. That means Jesus uses our word “love” a total of twelve times in the passage, both to name the act of loving and to name his disciples. This re-emphasizes what he said in verse 9, that he loves his disciples to the same extent that the Father loves him. The love he has for his beloveds is witnessed in his handing himself over to death for us (v13). All of this is an immensely powerful statement, but his point doesn’t end there. There are ramifications to this enormous and infinite love that Jesus has for his disciples.

When we reach verse 17, Jesus says he gives us “these commands so that you may love one another.” What are his commands? He commands that we abide in his love (v9), that we love one another (v12), and bear fruit (v16). Bearing fruit is commonly understood as the love that is generated when a Christian community finds its identity in Jesus alone (the vine) and they live a life of kinship and concord (the branches). So verse 17 can be understood as saying, “I am telling you to love one another so that you may love one another.” That sounds a little weird, but it can be paraphrased; “If you can’t figure out how to love one another, do it.”

Love is hard, and it takes a lot of work. It is not easy to love when we instinctively want things our way and other people want things their way. This happens everywhere in the world, including in the church. Even if you haven’t seen it in your congregation, people there have butted heads in the past, and people there will butt heads again in the future.

What is supposed to make the church different is this: Christ is our source (the vine), and we are to abide in his enormous and infinite love. The vine mysteriously joins us together as one to be his indistinguishable branches who bear the fruit of our communal love. Inasmuch as the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves us, so are we to love one another (v9). In this final discourse before his crucifixion, Jesus was telling his disciples (including us) that he won’t always be physically present to settle our disputes. We are going to have to work things out, and the method to do that is by abiding together in his love.

Discussion Questions

• Can you name any beloveds in your life?
• Are you challenged by Christ’s command that we love fellow disciples to the same extent of God’s love for us?
• When we live by this standard, how are disputes within the church different than disputes outside the church?

Activity Suggestion

Divide into groups of three people each (if you must, two people each). Each group will make a line, with the person in the middle holding a hand of each person next to them. Do not let go of hands. Attempt as a group to perform these common tasks:

• Untie and retie the shoes of the people in the group.
• Fold a paper airplane.
• Blow up and tie off a balloon.
• Stacking and unstacking chairs.
• Any other common tasks suitable for your space.

Processing: What was it like to do these common tasks as a group? Did your group have any disputes? Did your physical place in the group (left, center, right) impact your experience? What were the hardest and easiest tasks for you? How is this activity like the image of the vine and the branches? How does this activity connect to Christ’s command to love one another as he loves us?

Closing Prayer

Triune God, you freely share the fullness of your love with your people. Help us to not only be mindful of your infinite love, but to apply that love to our interactions with others. When we have disputes, help us to see others as you see them. Give us a full measure of your compassion and understanding, so that together we may fully abide in your love. Amen.

Tuhina Rasche, San Carlos, CA

Warm-up Question

• Who are the people that connect you to community?
• What are the feelings and emotions that keep you connected to people within a community?

Grow Up and Grow Out

I’ve moved around the United States a few times, but the hardest move of all was the first one. I grew up in the same house and went to elementary, middle, and most of high school with a lot of the same people, many of them my bffs (best friends forever). Then the move happened. It came between my junior and senior years of high school. I moved from a suburb just outside of Denver, Colorado to a place that was completely different: rural South Carolina. I moved to a town called Walhalla, which was covered in a vine called kudzu (Learn more about kudzu in the United States at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States). I was the new kid in school my senior year of high school. I repeatedly thought to myself, “My senior year wasn’t supposed to happen this way! I should be with my friends in Denver enjoying all the things we’re supposed to do together: run for student council, go to football games, go to our last dances, talk about what colleges we’re planning to attend, and graduate.”

That last year of high school in rural South Carolina wasn’t a total bust, though. I made new friends who supported me during a really weird and awkward transition. Sure, a lot of the people I met that senior year of high school in South Carolina grew up in the local town. They had their own bffs and cliques they were a part of from elementary school to middle school to high school. They were also looking forward to their last year of high school with similar activities and milestones. I became a part of an unexpected community. It also took risk; I was terrified of being the new kid and making new friends, and those at my new school had to take a chance on getting to know and maybe even befriend the new kid.

