Commentary on Lectionary for May 1, 2011

Easter 2

Acts 2:14a-22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31

The week after Easter the developers of the lectionary put these readings before the Christian community. One or more of them will be proclaimed in hundreds or probably thousands of churches around the world.

Most will hear Peter’s sermon that he delivered after the great commotion in Jerusalem when the mighty wind threatened to blow apart the upper room and the Apostles who saw tongues of fire on the heads of their colleagues now began to speak and act with such exuberance that people thought they had been drinking.

Other churches will choose the Resurrection story that contains the story of doubting Thomas. A few might hear Peter’s letter exhorting new followers of Jesus to have hope and confidence in their salvation, and to follow in Jesus’s way. Finally the Psalm, when it is sung, will usually be used as a bridge between readings. And this psalm is full of joy because of God’s protection.

All of the readings seem focused on cementing our faith and hope in the risen Jesus, even if we are initially doubters, like Thomas.

Although Peter seems to be quoting the prophet Joel to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was obvious to those anywhere near that upper room, Peter can’t resist continuing with Joel’s apocalyptic language that would probably scare everyone to death and make them WANT to call upon the name of Jesus (and repent, of course), if that would save them.

These portents in Joel become more imminent when we read of two eminent scientists who just last month predicted the end of the earth as we know it, citing over-population, environmental degradation, and the statistical probability of getting hit by an asteroid. It doesn’t really matter, does it, since physical death is already inescapable. But the belief that Jesus has overcome that final end and beckons us through its tunnel to life and joy on the other side is what makes the celebration of Easter so essential. The Resurrection allows us to sing Psalm 16 in our own time with this added meaning.

But we might want to pause a minute at the Thomas story. Thomas epitomizes those of us who are struggling with belief, are mesmerized by inconsistencies in Scripture and in the interpretation of it, and are rendered catatonic by the clash of post-modern times with the ancient holy words. Some people who have thought deeply about it are consoled that it wasn’t enough for Thomas to hear testimonies from his closest friends and fellow Apostles. He had to touch the suffering, the wounds.

The promises of salvation and eternal life might only get clarified when we have experienced suffering, even the internal suffering of doubt and confusion or the dark night of disbelief. In the agony of physical and mental pain, the words of Psalm 16 take on a new meaning: “Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge…I have no good apart from you.”