Thomas needs Jesus to Honor the Hurt in Reparing it

Sermon 20250427
St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church
Dahlonega Georgia
Easter 2 C
Acts 5:27-32
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
Psalm 118:14-29

Today, I am struck by the importance of Jesus’ wounds. They are the first thing Jesus shows his disciples when he appears to him the first time. Thomas needs to see them in order to have faith. Wounds are important and wounds are precious. An important part of our ministry as Jesus’ followers is to honor and hear about people’s wounds, to be friends, and to travel our road of life together.

We call Thomas, “Doubting Thomas,” but interestingly enough, the story is about his process of coming to faith. Not his doubt. In fact he makes an extraordinary confession of faith, “My Lord, and my God.” My Lord and my God is the prayer I was taught to say silently when the priest raises the host and the chalice during the Eucharist.  Devotion.

Why the wounds? I suspect Thomas wants something real, and to be real it is important to honor the hardship along the way. 

Honoring the hardship is also part of the Passover. Probably in Jesus' childhood they had some of the rituals that are done today. They have bitter herbs to remind themselves of the bitter yoke of oppression. And they have an apple nut dish to remind them of the bricks they had to make without straw in Egypt. In remembering the path to freedom they also remember the hardship.

Thomas needs to see that wounds can be saved also. He can only believe the good news if it does not brush the hurt under the rug, but redeems it.

One of the biggest mistakes we make in our relationships with each other is that we avoid talking about our wounds, about the things that are hard. We are afraid that it will bring up pain, and sometimes that is fair. But if we do not talk about our griefs with others our friendship stays on a level of safe, of acquaintance and not friend.

It is an interesting aside that we also do not want to talk about our faith with others. Thank goodness we have church. If we do not talk about faith with each other here we waste one of this place’s greatest benefits.

Being able to talk about faith or our wounds with others, and being able to listen as others describe their hurt makes the relationship more real. 

The Japanese art of Kintsugi. They repair broken pottery that they value with Gold epoxy. The break is not hidden, it is made beautiful. The wounds of the pot stick out as part of the story of the pot. And this makes it real. Here is a picture of a plate that has been repaired using Kintsugi.
It makes the wounds beautiful. This is what Jesus does. He takes our wounds and makes them visible and beautiful.

The Pope’s sermon this Easter, his last sermon before he died was excellent. He said why are you looking for Jesus in a tomb? Jesus is not here. He is in the world. And I would add he is especially with the wounded.

When we tend to wounds, whosever they may be, we tend to Jesus.

I think this is also the difference between actually helping someone by being friends rather than just giving charity away. If we have the resources we should give generously to assist others, and it really helps. Yet if we can give our friendship to someone this helps so much more. If we can hear about the wounds of others, and share our life battle scars and hardships with them, we connect on the soul level. This is why charitable giving is no substitute for in person ministry. I hope all of us will find occasions to be with people.

One thing that gets in my way sometimes is that I have been blessed not to know hunger, or drug addiction, or poverty, or extreme childhood family trauma. Yet I have found honoring the hardship in life I did have, and not hiding it, teaches me how to be with people who have had a harder road than I. And they don’t want me to be shut down by what they share. They desire someone to listen and care.  They need support so that they can wrestle with their hurt. In the end the longings of the human soul make us all much more similar than we can fully understand.

There are places where we can befriend others.

Community Helping Place Opportunity Lumpkin looks for companions for people with struggles.
Family Connections Mentor Program will set us up with a child who needs a friends.
And we can find opportunities on our own in our neighborhoods and clubs

This is the level Jesus connects with us on. He shares our wounds. He takes our story into his very person. The most sordid parts of our human story, rejection and cruelty. His wounds in his resurrection life are like Kintsugi, they are visible, and God has repaired them beautifully. When on our spiritual journey we learn to honor our wounds and the wounds of others we are like Jesus.

God is not just trying to solve our creaturely survival needs, God is trying to be soul friends with us in Jesus. God’s purpose in Christ is not to solve our problems, it is to have an eternal loving mutual relationship with us.

When have you shared some wound you have and it was healing for both you and the person you shared it with? What can you do to be better at hearing people share their wounds without the need to change the subject? Who is God calling you to befriend for mutual healing?

Let us join Jesus’ Kintsugi project for the universe. It is the path to wholeness and peace.
Notice that this picture of this blue plate looks a little bit like the planet earth seen from space.
The gold repairs to this plate represeent Jesus taking the wounds of the whole world and reparing them and making them beautiful.

In the name of the one, living, holy, and triune God. Amen.