I was also grateful for my friends back in Denver. In an age before social media and mobile phones, we did some really ancient practices: we mailed each other letters and we called one another on the phone. Just because I moved across the country didn’t mean my friends back home forgot about me; we reached out to one another across a few thousand miles to support one another in student council elections, writing for the school paper, trying to figure out who would be our dates to the next dance, where we were planning to attend college, and our plans between high school graduation and the beginning of a new adventure.

I’m years out of high school and a lot has changed. So many of my friends have moved away from their childhood homes, and at the same time, I also have friends who don’t have plans to move. I also don’t have the exact same friend group from my last year of high school. While I still have some of the same friends, there have been the realities of time, distance, and broken relationships that have concluded some friendships. With growth comes some change; it’s a lot like pruning a vine.

As I think about my communities of friends, both in Denver, Colorado and rural South Carolina, I’m reminded that even though moving away from home was hard, my friends from home and I were able to support one another. I also made new friends in South Carolina. This reminded me of the nature of vines; they don’t stay in the same place. Vines grow up, but then they grow out. Branches then grow off of the vine. Even though branches grow out into different areas, they are still connected to one another through the vine. This is also the nature of being followers of Christ; we are in community with one another, reminding one another of not just who we are, but whose we are. We are in community to love one another, care for one another, and support one another. In this love, care, and support for one another we are tied together by who we are in our baptisms. The vine is Jesus Christ, who loves us, cares for us, and supports us wherever we go and in whatever we do.

Discussion Questions

• Who has been your friend for the longest amount of time? What keeps you connected to the person you’ve known the longest? Who is your most recent friend? What brought you into a friendship with this person?
• Read the link about kudzu in the United States. Why do you think kudzu grew so well in a place that wasn’t its original home?
• What is the hardest thing about moving from one place to another? What are ways that you can maintain connections from one place and also build connections in a new location?

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 8:26-40

1 John 4:7-21

John 15:1-8

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Images of plant life show up in each of the Gospels.  From seeds to trees to weeds, the imagery of plants in the Gospels is a way to talk about abundant life (or lack thereof). Today’s Gospel talks about not just vines, but also vine growers and branches. We are called into new and abundant life, being in relationship with God and one another, which is illustrated in the intertwined relationship between the vine grower, the vine, the branches, and the fruits of the vine.

Christians are called to be in many relationships, the primary one being with God. That relationship is made known in our baptisms, where we are claimed by God who loves us, marked with the cross of Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Even in times of doubt, God always wants to be in relationship with us. We are also called to be in relationship with one another. Baptisms usually happen in Christian community; we aren’t expected to go alone on our faith journeys. When we’re baptized, the community around us makes promises before God and one another to support us and pray for us. Being Christian means that our lives are tied together with everyone throughout the church, be it our friend, the new kid, or that person that we do not like so much.

The word “abide” appears multiple times in today’s Gospel reading, to the point that it’s confusing. “Abiding” is all about  the importance of  relationships.  God’s desire to be in relationship with us is shown in the person of Jesus walking and talking in the world, and also in God’s presence with each of us in Holy Communion and in our baptisms.

The vine grower is God, the vine is Jesus, and the branches represent how we can be in a relationship with God, Jesus, and fellow siblings in the faith. Some branches directly interact with others, while some branches, connected to the vine, are physically separated from one another. Just like plants, communities and relationships need care to grow and flourish. Sometimes branches need to be pruned for the vine to grow and bear more fruit; sometimes relationships with our siblings in Christ also have life cycles. Some can last for a lifetime, and some can last for just a season. What remains constant is Christ the vine and God the vine grower,  reaching out to us through Holy Communion, Baptism, and the relationships we have with one another.

