Weekly Seeds: Locked Doors

Sunday, April 27, 2025
Second Sunday of Easter| Year C

Focus Theme:
“Locked Doors”

Focus Prayer:
Risen One, send your peace and your Spirit and help us receive. Amen.

Focus Scripture:
John 20:19-31
¹⁹ 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.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ 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.”
²⁶ 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.” ²⁷ 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.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ 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.”
³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

All readings for this Sunday:
Acts 5:27-32 • Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150 • Revelation 1:4-8 • John 20:19-31

Focus Questions:
Why do we lock doors?
What doors do we lock unnecessarily?
What locks need to be broken?
Who has access and who is barred from entry?
How does resurrection transcend the locked door?

Reflection
By Cheryl A. Lindsay

I remember the first time I received a key. It was to my home, and I needed it because I was walking home from school with a group of friends. I already knew how to use the key because I had used my parents key before. Having my own key, however, required a new level of responsibility. Around the same time, many of my friends also received keys, yet there were outliers. Some had keys before and others were not yet entrusted with that privilege.

Having a key to a locked door is a privilege. The ability to move past a barrier is not a given or easily attained. Door locks keep out what others who have some degree of ownership do not want to get in. Sometimes a lock requires a piece of metal with a particular shape to bypass its restriction. Other times, a password may provide access. Still, other times, a relationship with someone with access can open the door. Either they have the key or they are already on the other side.

The gospel reading begins by identifying the day and time, and then informs the reader:

The doors were “locked” (not merely shut)…. This underscores the miraculous nature of Jesus’ entry. Concerning the plural “doors,”, the reference may be to a door at the house entrance and one into the room). “Proper residences were equipped with bolts and locks. Bolted doors would prevent anyone from entering (a heavy bolt could be slid through rings attached to the door and its frame).” Jesus came and stood in their midst. This reunion marks the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to the disciples.
Andreas J. Köstenberger

Imagine that first day. The uncertainty of the resurrection replaces the uncertainty of the crucifixion. No wonder they locked the doors. First, they responded to the perceived threat to their lives as followers of one labeled a criminal without evidence and a sham trial with a predetermined outcome. Now, they have heard that the one they know was murdered has returned to life. Not only was Jesus their mentor, teacher, and friend, they led a movement the disciples had given their lives, in terms of relationships, residence, and vocation, to join. They literally do not know what to do. They have been following Jesus for one to three years, and they naturally struggle to find their own way.

Early in the morning, they hear an unbelievable and incredible tale that Jesus has risen. Most of them dismiss it out of hand as impossible. They keep the doors locked against intrusion, but now it is evening and truth comes to them.

That evening, Jesus materializes in the room in which the disciples are hiding from the Jews and announces his presence with a traditional greeting: “Peace be with you”. He identifies himself by showing his hands and side, commissions them to carry on his work (20:21), and, emulating God’s act of creating Adam (Gen. 2:7), he breathes the Holy Spirit onto them. One disciple, who has come to be known as “Doubting” Thomas because of this scene, was absent and refuses to believe, “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” (2:25). The following week, Jesus reappears. Whereas Mary was forbidden from touching Jesus, Thomas is now invited to do so, raising the question of Jesus’ postcrucifixion corporeality. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus’ crucifixion has been described as an exaltation (e.g., 3:14), suggesting that his death is simultaneously his return to the Father. If the ascension is a return to the same preexistent state that the Word had before it (or he) was made flesh (1:14), then it is reasonable to think that it also marks a return to a noncorporeal existence. His ability to enter the room despite the locked doors also implies incorporeality. And yet, he invites Thomas to touch him. The inconsistency with regard to the status of Jesus’ body has suggested to some scholars that the Thomas story is a secondary addition (R. E. Brown 1970, 1032). This is certainly plausible, particularly in light of 20:29, which is obviously addressed to the Gospel’s audiences. The narrative is silent as to whether Thomas does touch Jesus, but he immediately confesses his faith: “My Lord and my God!” (20:28). Jesus gently chides him: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (20:29). This passage brings to fruition the pattern that began with the call of the first disciples: the emphasis on believing through the testimony of others. In chiding Thomas, Jesus is addressing later readers who cannot see Jesus directly but who have access to the reliable testimony of the Gospel (see 19:35) as a basis for faith. The story therefore reinforces the authority of the Gospel as a source for its readers’ christological understanding and therefore also their salvation.
Adele Reinhartz

The people, of all genders, gathered behind the locked door felt the need for salvation. They were not looking to be saved, however, from God’s wrath or eternal damnation. They were not concerned about a hell after death but an existence of terror and eternal oppression on earth. While they may have found comfort in the assurance of eternal life, that promise was made to those who would experience extraordinary hardship and suffering in this life in pursuit of the reign of God on earth.

