New Life

Our Gospel reading for this morning is taken from the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 19–31.

Hear the good news of Easter:

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, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. 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 believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name.

The word of the Lord.

Thank you for the opportunity to share in worship this morning. I'm grateful to your interim moderator, Laura Kavanaugh, for inviting me. It’s great to be back here at St. Andrew’s among friends.

Especially on a day after such tragic news in Vancouver—the death of nine people run over by a car—it is good to gather, receive comfort, encouragement, and the commission of the Gospel.

Let us pray:

Loving God, send your Holy Spirit upon us, that at the hearing of your Gospel we may know life in Jesus’ name, and share that life with the world you so love. Amen.

St. John, in just a couple of lines, tells us what he’s up to with his Gospel. If you’re someone who appreciates a clear thesis, this is your Gospel.

“These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

John doesn’t simply record facts and leave us to decide. His Gospel is persuasive, urgent. He wants us to believe—not just in anything, but in something specific: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Not merely a good teacher, or a moral example, or a literary figure. John says Jesus is the one anointed by God to rescue the world, the only begotten who has dwelt eternally with the Father. The Word made flesh.

We tend to think of belief as an intellectual assent: “I believe in God.” Check. Good. Move on.

But belief, for John, is like saying “I do” at a wedding. It's a commitment. It's transformative. It's relational.

When you say “I do,” you are changed. You’re joined to another person. You take up a way of life—a faithful, loving practice. The same is true with “I believe.”

When you confess, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” a new life is offered—and taken up. Gratitude and praise begin to saturate every action. You are altered, connected to the one who animates your life. It’s huge. It’s life-giving. It changes how you drive, spend money, what burdens you bear, and what you care about.

Even when we fail, we know what we’ve failed at. We begin again by grace.

John says he writes all this so that, by believing, we might have life—not mere biological animation, but *Zoe*, divine life. This is not “dead man walking” existence. Not boredom, not aimlessness. *Zoe* is the kind of life that wakes you up, keeps you alert to beauty, purpose, and meaning.

Tony Campolo once asked a class, “How long have you been alive?”

One student said, “Nineteen years.”

Campolo replied, “I don’t mean how long have you been breathing. I mean how long have you really been alive? How long has getting up in the morning felt like an adventure?”

Another student said, “About 15 minutes.”

That’s *Zoe*. That’s the kind of life Jesus brings.

Remember John 1: “In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” Divine life—eternal, abundant—is shared with us. Through Jesus, we are invited into the very life of God.

Jesus still comes to us.

In our fear, behind locked doors, in grief, anxiety, confusion, sadness, and exhaustion—he comes. He breaks through barriers. He breathes peace. He breathes life.

Like the story of creation when God breathed into dust and made living beings, Jesus breathes new life into tired, overwhelmed disciples. He offers peace, life, and Spirit.

And even when we feel like Thomas—uncertain, skeptical—Jesus meets us, too. He doesn't scold Thomas. He gives him what he needs. He gives us what we need: his presence, his peace, and his life.

He sends us to do the same. To breathe peace and life into the world.

Thanks be to God.