IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU
A sermon by George R. Pasley
1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
It can happen to you.
Life can knock you down
Just the way it knocked all the apostles down.
You can be where Thomas was on Resurrection Day.
Somewhere by himself.
Alone.
Confused.
Hurting beyond belief.
Disappointed and disillusioned.
Thinking that his life was over
Even though he was still alive.
It can happen to you,
And maybe it has.
Maybe someone died
Who meant the world to you.
Maybe they died unexpectedly,
Ripping life’s meaning
Right out from under.
Maybe you had a good job
But now maybe you don’t.
Maybe a friend
Betrayed you,
Turned their back on you,
Cut and ran
When you needed them the most.
It can happen to you.
Many times it does.
Maybe without realizing it
(or maybe you did)
You started walking
Down the wrong path in life
Until suddenly
You were trapped
With no way out.
It can happen to you.
Sometimes it does.
Maybe a son or daughter has done something
That ruined their life
Or at least
The life you envisioned.
You can be where Thomas was on Resurrection Day.
Somewhere by yourself.
Alone.
Confused.
Hurting beyond belief.
Disappointed and disillusioned.
Thinking that your life is over
Even though you are still alive.
There is a word for that:
ALIENATION.
It means cut off,
Disconnected.
Disconnected from whatever gives meaning,
Connected to despair.
Cut off from God,
Lashed to hopelessness.
Estranged from the ones you love,
Miserable with yourself,
Angry with the world
Or maybe just certain parts of it.
Or maybe instead
Just wandering listlessly
Waiting for nothing,
Expecting less.
Hearing good news just like Thomas
But not listening,
Listening instead to words in your head
Repeat their sad news
Over and over again.
It’s over.
It’s done.
There’s nothing
That anyone
Can do.
That’s no way to live,
But it happens.
I’ve been there.
I know.
But something else happened to Thomas.
Jesus happened.
He can happen to you.
Jesus came once
And brought peace
To all who were there.
But Thomas wasn’t there
And maybe some thought
“AGH! He missed it.”
Does lightning strike twice?
Yes,
But we don’t look for it.
Jesus came,
But Thomas wasn’t there.
But Jesus MUST have noticed,
Noticed the apostle who barely was named.
Noticed, and something more.
During that week,
Jesus noticed
What Thomas was told
And the answer he gave.
Jesus noticed
Then a miracle happened.
Jesus happened to Thomas.
He can happen to you.
He called him by name.
He showed him his hands and his side.
He can happen to you.
What happens
When Jesus happens to you?
We get connected.
We get put back together again.
Theologians have a word for that:
Justification,
Put together with God,
And another,
Reconciliation,
Put back together with our neighbors.
But those words won’t do.
They’re not big enough
Not grand enough
Not filled with much wonder.
So let’s try something different:
Love.
Jesus happened
He was love.
It can happen to you.
God’s love is a blessing
When it happens to us-
And it does.
It could happen to you
But let me ask this:
Is a man standing and talking
And hearing and loving
Who ONCE was dead
And buried and gone-
Is that TOO much
To wrap your brain around?
Don’t worry.
It can happen to you.
Are you NOT
Persuaded?
Don’t worry.
Thomas did not believe
But Jesus happened,
He can happen to you.
Doubt is the natural
Human condition,
Though magnified
Amplified
Made bigger and louder,
Doubt can be
Might be
And just maybe is
A tool of the enemy.
But doubt,
Plain doubt,
Is the natural human condition.
But what is doubt’s opposite?
No-
Not proof.
Not proof, but wonder.
It can happen to you.
Wonder knows
That resurrection is impossible
Given the circumstances.
But wonder believes,
Without understanding.
One clear night
I went out to the wild
To see the aurora-
Not for its science,
But for its beauty
And for my wonder.
It wasn’t there,
But the stars sure were-
Millions and millions
Across the broad sky.
They are counted by science,
Given some names and more numbers,
Distances measured,
Intensity scored,
But in wonder I loved them,
And in wonder they held me,
Without explanation
Or rational speech.
Yes wonder believes,
Though not from persuasion-
But from beauty believes
And from splendor, agrees.
Jesus lives.
Except for God,
Resurrection is impossible.
It cannot be explained,
Nor proven,
Except by witness.
It could happen to you.
I pray that it will.
But what happens
When Jesus happens to you?
What happens
When love happens to you?
What happens
When wonder wraps your life
Around the impossibility of God?
Stuff still happens,
Don’t get me wrong.
But something else happens,
Something stronger than stuff,
Something better than life:
It’s life in his name.
Love helps you hold on.
Peter says that
For a little while
They suffered some trials,
Those Christians in
Who read his letter.
It was not pretty.
It was ugly and mean.
It was painful and real.
It was horrible stuff.
But their lives were wrapped,
Wrapped around wonder,
By faith they held on
While love held them tight.
It can happen to you.
Stuff happens,
Bad stuff,
And it tugs at our lives
Ripping and shredding
Whatever it can-
But this is faith’s object,
To help us hold on
While love holds us tight.
Aliens no longer,
Strangers no more,
Connected to God,
Living life richly
No matter the stuff.
That’s life,
That’s life in his name,
Made vibrant by wonder,
Made real by his love.
Jesus happened to Thomas.
He can happen to you.
I pray that he does.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
