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John 20:19, 26 - On 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." ... Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them [this time]. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.
Have you ever felt excluded, like a door slammed in your face? For me, it was the first time I heard a kid in my class refer to my family as "renters." Technically, we were, but he said it as though that's all we were to him, and all we ever would be. My dad had left his first career to study to become a teacher. And yes, during that time we rented—a small house in a small town on a dirt road about a mile from the college my dad attended. We would be there just two years, but most of the kids in my class had lived their whole lives in that town, some for generations back. For them, I suppose the first day of eighth grade wasn't a big deal. They'd been passing through the same school doors since kindergarten. But when I walked through them that morning, my hands were damp with sweat. I was an outsider. The threshold to the classroom may have been unobstructed, but the social boundaries were locked in place.
When there is a social boundary between people, they tend to avoid each other, exclude, sometimes even shun. Often the motives for this behavior are rooted in fear. Crossing a boundary means change. And any deviation from the norm can be unsettling. In other cases, outsiders are shunned because insiders are afraid—afraid of being offended or challenged or perhaps compromised and contaminated. One group might fear losing the good thing they've got. Another might fear missing out on what they think they're owed. And sometimes we shun people because there's a part of us that believes the world can be divided between good people and evil people. And it's "us versus them." So, to protect ourselves, we bar the doors and post a guard.
But for the crucified and risen Jesus, doors are no obstacle, whether they be physical or social or spiritual. When His first disciples were hiding in fear behind locked doors, Jesus passed on through, no problem. Through the forgiveness and peace He offers, Jesus gives you access to God, His Father, because He is the Door and the Way and the Truth and the Life (see John 10:7; 14:6). By faith in Him, His first disciples were empowered to be an open door even to the unbelieving outsider in their midst—to Thomas, or "doubting Thomas," as he's sometimes called. It would have been easy for them to exclude Thomas. They could have concluded that "doubting" was all he was, and all he ever would be. But instead of shunning him, they welcomed him, even before he was ready to believe.
Because we were in that college town only two years, some doors would stay closed to me and my family. People knew we weren't putting down roots. We were just renters. We wouldn't be much of a return on investment. Which was why I was so surprised that Bob invited me over to his house that weekend. Bob had lived in that small town his whole life. He had his friend-group already, but he went out of his way to include me. I'm not sure why. I didn't have any social capital to offer him as payback. Maybe his mom prodded him? Maybe he felt sorry for me? Whatever the reason, I am grateful he did. As followers of Jesus, we go and do likewise. The open door we have from God in Him excludes exclusion, because Jesus has made an eternal investment in each of us. And He brings peace.
WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, make me an open door through which others can come to know You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
1. When have you felt excluded? When are you tempted to exclude others?
2. Why do you think Thomas was willing to be among the disciples, even though he didn't yet believe in the risen Jesus (see John 20:26)?
3. In what ways could the "mixed" company of unbelieving Thomas with the believing disciples serve as a model for the church today?
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