Discussion Questions

• Abiding appears multiple times in today’s Gospel lesson. What does the word “abiding” mean to you? How do you see abiding lived out in your faith community? Where could you see more abiding taking place in your faith community?
• Being in community is an important part of Christian identity. Being a follower of Christ is dependent upon multiple relationships: God’s relationship with Jesus, God’s relationship with you, your relationship with God, and relationships between siblings in the faith. That is a lot of relationships. Who are the people that keep you connected to your faith community, and what are they ways they keep you connected? How do you connect with others in your community?

Activity Suggestions

• Plant a small garden together, either in an open area of land or in small containers. Consider then how to care for the plants within the garden. Who will water the seedlings? Will you need plant food or fertilizer? If so, who will take on that task? If the plants need a trim, who will do that? Talk about how the plants change and grow. Also talk about how the community is (or isn’t) working together to make sure the garden flourishes.
• How is your faith community connected to the outside world? Is there participation in local, state, national, and international connections? Take an opportunity to reflect on the connectedness of your faith community. Are there gaps where your faith community can participate? If so, how could your faith community further participate in being connected to the greater world?
• Find a pad of green sticky notes. Have each person write a prayer on the sticky note (but no names), and stick the note to the wall. After everyone has written one prayer on one sticky note, look at each note on the wall and pray for one another. Take home a sticky note that is not your own and continue to pray for that person throughout the week.

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, thank you for being the vine to our branches. Thank you for connecting us to one another through your Son, Jesus Christ. In these connections, remind us to reach out to one another as you always reach out to us. Amen.

Erin Haligowski, Dayton, OH

Warm-up Question

Who are the people in your life who have had the most tremendous influence on who you are as a person and how you live your life and faith? What is it that makes/made those people influential?

With Joy and Freedom

Pastors, teachers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and coaches: so many people significantly influence our life and faith as we are “becoming” and growing into who God created us to be. It takes a special kind of love, engagement, and patience to shapepeople over a long period of time.

For fans of college basketball, this year’s March Madness tournament was truly madness. Upsets and underdogs, buzzer-beaters and overtime – and underneath all the chaos, some truly inspiring stories – especially if you’re willing to dig a little. Take, for example, NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball, and the undefeated Eagles of Ashland University (Ashland, Ohio). The 2017 National Champions had built for themselves a 73-game winning streak under the leadership of head coach Robin Fralick – the fifth longest win streak in NCAA basketball history, any division, men’s or women’s.

As they went into their Final Four matchup, Coach Robin Fralick told the girls to “play with joy and freedom,” and in that game, that is exactly what those girls did. They played an incredible game that led them to back-to-back National Championship games. And then, in a heartbreaking loss to Central Missouri, the historic winning streak and second-in-a-row perfect season came to an end.

In the post-game press conference, Coach Robin Fralick had these words to say:  “We talked in the locker room after the game; one game doesn’t define us. Our purpose is bigger than winning and losing. Being good at basketball doesn’t make you a role model. Being good at basketball gives you a platform to impact. I’m proud of them.” These words are so characteristic of Coach Fralick, who focuses as much on character as she does on basketball fundamentals and winning.

Read More about the Ashland University Women’s Basketball team here:

• https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2018-03-20/5-remarkable-numbers-ashlands-record-setting-run
• http://www.richlandsource.com/sports/ashland_university/ashland-s-streak-ends-in-stunning-national-title-loss-to/article_09786ef2-2f09-11e8-b5c1-0f55b5bae6af.html

Discussion Questions

• Have you had a teacher or coach that truly inspired you?
• How did that person inspire you to grow as a person beyond skills or knowledge?
• In what ways do you see Jesus as a selfless teacher or coach, inspiring you to grow in faith?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:5-12

1 John 3:16-24

John 10:11-18

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus claims to be the “good shepherd,” who sacrificially leads his sheep and lays down his life for them. He cares for the sheep, and contrasts himself against the hired hand, who runs away because he doesn’t care for the sheep. The love of the “good shepherd” is the love of one who knows his sheep intimately beyond their “perceived” value of providing a livelihood. Jesus says, “I know my own [sheep] and my own [sheep] know me.”

