Podcast of "The Other Guys" (MP3)
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
1Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
A movie came out last year called “The Other Guys” starring Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg as two detectives who aren’t the cops
Of course, not everybody is a rock star. Every rock star needs a fleet of roadies to support the tour. The stars do their thing a couple of hours every night, but it’s the other guys who take care of business every hour of the day and night. Along with the Danson and Highsmith, the squad room is filled with veteran cops, jokers, chop busters, and the other guys. Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg are the other guys.
Among the disciples there are rock stars. The apostolic rock stars are (say it with me) Peter, James, and John. Among the disciples these men are “the rock upon which my church will be built” and “the sons of thunder.” These are the three who see the transfiguration. These are the three who accompany Jesus to the
As for the other nine disciples, the only one who comes close in the number of mentions is Judas, and frankly, that’s not good. We can all agree that he got his ink for all the wrong reasons. As for the rest, they hardly get mentioned at all. In the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, most of the disciples are only mentioned in the list of disciple’s names. In John’s gospel this changes. Yes, like in the synoptic gospels Peter, James and John have significant roles, but in John’s the other guys also have special roles.
It’s in John’s gospel where Philip and Nathanael have the conversation about anything good coming from
When Jesus decides he’s going back to
We hear in the beginning of this passage that almost all of the remaining disciples see Jesus. Jesus says to them “Peace be with you.” What a joy to hear these words. There’s a reason I begin worship saying “May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” It’s because grace and peace are wonderful, glorious gifts. The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ is a delight. It’s a reassurance. The Hebrews call it shalom. These gifts are from the best God has to give us.
Then, as is normal in scripture, after being given a gift; the disciples receive their call, their vocation. Jesus charges them with these words, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” But he doesn’t leave them hanging with his peace and a job, no. Jesus gives them the tool they need to do the job he has given them. Jesus empowers them breathing on them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
But not Thomas, Thomas wasn’t there.
So when Thomas gets back to where they were staying he receives the wonderful news, “We have seen the Lord!” I imagine the disciples thought this revelation would be met with the same excitement that filled them. Think again.
Thomas answers back, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
I ask, which of us wouldn’t have reacted the same way in this situation? We can laugh at Thomas because we know the rest of the story, but first, let’s put ourselves in his place. How would we have responded?
Within the biblical timeline, our reading begins earlier in the day when Peter and the beloved disciple see the empty tomb. Mary Magdalene returns later with the word of the Lord saying that he will return from the Father. Later that day the Lord appears to everyone. Was Thomas in the room at anytime during the day? He wasn’t there when Jesus appeared. As for any other time during the day scripture doesn’t say, so we don’t know.
But imagine yourself in this situation. Imagine you just got back from Wal-Mart. You were the one who went to get pita bread and wine for everyone and by the time you got to the house, woo-hoo! The Lord had arrived sharing his peace, and empowering them with the Holy Spirit. I don’t think snubbed would be a bad word for how Thomas felt.
Thomas isn’t asking for anything the rest of the disciples hadn’t already received. Peter, James, and John were the rock stars, but suddenly everybody sees Jesus and everybody’s a rock star, everybody except Thomas. Thomas is the last remaining “other guy” in the room so I can’t blame him for being miffed.
Is this Thomas doubting the resurrection? Scripture thinks so. Is this Thomas being jealous because everyone else got what he didn’t? I think this is probably true too. Jealousy would be a very human reaction.
We know the rest of the story, Jesus hears Thomas’ cry. When he returns the next week, with Thomas present, he says “Peace be with you.” Then he gives Thomas what he needs. He says “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” Then Jesus rebukes him saying “Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas cries out, “My Lord and my God.”
After the resurrection and before the ascension there were many who would see Jesus, but he knew that many would not see him and would believe. Jesus declares them, Jesus declares us, more blessed than this first generation of believers. We are more blessed because we believe without Thomas’ assurance.
John’s gospel and this passage in particular show us several things. The first is that there are rock stars. There is Peter, James, and John. There is Billy Graham and a whole flock of men and women who have received Elisha’s double blessing of God’s Spirit. And there are even more like us, the other guys. We’re the folks who set up before and follow up after the Billy Graham Crusade leaves town.
We all called by the Lord to do God’s work in the world, and there is no such thing as small ministry. There’s an old nursery rhyme that goes like this:
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
It just goes to show, there’s no piece so small that it’s unimportant.
To perform God’s work, to engage in ministry, everybody receives the same spirit. We all receive the same Spirit of God. We are all ordained to different types of ministry, but we are all chosen and we are all empowered to ministry, the Lord’s work, by the Spirit of God. Jesus indwells us all. Even us, the other guys have the spirit, and the power and the vocation to do God’s work. Jesus gives us what we need to do his work. Nothing is so unimportant that it doesn’t require the power of the Holy Spirit.
The people who make the nails and horseshoes are important. The people who shoe the horses are important. The people who do the paperwork, cut the checks, and sort the mail are vital to ministry. I thank God Marie makes sure I get out of the house with my head firmly attached! I thank God for the work Georgia and Al and Brionna do in worship.
Thanks be to God for the people who mow the lawn and set up the Easter Egg hunt and clean up after it’s done. Thanks be to God for those who arrange the elements for worship and the sacraments. Thank God for the Elders who celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I even thank God for the computer that hosts the internet sites where this sermon hits cyberspace.
There is nothing that we do, inside or outside the church that is not ordained by God. There is nothing that we can do on our own that is worth doing without the Holy Spirit.
There’s an old story about the theme to the TV show “Gilligan’s
He threatened the network brass that unless the characters played by Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were mentioned by name in the credits he would move his name to the end of the credits, and he had the authority to make this demand too. CBS wasn’t willing to find out if their star was playing a game of “chicken” or not, so they agreed to his terms. For the last two seasons, the show’s credits ended, “…the Professor and Mary Ann, here on Gilligan’s isle.”[7]
In his own way, Bob Denver told the network brass that there is no such thing as “…and the rest.” Everyone in the cast was valuable and valued. This is what John’s gospel tells us. We are all useful. We are all empowered by the same spirit. We are all endowed and called by God. Jesus gives us holy work to do and the power we need to do it. Not just Peter, James, and John; but Philip, Nathanael, and even Doubting Thomas. We are all useful to the work of God.
Christianity is not just a faith for the rock stars; it’s also the faith of the veteran cops, the jokers, the chop busters, and the other guys too.
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