It’s amazing how much the spiritual book we call the Bible talks about physical bodies. In our time of pandemic and social division, the Bible tells us that God loves our bodies and physical lives: vulnerable, weak, and broken as we are. In addition to loving us as individuals, God also loves our social bodies and church bodies; they too are just as fragile, they are just as holy and good.
We see this love for bodies in how Jesus healed the sick during his ministry, brought peace to the disciples’ troubled hearts in their locked room, and sent his followers out with good news for real people. Jesus loved bodies so much that he did not leave his own crucified body behind after his death. Instead, he was raised bodily into the glorious life of God’s resurrection. God’s love has a body, and our bodies are homes of the love of God.
On this point, the Apostle Thomas was exactly right to insist upon seeing Jesus in the flesh, because the risen Christ never leaves vulnerable bodies behind. Jesus—the Word made flesh—saves and redeems us in the flesh. Thomas’s slowness to believe his friends was not a sign of doubt but a commitment to the Christian insistence that bodies matter. The Lord wants us to thrive in body and soul, lifting up those whose real bodies and souls are heavy with grief and pain. As Jesus said in Matthew’s gospel, “Come to me all you are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Thomas saw the risen Christ and knew he was in the immediate presence of his Lord and his God. That’s us, too. We have seen Jesus, we will see Jesus, and we meet Jesus again today in the flesh. How does this happen? On days when we share Holy Communion, we physically commune with our Lord and with each other. In scripture and prayer, in baptism and Christian fellowship, Jesus is also with us in the power of the Holy Spirit: “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there.” In the love of God shared unconditionally with neighbors and in the peace of God that fills our hearts in good times and bad, Jesus is among us. Like Thomas, we have seen the Lord.
I used to think that the line “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” was about later Christians like us who didn’t live with the historical Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years ago. I liked that interpretation because it makes me feel like I’m being congratulated for having faith. But I’ve seen Jesus, just as directly as Thomas did.
So what might it mean to bless those who have not seen but who have yet believed? This gets to the heart of the ministry that very-soon-to-be Pastor Eversoll is called into. Among Charlotte’s many talents, she is an artist. She painted the image on the front of the bulletin. She shared works of art with our seminary community, too.
Artists like Charlotte start with an idea, or even just a hint of an idea when they aren’t yet sure what exactly what they’re going for. They feel it, they follow it, and they work to make it visible and physical. A painting might start with a sketch and some outlines, early brush strokes and splashes of color. Maybe the original idea changes along the way due to some “happy accidents” or new insights that arise during the creative process. However it happens, when the painting is finished something new and beautiful exists that wasn’t there before.
Pastoral ministry is like art, because it is about revealing the visible and physical love of God for the world. Yes, we can talk about God’s love and imagine it (we do that a lot at seminary!). But most of all it’s something to be experienced, like a work of art. In this way, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” is a blessing about the artistry of sharing the beautiful and inspiring love of God that is there to be discovered and shared. It’s a blessing to those who long for God’s love but don’t yet know where to find it. It’s a blessing for those who think they’ve seen God’s love in the past, but who haven’t felt it fresh in their lives for a long time. Blessed are those who want good things in this world—who long for goodness with all their hearts—and who will find these good things in new journeys with Jesus, who said “seek, and you shall find.” Blessed are those have not yet seen but hope against hope that life with God includes blessings and mysteries like the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Experiencing God’s love is like a full immersion into a living work of art: Jesus heals the sick and gives new life; Jesus sees our burdens and carries them; Jesus shares peace with frightened disciples and sends them out with a new loving confidence; people love their neighbors as they love themselves. Yes, the body of Christ is just as fragile, wounded, and vulnerable as our own bodies. And yes, these are exactly the individual and communal bodies that the Holy Spirit sends out: energized and made alive through the love of God.
Charlotte, David, Nicole, and family: Christ will continue to breathe peace into your hearts. He will continue to be your strength and comfort in all things. He will continue to inspire you to new creations that bless and heal this world that God so loves. We are Christ’s living works of art. We have artistic works of holy love to share.