If you know anything about sheep, you know they are actually pretty dumb animals. They have small brains, and need to be “kept” by a shepherd or penned up so that they don’t wander away into dangerous situations. That said, the one thing sheep can do is recognize the voice of their shepherd and follow it. As sheep in Jesus’ flock, we may not always make the right choices, but we can rest assured that we will recognize Jesus’ voice and follow it.

And, better yet – there is some really good news in here! Jesus refers to us as sheep – and he knows sheep. He doesn’t love us or save us based on our intelligence or usefulness or skill set. He loves and saves us because he knows us, and the ones he knows are the ones he loves.

In this Easter season, we see Jesus’ sacrificial love lived out through his death and resurrection, and also through this promise: “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (vs. 14-15)

Discussion Questions

• How does viewing Jesus as the Good Shepherd help you to understand Jesus’ sacrificial love?
• What stands out to you in this passage?
• What connections can you make between the people you named earlier and Jesus, as our good shepherd? How are those people living as God’s image through their inspiration in your life?

Activity Suggestions

• Have students write letters of affirmation and thanks to the people they named earlier in the lesson who have inspired them. Encourage them to deliver them in person or mail them (if the person is still living).
• Sing the silly camp song “I Just Wanna Be a Sheep” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpYgYoNGM38) and talk about what it means to be a sheep in Jesus’ flock.
• Use a concordance to find other references in the bible to “sheep” or “shepherd” and talk about what connections you see in the use of that imagery throughout scripture.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, thank you for being our Good Shepherd and for guiding us with your loving voice. Please continue to guide us, and help us to follow you together. Watch over us. Protect us. Lead us. Help us to show your sacrificial love and care to those around us, so that everyone may come to know you as their Good Shepherd. In your holy name, amen.

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

 Warm-up Questions

• Have you ever (thought) you saw a ghost?
• Why might we be fearful of ghosts?
• Is a resurrected Jesus the same thing as a ghost?
• If you saw a resurrected Jesus would it be just as frightening as if you were seeing a ghost?

No Fear Here!

The students in the campus ministry group like to play a game called “Murder in the dark.”  They find a totally dark room, designate one person whose aim is to draw a finger across the throats of others before being discovered.  Bodies begin to pile up.  Silence is required.  Fear permeates the room.

There seems to be something “enjoyable” about being frightened.  We go to scary movies and we stand in long lines for thrill rides.  Jumping into the view of unsuspected persons with a shout is a perennial past-time of the adolescent-at-heart.

YouTube evan has a category for “ghost” videos.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkHJPOFFvN4.  Don’t watch alone!

But being frightened is not healthy for us and it surely aggravates the deep seated fears which plague the lives of too many of our friends.  Maybe we like to play childhood games which frighten us as a way of affirming that most of that which scares us is fleeting and not really scary at all.

Discussion Questions

• Have you experienced a scary trick being pulled on you? How frightening was it? Were you able to laugh when it was all over?
• When we choose to place ourselves in a frightening situation, we know it will end. Have you ever been in a situation when you were not sure the fright would come to an end?
• Too many of us have friends for whom fear is is a constant reality. Would it be helpful to name such persons, among your Church family, and offer prayers for them?
• Jesus often says “Do not be afraid.” Why do you think he says this so often?

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 3:12-19

1 John 3:1-7

Luke 24:36b-48

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

The official name for the kinds of encounters described in Luke 24 is “post-resurrection appearances.”  There are a half dozen of these, recorded in Matthew, Luke, and John.  (Mark has two alternative endings, added later in Church history.  But the oldest versions of Mark have no sightings of the resurrected Jesus.)

In Luke 24, Jesus isn’t seen at the tomb on Easter morning, but later that day he does join two of the disciples who are walking to Emmaus.  They do not recognize him until they are seated at the table, and Jesus takes bread and breaks it for them.  Immediately they return to Jerusalem and tell the others.  It is as they are still discussing this that “Jesus himself stood among them.”

When Jesus appears, they are frightened.  They ask whether it is really him, or a ghost.