The good news, as demonstrated by Jesus, roots itself in the spiritual and the physical. Once again, their incarnated self incorporates both the mystical and the tangible. The first post-resurrection appearances of Jesus display that as this one does most powerfully. The locked door cannot erect a barrier sufficient to keep Jesus from reaching those who they seek.

Once again, Jesus utters the familiar greeting “Peace be with you.” Peace is what Jesus bequeaths to them, and peace is what they will need to fulfill their commission. The focus of the present unit is Jesus’ commissioning statement “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you,”which climaxes the characterization of Jesus as the sent Son. The disciples are drawn into the unity and mission of Father and Son. Succession is important both in the OT and in Second Temple literature. In the present Gospel, Jesus succeeds the Baptist and is followed by both the Spirit and the Twelve (minus Judas), who serve as representatives of the new messianic community. OT narratives involving succession feature Joshua (following Moses) and Elisha (succeeding Elijah).
Andreas J. Köstenberger

Both Joshua and Elisha benefited from observing their predecessors in their most transcendent moments and being mentored by them. In their ministries, they likely drew encouragement from their remembrances such as Moses striking the rock or finding the presence of the Holy One at the Tent of Meeting or Elijah ascending to heaven at the end of his life. For these disciples, who Jesus has and will send out into the world, this moment will remind them of the power of Christ and the community forged in their name–the church, which will prevail over the gates of hell, the powers and principalities of empire, and locked doors that trap us in fear and immobility in the face of injustice and evil perpetrated against those whom the Divine created and loves.

Before the disciples can fully embrace and engage this ministry, their doors need to be unlocked and they need to learn how to unlock the doors they will encounter.

In this Gospel, in contrast to Matthew, Jesus has given Mary no promise that the disciples will see him again, whether in “Galilee” (Mt 28:10) or anywhere else. She herself has “seen the Lord” (v. 18), but the message she delivers is that he is on his way to the Father (v. 17), not that he will appear to them. Nothing that she tells them, but only what they might have remembered of Jesus’ own words (for example, 14:3, 18–19, 21, 23, 28; 16:16–23), gives them hope of seeing him once more, and they seem not to have been expecting him. Yet he does appear to them, and quickly verifies first that he is their crucified Lord (v. 20) and second that he is nonetheless alive (v. 22), at the same time empowering them by the Holy Spirit to carry on his mission (vv. 21–23). Like Mary (v. 18), they are able to say “We have seen the Lord,” passing the testimony along to their absent companion, Thomas (vv. 24–25). Thomas demands the verification they themselves have been given, and more (v. 25), and when Jesus comes back again eight days later, he offers Thomas the verification, just as before (v. 20), without being asked (v. 27). Thomas can only say, “My Lord and my God!” (v. 28).
J. Ramsey Michaels

The catalyst of breakthrough comes through touching the wounds. Thomas cannot recognize Jesus or believe the truth unless and until he is able to encounter Jesus tangibly. For many oppressed people, they become weary of being asked to display their scars and demonstrate evidence of their pain to be seen, heard, known, and believed. Why is the testimony of Mary and the other disciples not enough? Why is there such an entrenched suspicion of the truth?

Jesus goes through the door a second time. This time, the text states that it was shut. It may or may not have been locked, but it still was closed…yet, not to Jesus, who through their actions continues to teach their followers.

We cannot allow closed doors to stop the kindom of God. Even locks cannot withstand the reign of God. The spiritual cannot be divorced from the corporal; both exist as essential to our being and to our ministry. We reach beyond barriers, based in fear, through telling our truth and sometimes exposing our wounds. And, forgiveness comes from making things right with one another.

The resurrection story continued on that evening and a week later as it continues today so we may have life in the name of Jesus as we break down barriers, erase dividers, eradicate obstacles, and transcend locked doors.

Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent
The 33rd General Synod adopted a Resolution to Recognize the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). As part of its implementation, Sermon and Weekly Seeds offers Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent related to the season or overall theme for additional consideration in sermon preparation and for individual and congregational study.

