MUMC

Mamaroneck United                Loving God and Neighbor...

Methodist Church                         

Home

Who we are

Worship

Programs

Outreach

Newcomers

News

Contact us

 Today is

Resources»

Sermon Archive

The Second Sunday of Easter: Capital Campaign Kick-off

19 April 2009

Jennifer Morrow

My all-time favorite picture of Claire was taken right after we moved to New York.  In it she’s sitting on the ground, staring at a tiny orange pumpkin in the grass with her arms straight up in the air—her hands in little tangerine-sized fists.  We call it “the champion” picture.  It sits on my desk where it has for years, and I accidentally got distracted by it as I started writing my sermon.  But I think it’s worth mentioning and here’s why.  I don’t think I’d love the photo nearly as much if Gabe and I had been standing there behind the camera saying to her, “O.K. Put your arms up—reach up in the sky—come on, Claire!”  Then it would just be a picture of her imitating, or listening, or pleasing, or performing.  But it’s not that—it’s simply a photo of her being.  Just being naturally who she was in that instant: someone this excited about seeing a little pumpkin in the grass.

Which is why in my opinion, the best photographs are almost always the candid ones; shots taken when no one stopped to pose or had time to fix their hair or straighten their tie.  These snapshots convey meaning, and tell stories that extend well beyond the particular moment they capture.  I say all this, because I think it might be illuminating to look at our scripture lessons for the day as though they are candid photos: two amazing snapshots from our Christian family album, capturing two amazing pictures of life after Easter. 

The first one—at least chronologically speaking—comes to us in the words of John’s gospel, which Alyssa read for us just a few moments ago. A week and a few days had passed since Jesus’ death—entirely uncoincidentally for us, it was the Sunday after Easter.  The disciples were gathered in a house they had been using for refuge.  It was a fearful time—whatever about life that had once seemed safe and sure now felt at risk.  The doors were locked.  A week earlier, Easter evening, Jesus had appeared to these same disciples in this same darkened room.  However, on that night one from their number was missing.  Thomas hadn’t been there, and when his friends told him about the encounter he was unconvinced.  “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.”  (John 20.25, NRSV) 

Much has been made of this moment, perhaps because we find it comforting that even those closest to Jesus had a hard time believing on occasion.  We’re all familiar with the phrase “doubting Thomas.”  But the irony in all this, is that this moment of doubt is little more than a set up for the real high point of the story—the snapshot John hopes we’ll all tape to our mirrors or put on our desks to look at over and over again.

It’s the moment on that first Sunday after Easter when Jesus again visits his friends in their house, only this time Thomas is there.  Can you picture it?  With the doors closed and the windows shuttered a few oil lamps give off a smudgy light.  Sitting, standing, leaning, the disciples are still regrouping from the events—ghastly and magnificent—of the week prior.  Someone enters the room, scarred yet whole, and he approaches Thomas with heavy intentionality and an invitation.  “Peace be with you.  Put your finger here and see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it in my side.  Do not doubt but believe.”  (John 20.26b-27, NRSV)  The story gives no indication whatsoever that he accepts Jesus’ invitation to touch his scars.  Rather, Thomas simply and profoundly exclaims, “My Lord and my God!”

And that’s it.  That’s the snapshot to remember from Thomas’ first Sunday after Easter.  The moment when his doubt became faith.  Unprepared, unrehearsed, a completely candid Thomas cries out—perhaps even with arms held high—“My Lord and my God!”  Because in that moment that’s just who he was—someone this excited to see Jesus alive.

Flip a few more pages in the album and we’ll find the other snapshot our scriptures present us with today.  This one comes to us from the days of the early church on the pages of Acts.  In Jerusalem, disciples of Jesus and new believers were still gathering together in homes—only now the windows and doors were wide open.  Jesus has ascended and his followers are going about the business of proclaiming his resurrection, and building God’s kingdom. 

The same Luke who wrote the gospel bearing his name wrote the book of Acts—where we find the following snapshot of the early church: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.”  It is a beautiful scene—but one that we don’t talk about very often.  Perhaps because it pushes our boundaries of ownership, perhaps because some hear threads of communism in these lines.  But here’s the thing, this snapshot isn’t primarily making a statement about economics or about politics.  The character of the early church wasn’t a response to the Roman Empire; it was a response to the Resurrection.

Believers gathered together, they shared everything they had, they understood that their resources were gifts from God, and thus intended not mostly for personal gain but for the good of all.  They made sure that the needy among them could experience the abundance God desired, and they transformed their community by the way they lived together.  A myriad of possible snapshots exists: a widow being welcomed into the warmth of another’s home; a hungry child being fed a heaping spoonful of food prepared with love; the unmistakable grin on the face of someone just experiencing the joy of giving to another.  And for all these snapshots, I think verse 33 of our lesson could be the caption: “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”  As we said before, the early church’s high ethic of giving and faithful generosity was their response to the resurrection.  It was their way of saying, “Jesus is alive, we are his people, and we are this excited about it!”

These post-Easter moments, captured in the pages of John and Acts, are part of what we mean when we say that we are “proud of our past,” part of the slogan for our capital campaign which we celebrate today.  Thomas’ transformation from doubt to faith and the exemplary generosity of the early church are moments from our family album.  Who they were is a part of who we are.  Which could lead us to ask some pretty profound questions of ourselves, if we’re willing…

Questions like, “Where in our lives might God be calling us to accept Jesus’ offer of peace and like Thomas, step beyond our doubts and joyfully receive the gift of faith?”  Imagine what it might feel like to be that excited that Jesus is alive.  And even if it doesn’t feel totally comfortable, or even totally rational, allow yourself the possibility of that gift of faith today.

Another question might be, “How can our congregation practice the generosity of our forbears in the early church?”  Our capital campaign will present us in coming weeks with a brilliant opportunity to answer that question in a bold new way.  In what ways will our attitudes about not only the capital campaign, but also about Christian community and social justice testify to the resurrection?  Imagine what it might feel like to be that excited that we are God’s people.  And even if it doesn’t feel totally comfortable, or even totally rational, allow our congregation the possibility of that future today.

Flip almost 2,000 years worth of pages in our family album to the one marked “Mamaroneck United Methodist Church.”  Several photos are already posted: 1771, 1859, 1992.  There is room for more though.  Which leads us to one last question. “What will the 2009 picture look like?”  Will it be a photo well-posed?  One with every tie straight and every hair in place full of people smiling because the person behind the camera told us to? 

Or will it be a candid snapshot, full of imperfections and honesty?  Just a glimpse of us being who we are, right now in this moment.  A moment filled with people taking big and small steps from doubt to faith.  A moment when people are growing in love and generosity.  A moment when we are truly proud of our past and focused on our future.  A moment, just after Easter, when we say “Jesus is alive, we are God’s people, and we are this excited about it!”  The moment is now; it is in our hands; may we embrace it. 

Amen.

Go to Top

© Copyright 2005 Mamaroneck United Methodist Church

546 East Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck,  New York 10543, (914) 698 4343