While tradition encourages us to think Jesus shows his hands and feet so they may see the nail marks, it is more likely that Jesus knew the tests in the ancient near east for proving one is not a ghost.  You would examine the extremities of the body where bones were easily detected.  Another test was having teeth, and the ability to eat food.

Jesus does not want them to be afraid.  Those in fear cannot hear the good news of God’s love and compassion.  Those scared of the resurrected Jesus cannot ease into his comforting embrace.

Do not be afraid.  Know that God loves us and that God cares for us and that God will act in order to save us.  Fear is the emotion which stands opposite faith; not doubt.  We will forever have questions as to how a dead body is reanimated and/or how a resurrected Jesus could eat food.  Doubt does not rob us of faith.  But fear can.  And often does.

Jesus tells the disciples (those with him in Jerusalem and those reading this reflection) “Do not be afraid.”  He is no ghost.  He is the risen Messiah.  His eternal presence means we need not ever fear again.

Discussion Questions

• In what ways has the resurrected Jesus taken fear out of your life?
• Expressing doubt is the only way we can probe the thoughts which follow our convictions of faith. Name one thing of which you are unsure or find difficult to comprehend.
• Jesus speaks words to the disciples which he had spoken many times before, but this time they seem to be ready to hear these words. How might your teachers identify the times and places when you are best prepared to hear the good news?
• We should never be naive regarding the very real fears in the lives of too many of our friends and family. What might we do to be of aid to those so overwhelmed that suicide or bodily harm seem viable options? (Never shy away from telling your trusted youth leaders of comments made by persons who cannot sense God’s love for them.)
• Jesus says that those who hear his words are to be “witnesses of these things.” When can you be such a witness; and how?

Activity Suggestions

Watch a scary movie together.  Practically every scary movie follows a predictable pattern.  While it may break the mood, when you see an attempt to frighten you coming, begin to shout “Here it comes!”  Explore how ridiculous it is for us to be frightened by something we watch on a screen.  Ask how we might also put other fears into perspective; knowing that the very real presence of Jesus continually calms our fears.

As a group (and with someone holding your hand) go to a scary place.  Maybe a graveyard.  Maybe a dark room.  Perhaps a room full of strangers.  In this scary place, repeat the Easter proclamation:  “Christ is risen!  Christ is risen indeed!”  Allow this announcement to push back your fears and replace such emotions with the peace of Christ, that peace which passes all understanding.

Closing Prayer

O God of comfort, O God of Peace; allow us to experience your gifts.  Set aside our fears and assure us that in you all things are made right.  Amen.

Drew Tucker, Columbus, OH

Warm-up Question

What’s one goal that’s so important to you that you won’t give up until you have it? Why is it so important?

Stubborn Hope

We lost a hero recently. Linda Brown, whose name featured prominently in the 1964 Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Board of Education, died on March 25, 2018. In 1950, this 76-year-old Civil Rights champion attempted to enroll in an all-white elementary school in Topeka, Kansas. Young Linda’s father, Rev. Oliver Brown, attempted to register her for classes. When she was denied access, Rev. Brown sued the school on Linda’s behalf. The Supreme Court finally ruled in Linda’s favor in 1954, ensuring equal access to education for all people. She and her father Oliver lived to see the day, in 1956, when all schools in Topeka were officially integrated. Yet, as Linda lived much of her life in Kansas, she noticed that the end of official segregation policies didn’t eradicate the actual segregation of schools. In 1979, she reopened the case, claiming that Topeka schools weren’t, in fact, integrated, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling. Finally, in 1993, the court ruled in her favor, forcing new schools to be built and new policies to be enacted to ensure that integration was a lived reality for students in her hometown.

Linda’s struggle for the experience of true equality is not over. The process for integrating schools has been long and drawn out. Even as recently as 2016, some schools still utilized loopholes and local policies to enforce de facto segregation by race. While Linda didn’t live to see the absolute end of segregation, she did live to see the end of it within her world of Topeka, Kansas. She fought her entire life, as a child and as an adult, to ensure that children of color and white children would have the same access to education and the opportunity to learn together, eat together, play together, live life together. She would not give up until that goal was accomplished.

