“The Loving Hands of Easter”
John 20:19-31
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Five hundred years ago, it seemed the entire city of
Nuremberg, Germany, had come out to see the local boy, now a famous artist,
come home. His name was Albrecht Durer. Albrecht and his brother, Albert, both
had a natural talent for art: Albrecht with paints and pencils; Albert as a
sculptor. Unfortunately, money was tight and the two could not go off to
university at the same time. They came up with a plan: they would flip a coin,
the winner going off to university to study art and the loser going down into
the mines to work to pay for the brother’s school. After the first completed
schooling, they would trade places. The next Sunday morning, the coin was
tossed and Albrecht the painter, won the toss and went off to University while
Albert went down into the mines – not to sculpt, but to dig copper and silver
from the mines.
Albrecht’s talents were soon discovered by the faculty. While his
paintings were excellent, he became famous for woodcuts, basically, hand-carved
stamps made from blocks of wood. By the time he graduated from university, he
was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.
Finally, after years of study and work at honing his craft, it was
time for Albrecht to return home. There was music and laughter, food and
festivity: the famed artist had returned home. Finally, Albrecht stood to make
a toast to his beloved brother for his sacrifice. He said, "And now,
Albert, it is your turn. Now you can go to university to pursue your dream, and
I will take care of you."
All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table
where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head
from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, "No ...no
...no ...no." Albert looked down the long table at the faces he loved, and
then he said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go anymore. It is too late.
Look ... look at what four years in the mines have done to my hands! All of my
fingers have been smashed at least once, my right hand hurts so much that I
cannot even hold a glass to return your toast much less make delicate cuts in
blocks of wood. No, brother ... for me it is too late."
Almost five centuries have passed since Albrecht Durer held his
brother’s broken hands in his own. Albrecht Durer's pieces hang in every great
museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are
familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer's works. That very day that he returned home, Albrecht
Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and
thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply
"Hands," to remind all the world of what his brother sacrificed so
that he could fulfill his dream of becoming an artist.
On
that first Easter Sunday, the disciples gathered in the upper room, wringing
their hands in fear. They were afraid for their lives, afraid for their future,
afraid of those who had clamored for the crucifixion of Jesus. Those who had
killed Jesus would surely come for them now that the rumors of His resurrection
were beginning to circulate.
Into that little fortress of fear comes the resurrected, but still
gentle, Jesus. Jesus comes humbly, quietly. His hands didn’t pound on the
doors. His hands didn’t reach out to tap
the disciples on the back of the head and say, “You should have known
better.” Jesus simply enters the
room. It amazes me: the Master comes to
the students; He doesn’t wait for them to work up the courage. He comes to them
with their fears and stands in their midst.
Raising His nail-marked hands, Jesus speaks the words of
absolution. “Peace be with you.” His words give what they say. Peace. “Peace I
leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to
you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” His hands
show that peace has been won for them. “I have said this to you, that in me you
may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world.”
Peace. So simple; so rich. Peace means that harmony and unity has
been restored between God and man. With sin atoned for and the death-price
paid, the relationship is whole again. Think what that means for these men: they
had all failed Him in His hour of glory. Peter had denied him three times. The
disciples had abandoned him. But, worst of all, none of them had believed His
words - that on this day – it’s still Easter night, remember - the first day of
the week, He would rise from the dead. They didn’t believe Him when He foretold
His death would happen; they didn’t believe when the resurrection happened,
either. Their hearts were filled with
fear.
I take great comfort in the truth that Jesus does not berate them
for their unbelief or chide them for the lack of faith. Instead, He comes
graciously to them to speak His peace.
The proof is in His hands, feet, and side. From these rich wounds come the peace that
Jesus speaks. "The punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by
his wounds we are healed."
Kaden, Chloe and Lance: while this is true for everyone here, I
want you especially to remember well these wounds, for by these wounds you are
healed from the disease of your sin and your death. Recall those wounds when
your life is in turmoil and upheaval, when you are threatened and filled with
fear, locked up in your room in sheer despair, remember the wounds. His are the
wounds from which the cleansing blood of God's Son flowed upon the wood of the
cross for you. They are your peace.
The hands, feet and side mark Jesus the crucified One, the One
whose body was nailed to the cross. This was no imposter or spiritualized
phantom Jesus, but a genuine flesh and blood Jesus, newly risen from the dead.
Jesus presents His same words and wounds to us in the water with
which you were baptized, the word with which you were instructed, the Body and
the Blood which you will soon receive for the first time. In the Supper of His Body
and Blood, Jesus shows forth His wounds and His words, the sacrifice that
bought our redemption, together with the words of peace that deliver His
redemption to us. He extends His hands to us, telling us "For as often as
you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death
until He comes."
I
don’t know if you’ve ever heard the story of Albrecht Durer and his “Hands”
before. The next time you see the
painting or sculpture, stop and look at it.
Wherever you are when you see those hands, the hands of one brother who
was willing to sacrifice his dream for the other brother, I hope you remember
the story. But, I also hope you remember
the story of another set of hands – Christ’s hands. His hands were nailed to a cross for
you. His hands bled for you. And now, His nail-marked hands reach out in
blessing for you, proclaiming to you that all of your sins are forgiven and
peace has been restored between God and you.
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