Peace be with you. Amen
Martin Lohrmann
Preached outdoors at Lutheran Church of Peace, Platteville, Wisconsin, on Sunday, July 26, 2020,
while observing best practices for disease prevention, including masks, social distancing, and hand washing.
We see this love for bodies in how Jesus healed the sick during his ministry, brought peace to the disciples’ troubled hearts in their locked room, and sent his followers out with good news for real people. Jesus loved bodies so much that he did not leave his own crucified body behind after his death. Instead, he was raised bodily into the glorious life of God’s resurrection. God’s love has a body, and our bodies are homes of the love of God.
On this point, the Apostle Thomas was exactly right to insist upon seeing Jesus in the flesh, because the risen Christ never leaves vulnerable bodies behind. Jesus—the Word made flesh—saves and redeems us in the flesh. Thomas’s slowness to believe his friends was not a sign of doubt but a commitment to the Christian insistence that bodies matter. The Lord wants us to thrive in body and soul, lifting up those whose real bodies and souls are heavy with grief and pain. As Jesus said in Matthew’s gospel, “Come to me all you are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Thomas saw the risen Christ and knew he was in the immediate presence of his Lord and his God. That’s us, too. We have seen Jesus, we will see Jesus, and we meet Jesus again today in the flesh. How does this happen? On days when we share Holy Communion, we physically commune with our Lord and with each other. In scripture and prayer, in baptism and Christian fellowship, Jesus is also with us in the power of the Holy Spirit: “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there.” In the love of God shared unconditionally with neighbors and in the peace of God that fills our hearts in good times and bad, Jesus is among us. Like Thomas, we have seen the Lord.
I used to think that the line “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” was about later Christians like us who didn’t live with the historical Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years ago. I liked that interpretation because it makes me feel like I’m being congratulated for having faith. But I’ve seen Jesus, just as directly as Thomas did.
So what might it mean to bless those who have not seen but who have yet believed? This gets to the heart of the ministry that very-soon-to-be Pastor Eversoll is called into. Among Charlotte’s many talents, she is an artist. She painted the image on the front of the bulletin. She shared works of art with our seminary community, too.
Artists like Charlotte start with an idea, or even just a hint of an idea when they aren’t yet sure what exactly what they’re going for. They feel it, they follow it, and they work to make it visible and physical. A painting might start with a sketch and some outlines, early brush strokes and splashes of color. Maybe the original idea changes along the way due to some “happy accidents” or new insights that arise during the creative process. However it happens, when the painting is finished something new and beautiful exists that wasn’t there before.
Pastoral ministry is like art, because it is about revealing the visible and physical love of God for the world. Yes, we can talk about God’s love and imagine it (we do that a lot at seminary!). But most of all it’s something to be experienced, like a work of art. In this way, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” is a blessing about the artistry of sharing the beautiful and inspiring love of God that is there to be discovered and shared. It’s a blessing to those who long for God’s love but don’t yet know where to find it. It’s a blessing for those who think they’ve seen God’s love in the past, but who haven’t felt it fresh in their lives for a long time. Blessed are those who want good things in this world—who long for goodness with all their hearts—and who will find these good things in new journeys with Jesus, who said “seek, and you shall find.” Blessed are those have not yet seen but hope against hope that life with God includes blessings and mysteries like the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Experiencing God’s love is like a full immersion into a living work of art: Jesus heals the sick and gives new life; Jesus sees our burdens and carries them; Jesus shares peace with frightened disciples and sends them out with a new loving confidence; people love their neighbors as they love themselves. Yes, the body of Christ is just as fragile, wounded, and vulnerable as our own bodies. And yes, these are exactly the individual and communal bodies that the Holy Spirit sends out: energized and made alive through the love of God.
Charlotte, David, Nicole, and family: Christ will continue to breathe peace into your hearts. He will continue to be your strength and comfort in all things. He will continue to inspire you to new creations that bless and heal this world that God so loves. We are Christ’s living works of art. We have artistic works of holy love to share.
Peace be with you. Amen
Martin Lohrmann
Preached outdoors at Lutheran Church of Peace, Platteville, Wisconsin, on Sunday, July 26, 2020,
while observing best practices for disease prevention, including masks, social distancing, and hand washing.