More about Linda Brown

A short video on her importance in the Civil Rights Movement

Discussion Questions

• How have you personally benefited from Linda Brown’s fight for integration and the ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education?
• Do you still see segregation in the world? If so, where?
• Imagine working your entire life for a goal this big. What would it take for you to commit to that lifelong effort?
• What, do you think, it felt like when Linda saw that integration hadn’t been accomplished by 1979? What do you think it felt like in 1993 when it became more of a reality?

Second Sunday of Easter

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

There’s a lot going on in this story. First, the disciples are hiding because they are afraid. Why? Likely because people are starting to tell the story that they’ve heard whispered in the streets: Jesus’ body isn’t in his grave. The disciples are afraid because they know they didn’t take Jesus’ body, so something weird is going on. They’re also afraid because the Roman and Jewish authorities likely believed the disciples were responsible for taking Jesus’ body, trying to fake a resurrection and start a revolution against Rome. The disciples lock the doors because they’re afraid of what happened to Jesus and afraid of being blamed for whatever has happened since.

The risen Jesus doesn’t let a deadbolt stop him, though. He appears on the other side of the locked door, declares God’s peace to the disciples, and shows them the wounds in his hands and side. The overjoyed disciples then receive the Holy Spirit from Jesus, as well as the power to forgive sins (or not – yikes).

Well, almost everyone receives this presence and purpose. Thomas wasn’t there. Silly Thomas. When the others tell Thomas that he’s missed Jesus’ presence, Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ mission to forgive the sins of the world, he replies: “Nah, bro. Unless I see his wounds, I won’t believe it’s true.” Well, that’s my paraphrase, anyway.  This is why people refer to Thomas as “Doubting Thomas,” because he was so dense as to doubt that a dead guy was alive again. I’m with Thomas, here. All of the other disciples saw Jesus’ hands and side. All Thomas wanted to see was what the other disciples saw: the fullness of Jesus before him.

There’s another reason that I think Thomas wanted to see Jesus before he’d believe it was truly Christ, alive from the dead. Earlier in John’s Gospel, when Jesus risks his own death at the hands of the Chief Priests, Scribes, and Pharisees in order to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas is the one who is willing to take that risk with Jesus. Thomas says to the other disciples, “Let us go, that we may die with him.” Thomas is so deeply committed to Jesus’ leadership that he’s willing to die for it just a few chapters earlier. He was so deeply committed to this goal, following Jesus, that when the other disciples shared a story of resurrection, Thomas would settle for nothing less than an experience of resurrection. Thomas stayed vigilant for the fullness of Christ, wounds and all, to ensure that the resurrection goal had been accomplished.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think Jesus had scars after the resurrection?
• Jesus’s activity here is clearly miraculous. How would you respond if you witnessed a miracle, like the first disciples?
• How would you respond if, like Thomas, your friends told you something miraculous had happened?
• The last two verses of the scripture say that the Gospel according to John was written so that we might believe that Jesus is God’s Child, the Messiah. What in this story helps you to believe in Jesus? ‘
• Where do you see intersections between the story of Thomas and the story of Linda Brown?

Activity Suggestions

• If you can be outside or in a gymnasium, play games like Capture the Flag or American Eagle that emphasize a goal and a tactile element.
• Workshop with students their own stories of encountering Jesus, and encourage them to share those stories so that others might come to know God more.
• Do affirmations as a group.  Each person takes a turn to sit in the center or front of the group and hears affirmations of their faith and their presence in the church.  State explicitly how each affirmation is to strengthen them as they pursue God-given goals, like Linda Brown and Thomas.

Closing Prayer

God of life, you invite us all into the same classroom to learn of your love and send us each to share it with every person we encounter. Help us to share your story with others, so that they, like Thomas, want to see you, touch you, and know the fullness of your presence. Thank you for showing up in the locked doors of our hearts and offering us your peace, your Spirit, and your forgiveness. We thank you, Jesus, and we love you. Amen.