This Gospel reading from John is assigned every year for the first Sunday after Easter. We’ve come to know it so well that we’ve given it a nickname. We know it as the “Doubting Thomas” story. Thomas will not believe that his friends have seen Jesus until he can see the nail marks with his own eyes. He will doubt the disciples’ witness until he, himself, puts his finger in the marks of the nails and his hand in Jesus’ pierced side.
     This story certainly is about Thomas and his doubting, but there is more to it than that. We call this the “Doubting Thomas” story, but maybe it should be called the story of “The Unpersuasive 10.” The other 10 disciples who did see Jesus tried to tell Thomas what had happened. “We have seen the Lord”, they told him, insisting on it over and over again. But, it wasn’t enough. Their witness to the Risen Christ was not persuasive enough to make Thomas believe without seeing for himself.
     One of the amazing things about the Season of Easter is that we get to watch how the witness of the disciples grows. Over the course of the next seven weeks, as we read and listen to the passages from Acts assigned to this Season, we see the disciples’ witness become more and more persuasive. We see their witness become more and more bold. But, in the Gospel text assigned for today, they are just getting started. As Jesus appeared to them, a witness to his own resurrection, he was giving them their class on witnessing basics. And so we all learn, too, some of the things it takes to be an effective and persuasive witness to the Risen Christ.
     First of all, notice how Jesus appeared to the disciples on their own turf. He came to them instead of waiting for them to come out from behind their locked doors to find him. This basic of witnessing is so often ignored by many congregations. Rather than go out into our neighborhoods and community, talking to people, trying to figure out the spiritual needs that exist in their lives, we wonder why they aren’t coming in to us. We are astounded that they aren’t just miraculously pouring through the doors on Sunday mornings just because we hung a sign out that said we worship at such and such a time.
     I want to share a story with you about a congregation that does go out. Obviously, there are countless ways to do this, but this is one thing they do. It’s creative. It fulfills a need. And it doesn’t even have them traveling all that far. In fact, they just have to move out into their parking lot. This congregation is in Wisconsin, the birthplace of the motorcycle company, Harley Davidson, so every spring they have a blessing of the bikes service in their church parking lot. They team up with a Harley chapter and store, the pastor who is a Harley rider himself joins a Sunday morning ride and then all thousand or so bikes end up in the church parking lot for a worship service and bike blessing where each bike receives an individual blessing. Through this service, this community of faith opens themselves up to people they would not otherwise talk to or bump into. Through this service, some of these Harley riders have been brought into this community of faith.
     The second thing Jesus did in his witness to his resurrection was show the disciples his hand and his side. He gave them physical proof of the marks of his crucifixion. As we think of our own witness today to the Risen Christ, we don’t have this luxury of physical proof. We don’t even have a picture aside from the one painted for us in God’s Word. What we do have, though, are the stories of how our lives have changed because of our faith.
      We have our personal witness of how the Risen Christ has changed our lives. How we have gotten through difficult time because of his faithfulness to us. How we have been led through sickness and death to a time of health and life. How we have experienced God’s love through the hands of another human being. As we think of our own witness, painting a picture of the Risen Christ through the sharing of our personal story of faith is a huge component.
     Next, we see that Jesus didn’t give up in his witnessing. This is shown specifically through Thomas. For Thomas, the witness of the other 10 disciples wasn’t enough. He needed more proof to come to faith. Instead of being annoyed with him, or giving up on him, we see Jesus coming to Thomas in exactly the way that he needs.
     There is a persistence to witnessing that can be exhausting. It’s hard enough to go out once. But, twice, three times, seven times, 10 times? I once heard that the average person needs to be asked more than 10 times before he or she will take someone up on their invitation to come to church. Persistence is part of our call as witnesses.
    The Easter Season is about the Risen Christ. It is a time to proclaim in a loud, clear, sure voice: He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Hallelujah! The Easter Season is a time for witnessing. Today, we have remembered Jesus’ own witness to his resurrection. We have seen how he appeared to his disciples – each in the way they needed in order to come to resurrection faith. We have heard the words he said to them – words filled with the sentiment of peace and the charge to live in peace. Words filled with the task to go out into the world.
      As we remember Jesus’ witness to his own resurrection, we learn about what our witness to the risen Christ must entail. We are taught that we, too, must go out and meet people where they are. We must share our personal stories of faith and experiences with the Risen Christ. We must be persistent.
    In our witness, we are not alone. First of all, look around you. You are sitting in the midst of a beautiful community that deeply desires to share the Risen Christ in this community. More importantly, however, you are in the midst of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus breathed on his disciples and asked them to receive the Holy Spirit, you have receive that same Spirit as well. This Spirit is your source for wisdom, guidance, rest and rejuvenation. For that Spirit’s power and the opportunity we have to witness to our Risen Christ, we say thanks be to God.
      Amen.