by Barry Pollard
(Based on John 20:19-31; Acts 2:14a, 22-32; 1 Pet 1:3-9)
[Editor’s note: We normally publish these reflections after they’ve been delivered in our church, by various contributors. On this occasion the service was cancelled, due to an approaching cyclone, so this homily didn’t get delivered. Like the theme itself, it’s emerging from the locked room.]
Researching where I’d like to go with the reflection today, I consulted widely. I have talked on this Gospel reading before, so I thought that would be a good place to start. You know, save a bit of time and check that what I said then applies now. But it turned out that it was several computers ago, and before the logging of reflections on the church website, so that came to nothing. In the process, however, I came across one of the late Chris Ison’s files and he had a reflection on this reading. But his tack was not one I felt confident to emulate, Chris being a very learned and articulate man.
So, it was back to basics for me!
Perhaps the first Holy Spirit moment in my preparations!
I was prompted to go back and look at today’s readings again, more closely. And, I’m sure you’ve experienced it, much more was revealed than at first read. Enough, in fact, to give me a direction and thread to follow.
You, too, may have picked up that there’s a thread that runs through all three readings: the movement from fear and uncertainty to faith and living hope. In each of the readings, people are standing at crossroads. In John’s Gospel, the disciples are locked in a room, afraid. In Acts, Peter is standing up boldly where once he denied Jesus. In 1 Peter, believers are facing trials, yet are called to rejoice. Something has changed. And that ‘something’ is not an idea, not a philosophy. It is a person, the risen Jesus Christ.
The excerpt from John’s Gospel tells of the disciples in hiding. The doors in their meeting place are locked. They are afraid of what might happen next. What happened to Jesus might happen to them. And then, into that fear, Jesus comes and says, “Peace be with you.” Not once, but twice. You know in Scripture when things are repeated they are important! This is not just a greeting. It is a gift. The peace Jesus brings is not the absence of trouble. It is the presence of Christ in the middle of it.
And the story of change unfolds. He shows them his wounds. He breathes on them, imparting the Holy Spirit, filling them with joy. Then he sends them. Fearful people become sent people.
How often do we live behind locked doors? Fear of the future. Fear of change. Fear of speaking out our faith.
Well, the risen Jesus still comes into our locked places, into our anxious hearts, and says, “Peace be with you.”
Then there is Thomas. He has missed the encounter with Jesus in the locked room. He has heard from the disciples their story, but he doubts it. “Doubting Thomas” we call him; but that’s not his whole story. Thomas is honest. He refuses second-hand faith. “I won’t believe unless I see.” And when they finally meet, what does Jesus do? He does not reject Thomas. He meets him. “Put your finger here … look at my hands.” Thomas responds with one of the greatest confessions in Scripture, “My Lord and my God!”
Doubt is not necessarily the opposite of faith. It can be the doorway to deeper faith, when we bring it to Christ. Many of us struggle with belief. It’s not uncommon. But the invitation remains the same: not, “have all the answers”, but, “come and see”.
Let’s now look at the Acts reading. It’s hard to believe that this Peter, the one standing before the crowd proclaiming loudly, is the same Peter who only a short time before denied Jesus three times. What is he proclaiming so loudly? Jesus crucified. Jesus raised.
And, “… it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”
What changed Peter?
He had encountered the risen Christ.
The resurrection is not just a comforting story. It is a world-changing reality. Peter shows that it was foretold in history, that it is proclaimed in eyewitness testimony, and in God’s action. Because Jesus is alive, sin does not have the final word, death does not have the final word, and fear does not have the final word!
And then we hear from Peter again, years later, writing to Christians under pressure. He says, “It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.”
A living hope.
Not wishful thinking. Not fragile optimism. But a hope that is alive because Jesus is alive. And this hope sustains us in grief, strengthens us in trials, and refines our faith “like gold”. A living hope that helps us with the uncertainty in the world, with pressures in families and communities, with questions about the future of faith in society. Peter does not deny the reality of suffering. But he is explaining that suffering is not the end of the story.
These readings show us that fear can be changed to peace, that doubt can be changed to faith, that death can be changed to life, and that trial can be changed to hope. And at the centre of it all is the risen Jesus.
We all look for reassurance. My wife Keri accesses her Good Shepherd imagery, I deploy an ‘arrow path’. These are keys to our reassurance. We have someone looking after us. We have a path to follow that will lead us to the best life. So, remember that Jesus always meets us where we are. Whether we are afraid, doubtful or weary, he comes to us. Our faith is not about certainty. It is about trust. Jesus wants us in relationship. He is not expecting us to be perfect.
The resurrection changed everything. And it isn’t just about life after death. It is about life now. Just like the apostles, we are sent people. We are sent to carry peace, hope, and good news into our communities.
Imagine those locked doors again. Now imagine them opening. The disciples step out, not because the world is safe, but because they have seen the Lord. That is the call for us today. Not to stay behind locked doors of fear or doubt, but to step into the world with peace in our hearts, faith in our Lord, and hope that is alive.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” Jesus said.
Let’s conclude with a simple prayer:
Risen Jesus help us as we move from fear to peace, from doubt to faith and from death to life. May we live as people of the resurrection today, and every day. Amen.
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