John 20: 19-23
Roger Lynn
April 26, 2020
(the audio and video for this sermon will be posted soon)

If you heard my sermon from last week, then you may have a sense of déjà vu. This is not the same sermon, but I discovered that I wasn’t quite done with the theme. So this is more like part two of what I shared last Sunday.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia! That is the ancient proclamation of the Church. It is the excitement of Easter. It is a powerful slogan and rallying cry. But we dare not stop there. If we leave worship on Easter Sunday saying, “Wasn’t that wonderful!” and then simply carry on with business as usual, we have largely missed the point. If our faith goes no further than Christ’s resurrection, then we are still left with the “so what?” question, or at the very least the “now what?” question. What does it have to do with us, and what does it call us to do with our lives?

Almost since the beginning the Church has answered such questions by proclaiming that Christ’s resurrection has everything to do with us, and we are called to respond by living. Actually, we are called to respond by living fully and radically and with each other. The book of Acts puts it well when it describes the early church by saying, “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul...” (Acts 4:32) Elsewhere in the New Testament this is referred to as koinonia, which is the Greek word for fellowship or deep, intimate sharing of life. This becomes possible as we begin to live into God’s gift of abundant life which Christ’s resurrection announces. Such living dares to be radically inclusive and radically compassionate because it is powered by nothing less than the all-giving Spirit of God.

John’s Gospel describes this radical nature of this post-resurrection life with these words from Jesus – “As God sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21) This is the same Gospel which earlier said, “For God so loved the world, that God gave...” (John 3:16) The Church’s primary mission is not to be nice people. It isn’t to believe the right ideas. It isn’t to say the proper words. It is to be God’s people who share life with each other so deeply and so intimately that God’s love can’t help but shine through. Living on this side of Easter is a big deal. It matters. It makes a difference. And it’s more than we can handle on our own. Which is why we need to be together (koinonia) and it is why we need God. Not just some of the time. Not just casually. Not just when it’s convenient. We need to be a part of this holy community all the time, in ways which run so deep and so strong that they become like breathing. Only then do we stand a chance of living up to the challenge of being sent out into the world as proclaimers of God’s love.

And Jesus knew this. After he tells the disciples that he is sending them out into the world, literally with his next breath, he breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” God’s Ruach – Spirit, breath, wind, life-force – is breathed into that early nucleus of the Church. And God’s Spirit continues to be breathed into the Church right up to this very moment. The sending out and the gift of the Spirit are intrinsically linked. The one is not possible without the other. And when we begin to take seriously this radical, spirit-powered way of living, then nothing will ever be the same again, for us or for the world. To make this abundantly clear, immediately after he breathes the Spirit on them, Jesus presents the disciples with a promise and a warning. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:23) This business of living faithfully in response to God’s amazing gift of life carries with it a tremendous responsibility. We have been sent out to proclaim the ultimate good news concerning God’s all-encompassing, unconditional, knows-no-bounds love. We are not the source of that love. We are simply the messenger. All we have to do is proclaim it. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.” But if we resist that challenge, if we hold back, if we decide to be stingy or selective or judgmental with God’s love, then how else are people going to hear about it? If we can’t, or won’t, or just don’t proclaim God’s love, then who will? “If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” God and Jesus have already made their position on the matter abundantly clear. “For God so loved the world...” “When I am lifted up, I will draw all things to me...” All that is left to decide is whether or not we will participate in the process.

We stand with those early disciples, with God’s Spirit being breathed into us. We stand with the early church in Jerusalem, being drawn together into a koinonia community where we can share life with one heart and soul. And like them we are being sent out into the world to live radical, spirit-powered lives. Such living can be frightening. Such living can be over-whelming. Such living can be life-changing and transforming. The question which remains for us is, will we trust God enough to let go of our fear, let go of our worry, let go of our reservations enough to step into the life we have been called to live? The world is waiting to hear the good news we have to share – now more than ever. What are we waiting for?