John
20:19-31, Acts 5:27-32
A man died and
found himself at the Pearly Gates. Peter
was there and said, “Before you meet with God I thought I should tell you that
we’ve looked at your life and we find that you haven’t done anything
particularly good or bad over the years.
Honestly, we’re not sure exactly what to do with you. Can you tell us anything that would help us
in making a decision?” The man thought
for a moment and then replied, “Yeah, once when I was driving along I came upon
a woman who was being harassed by a group of bikers. I pulled over, got out my tire iron, and went
up to the leader. He was a big,
muscular, hairy guy with a ring pierced through his nose. Well, I tore that ring right out and told him
that he and his gang better stop bothering this woman or they would have to
deal with me.” “I’m impressed.”
responded Peter, “When did this happen?”
“Oh,” the man said, “about two minutes ago.”
That’s just one
of many jokes about the Pearly Gates.
They’re all silly. And I like
silly, but what I don’t like about them is that most of them reinforce a
theology of merit - that basically God works on a point system. And by doing certain things in this life we
either earn or lose God’s love, blessing, forgiveness, even entry into heaven. That may be the way the world works - or at
least claims to work - but that’s definitely not the way God works. In fact, if we think that it’s all about us,
what we do and what we earn, then we’ve missed the entire message of our Easter
celebration. For the good news is that
it’s not about us. It’s all about
God. How God in Christ became one of
us. How God lived among us. How God died on a cross for us. And then how God was raised from the dead so
that we might have true and abundant life.
God did all of that because of love.
Not love that we earned but love that is freely given with no strings
attached.
Hear this: there
is nothing we can do to make God love us more.
All the good things we do, the acts of love and kindness, generosity and
justice, they are all wonderful. But it
doesn’t make God love any of us more than we are already loved. And the opposite is true as well. There is nothing that we can do that will
make God love us less. The bad things,
the things we do in secret, the things that come from a place of self-centeredness,
anger, bitterness, envy, pride - they’re nothing to celebrate and we are called
to confess and repent of such things - but no matter what it is, what you’ve
done or left undone, none of it makes God love you less than anyone else.
Each one of us is
fully known and fully loved. And it’s
that love of God that draws us and frees us to become more fully human by
giving ourselves away in love. Which is
what is going on in our reading from the Gospel of John. It is Easter Sunday evening. The disciples know that the tomb is
empty. Mary Magdalene has told them that
she has seen the Lord. But it’s too much
to take in and they are afraid for their own safety. So they gather at one house and lock the
doors. But somehow Jesus shows up. That’s amazing in and of itself, but what I
find even more remarkable is that when he is among his band of faint-hearted
followers that he doesn’t condemn them.
He doesn’t seek to his well-deserved pound of flesh. Just the opposite, what Jesus does is offer
them undeserved, unearned, unmerited grace, love, and forgiveness. “Peace be with you,” he says. And then he shows them his hands and his
sides to confirm that this is no illusion or a hallucination. That he really is alive which means that
Jesus’ story is not over nor is the disciples’ story over. Again Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” but
this time he continues, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Jesus is telling them that they cannot remain
in the safety of their homes. They are
to go out - out into the world to take risks for the sake of love so that the
whole world might hear and know the good news of God in Christ.
And we see them
living this out in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter, along with other followers, are no
longer hiding behind closed doors. They
are living outside of their comfort zone.
Spreading the subversive news that Jesus lives - he’s been raised from
the dead. Now the powers that be are not
pleased which lands Peter and others in jail.
But upon their release it’s clear they haven’t learned their
lesson. When they are brought before the
high priest he says, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet
here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching....” To which Peter and the others simply respond,
“We must obey God rather than any human authority.”
And that is what
frightens all the powers of this world, that for us Christians our ultimate
authority is not found on this earth, but in the Kingdom of God. And because that ultimate authority calls us,
even commands us, to love, to include, to support the well being of all persons,
especially those who are on the margins of society, that means that sometimes
we must work against other people and organizations that may have some claim of
authority on our lives but are not acting in the way of love. For Jesus sends us out from what feels safe
and secure to live and work and serve in places that take us beyond our comfort
zones. We don’t do this in order to earn
love. We do this in response to love -
letting the love of God that has been so graciously and abundantly poured into
our lives flow out into the world.
So this time it’s
a woman who died and met Peter at the Pearly Gates. “Here’s how it works,” Peter began, “You need
100 points to get into heaven. You tell
me all the good things you’ve done and I’ll give you a certain number of points
depending on how good it was. When you
reach 100 you’re in. “Ok,” said the
woman, “Well, first off, I was married to the same man for fifty years.” “Oh, that’s wonderful,” Peter exclaimed,
“that’s worth three points.” “Only
three?” said the woman. “Well,” she
continued, “I attended church all of my life.”
“Terrific! That’s certainly worth
a point,” noted Peter. “Only one point?”
she responded with a bit of anxiety in her voice. “Ok, how about this, I started a soup kitchen
in my community and volunteered at a shelter.”
“That fantastic!” replied St. Peter, “two more points.” “Two points ?!?!” The woman cried out, “at
this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God!” “Grace of God?” Peter responded, “Grace of
God? Now you’re talking. Come right in!”
It’s not about us
- it’s all about God. Which is why we
rejoice. Alleluia! Alleluia!
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