First Reading: Acts 5:29-42
29Peter and the apostles answered {the high priest and the council}, “We must obey God rather than men. 30The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” 33When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
Psalm 148
1Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights. 2Praise him, all you angels of his; praise him, all his host. 3Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. 4Praise him, heaven of heavens, and you waters above the heavens. 5Let them praise the name of the LORD; for he commanded, and they were created. 6He made them stand fast forever and ever; he gave them a law which shall not pass away. 7Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps; 8Fire and hail, snow and fog, tempestuous wind, doing his will; 9Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars; 10Wild beasts and all cattle, creeping things and winged birds; 11Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the world; 12Young men and maidens, old and young together. 13Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name only is exalted, his splendor is over earth and heaven. 14He has raised up strength for his people and praise for all his loyal servants, the children of Israel, a people who are near him. Hallelujah!
Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Gospel: John 20:19-31
19On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” 24Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Faith Alone
It doesn’t take a lot of Bible reading to conclude just how excited St. Peter was about his new life in Christ and we see evidence of this not only in our reading from Acts chapter 5, but also in the epistle he penned. In our Acts lesson we read, “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus” (Acts 5:41-42). And in our epistle reading we see how Peter opened this section of his letter with a doxology. He began the first chapter with, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Doxologies have always been a part of worship, with the earliest form dating back to king Solomon. However, the doxologies used in Jewish worship were given a new meaning in Christian worship. In ancient Judaism, the doxology was sung to a God who was understood to be distant and remote. The Jews would sing these words in their Jewish doxology, “Blessed art thou, O God.” Christians, rejoicing that the Messiah has come, sing a doxology to a God who is ever-present and personal because God had been made known to in His Son Jesus.
Thus, St. Peter related the Christian doxology to a very personal God in these words, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Notice the difference here. In Judaism, God is singular, the doxology simply recognizes and worships God. In Christian worship, God is triune, so the doxology praises a very personal God; we sing to God who is the Father of Jesus.
Doxology, by definition, means, a liturgical expression of praise to God, and can be found in almost every book in the New Testament. Doxologies were used because they were easily recognized by the readers and the message of the doxology was universally understood; no interpretation was needed on the part of the author. Since the message of the doxology was so well understood in the Christian community, the author, by just quoting a verse from a doxology, would help bring clarity to the message he wanted to convey in the rest of his epistle.
The word doxology comes from two Greek words, doxa and logos, which means “words of praise.” Doxologies were composed to express a theological doctrine of the church. The doxologies we sing today haven’t changed since the fourth century. The early church had many heretical groups that distorted established orthodox theology. A very prominent heresy in the fourth century was Arianism. Arianism refused to fully acknowledge the divinity of Christ, nor would it acknowledge the full divinity of the Holy Spirit. Basically, Arianism refused to believe that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were equal expressions of God. This is one of the reasons we also have and use the Athanasian Creed. This is also why we still use a Doxology in worship today.
The Gloria Patri, the doxology sung at the end of communion, made the official statement of orthodox theology for the church at the Edict of Thessalonica of 380. It was composed specifically to disavow the beliefs promoted by the Armenians. The words of the Gloria Patri should be familiar to us: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. We don’t use a doxology in worship like we should, we only sing it once a month as we receive the offering in this service. Maybe this is something Diane and I might want to consider bringing back because of its significance to our shared expression of faith.
The Gloria Patri affirms the Trinity that God the Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit were together at the beginning of creation and are equal representatives of God. Despite us not using the Gloria Patri anymore, I hope that when we come to worship on this Second Sunday of Easter, and for every Sunday in the months to follow, we come with the same excitement for our faith as Peter expressed in choosing to begin this section of his letter with a verse from a doxology. It’s a verse that tells us that our God is both majestic and ever-present.
I say this because Peter had good reason to be excited, he knew Jesus personally. That’s why he wanted everyone to sing a doxology of praise to a majestic and omni present God as well. His was a personal relationship because Peter walked with Jesus and ate meals with Jesus. He also witnessed to Jesus and suffered for proclaiming Jesus. Simon Peter was an ordinary fisherman in Galilee. When Simon and his brother Andrew were summoned by Jesus to be two of His twelve disciples, they immediately left their fishing boats to become a part of Jesus ministry. Simon soon became the leader of the twelve and for this reason Jesus changed his name to Peter, which in the Greek is petra or rock.
Even though Peter was the rock of the group, the rock had a fault line in it. We know this because Peter denied knowing Jesus three times during Jesus’ trial. When Peter realized what he had done, he was deeply ashamed and wept bitterly. But it was Peter who was the first apostle that Jesus appeared to after His resurrection. And on that seashore Peter was asked by Jesus three times to reaffirm his faith, which Peter readily did. Peter was the first to preach on the Day of Pentecost, and from that experience, Peter embarked on missionary journeys.
This was the Peter who was so excited about Jesus, he wanted the world to know Jesus as well. This was the Peter who wanted us to sing a doxology of praise to Jesus.
Peter’s love and dedication to Christ may best be understood by how he died. Peter was in Rome when Emperor Nero began persecuting the church about the year 64. Peter was arrested, imprisoned, and sentenced to death by crucifixion. Peter demanded that he be crucified upside down; he didn’t feel worthy to be crucified in the same way as his Lord was. The importance of singing the doxology and the significance of reviewing Peter’s life comes with this line that Peter wrote in his letter, “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an incredible and glorious joy” (vs. 8).