Herein lies more than mere omission and difference of emphasis. The treatment of the period of Reconstruction reflects small credit upon American historians as scientists. We have too often a deliberate attempt so to change the facts of history that the story will make pleasant reading for Americans. The editors of the fourteenth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica asked me for an article on the history of the American Negro. From my manuscript they cut out all my references to Reconstruction. I insisted on including the following statement:

“White historians have ascribed the faults and failures of Reconstruction to Negro ignorance and corruption. But the Negro insists that it was Negro loyalty and the Negro vote alone that restored the South to the Union; established the new democracy, both for white and black, and instituted the public schools.”

This the editor refused to print, although he said that the article otherwise was “in my judgment, and in the judgment of others in the office, an excellent one, and one with which it seems to me we may all be well satisfied.” I was not satisfied and refused to allow the article to appear.

War and especially civil strife leave terrible wounds. It is the duty of humanity to heal them. It was therefore soon conceived as neither wise nor patriotic to speak of all the causes of strife and the terrible results to which sectional differences in the United States had led. And so, first of all, we minimized the slavery controversy which convulsed the nation from the Missouri Compromise down to the Civil War. On top of that, we passed by Reconstruction with a phrase of regret or disgust.

But are these reasons of courtesy and philanthropy sufficient for denying Truth? If history is going to be scientific, if the record of human action is going to be set down with that accuracy and faithfulness of detail which will allow its use as a measuring rod and guidepost for the future of nations, there must be set some standards of ethics in research and interpretation.

If, on the other hand, we are going to use history for our pleasure and amusement, for inflating our national ego, and giving us a false but pleasurable sense of accomplishment, then we must give up the idea of history either as a science or as an art using the results of science, and admit frankly that we are using a version of historic fact in order to influence and educate the new generation along the way we wish.

It is propaganda like this that has led men in the past to insist that history is “lies agreed upon”; and to point out the danger in such misinformation. It is indeed extremely doubtful if any permanent benefit comes to the world through such action. Nations reel and stagger on their way; they make hideous mistakes; they commit frightful wrongs; they do great and beautiful things. And shall we not best guide humanity by telling the truth about all this, so far as the truth is ascertainable?

W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America: An Essay Toward a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860-1880

Building Up a New World Liturgical Resources
Book Chapter: “White Supremacy and the Structure of Oppression”
Scripture: John 20:19-31
Book Quote:

“White supremacy is the structure of oppression in which the United States lives and moves and has its being and which we export around the world. White supremacy is not about interpersonal prejudices or individual acts of hate. White supremacy is about power – who has it, to what ends, and what meaning is made out of that power…White supremacy is also a theological construction…[it] makes meaning out of people’s bodies – whose are worthy and pure and good and able (white), and whose are criminal, a threat, deserving of punishment, disposable (Black, Indigenous, immigrant, disabled, queer, poor)…Our goal must be collective liberation from an oppressive structure, and building up a whole new world” (15, 29).

Theme Notes:
We are all wounded by white supremacy. Though Jesus’ life predated the concept of race as we know it, his crucifixion by state violence aimed at enforcing Roman occupation is a piece of the oppressive structure that is white supremacy. The wounds that Jesus shows to identify himself to his disciples are connected to the wounds of every person who’s suffered and died at the hands of racialized capitalism. What if we hear in Thomas’ demand to see and touch Jesus’ wounds, the demand of so many in our society to see and touch “proof” of white supremacy and racism? How might our worship and our organizing change deepen if we considered part of our work to be putting people in touch with the wounds created by white supremacy, in ourselves and others?

Building Up a New World Liturgical Resources written by Dr. Sharon R. Fennema, who serves as Join the Movement toward Racial Justice Curator with UCC National Ministries.

For Further Reflection
“Let the people discover you! You might have the key of the locked doors in their lives! Open yourself to the world; you might be the magic the world needs!” — Mehmet Murat Ildan
“I know what the fear is. The fear is not for what is lost. What is lost is already in the wall. What is lost is already behind the locked doors. The fear is for what is still to be lost.” –Joan Didion
“It is difficult for the common good to prevail against the intense concentration of those who have a special interest, especially if the decisions are made behind locked doors.” –Jimmy Carter

A preaching commentary on this text (with works cited) is at //ucc.org/SermonSeeds.

The Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology (lindsayc@ucc.org), also serves a local church pastor, public theologian, and worship scholar-practitioner with a particular interest in the proclamation of the word in gathered communities. You’re invited to share your reflections on this text in the comments below this post on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SermonSeeds.