St. Peter wrote of his excitement of having personally known Jesus. Peter was able to walk the dusty roads with Jesus. Peter was present when Jesus taught and healed. Peter had the privilege of knowing those things that are not recorded in the scriptures; such as those conversations around the cooking fire at night. Peter grieved as he witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, but Peter was also a witness to His glorious resurrection. Peter was saying in his letter how wonderful it was that those who know and believe in Jesus personally sing a doxology of praise. You and I, are those Christians who have not seen Jesus in the flesh, but still believe and rejoice.
Furthermore, when Jesus spoke to the apostle Thomas who initially had his doubts, Jesus was speaking directly to us today. Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Thomas, even though the disciples were witnesses to the resurrected Jesus still wanted proof. Thomas didn’t necessarily doubt the integrity of those who saw the resurrected Jesus, but the story seemed so fantastic that Thomas wanted to authenticate the story for himself and not just take someone else’s word for it. The proof Thomas needed was for him to touch the nail wounds and the wound in His side. So Jesus appeared to Thomas in the Upper Room.
We know that Jesus showed Thomas His nail wounds, and the wound in His side, but we don’t know if Thomas actually touched the wounds. The question is, was just seeing Jesus enough for Thomas to believe? Thomas was among the few like those in the Upper Room, in the garden, on the road to Emmaus, by the seashore, who actually physically saw the resurrected Jesus. For those who followed in the weeks, months, years, and even centuries after these encounters with the risen Lord, as Jesus said to Thomas, He also says to us this morning, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We believe today that Jesus is our living Lord and Savior because we walk by faith.
We live by faith because we believe in the testimony of the New Testament and we believe in the witness of Peter. We believe in the writings of the early church fathers. We believe in what our family and friends have told us. But ultimately, we believe because within us we had this mysterious spiritual conviction that Jesus did die for our sins, was resurrected, and ascended to heaven.
Martin Luther, considered by many to be the father of Protestantism, established one of our primary theological doctrines — sola fide, which in Latin means “by faith alone.” Luther considered the Bible our foundational and ultimate authority whose message declares that we can now live by the promise of “by faith alone.” We are saved by faith alone and not by our good works. Certainly, we need to do good works. God commands and Jesus exemplified our need to reach out and show love to our neighbors. But these good actions are done not to earn salvation, but are done in response to all God has done for us and as an expression of our faith and fellowship with Christ. And this doctrine, set forth by Luther, has continually been confirmed by the church.
The Genevan Confession was written by the reformer John Calvin in 1536 likewise pointed out the necessity of those justified live by faith. It reads, “We confess that the entrance which we have to the great treasures and riches of the goodness of God given to us is by faith; inasmuch as, in certain confidence and assurance of heart, we believe in the promises of the gospel.” The Geneva Confession says we enter into a relationship with Jesus by faith. We have confidence in our relationship with Jesus because of the assurance of our heart and because we believe in the promises of the Bible.
The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. It was adopted in 1646 at the Westminster Assembly and became the standard confession of the Church of England. Regarding sola fide, or by faith alone, the creed states, “Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification.” The creed states it is by faith that we believe that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected and ascended to heaven where He sits at the right hand of God.
If you have seen the movie Risen, Roman military tribune Clavius, a dedicated Army officer with 25 years of active service that exposed him to many battles, is ordered by Pontius Pilate to disprove the rumors that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah who had risen from the grave. In the course of the movie Clavius becomes a Christian and gives up his position in the army. Clavius had not seen the risen Jesus, but because of what he learned he came to faith and was reborn.
Faith and rebirth are central themes in the scriptures. It is the teaching of the need to be born again. The phrase “to be born again,” which means to be saved, comes from the biblical story of Nicodemus. You recall the story: Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, came to Jesus at night. Nicodemus came at night because of his social position in society, knowing what people would say about him if it was made public that he was taking to Jesus. Nicodemus wanted to know more about the teaching of Jesus and how one could become a follower.
Jesus told Nicodemus “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus took these words literally at first, inquiring, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” To be born again is to have a spiritual rebirth. It is a spiritual rebirth when we are baptized, and we come to accept Jesus as the Messiah by faith. We’re never told if Nicodemus became a Christian, but we’re told that he was the one who brought the spices for Jesus’ burial.
When Jimmy Carter ran for president in 1976, he would often share with the news media that he was a born-again Christian. If you were to watch some of the news reels from this time, anchors on major news broadcasts publicly admitted they were confused by what the term “born again” meant. They didn’t understand that Jimmy Carter was a Christian who lived by faith. Perhaps the 1976 election confusion was the fault of the church. Newscasters didn’t understand Jimmy Carter’s statement because the church had failed to step up and explain. The church failed to take the opportunity to share what it means to live by faith alone. This leads me to ask, are we still failing in our evangelical mission this day.
In this Easter season, I can only hope that each of us can articulate our faith with the same excitement and joy as Peter did. And though we live by faith, our relationship with Jesus is as real as Peter’s ever was. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” “Praise God from whom all blessing flow, praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above all heavenly hosts, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.” This is what we need to enthusiastically share with our neighbors.
Amen