Sermon: Easter 2C

"The door was locked for fear of the Jews," the text says.

Maybe. But I’m sure there was more to it than that.

Yes, Jesus' disciples were probably afraid that their fellow Jews might have wanted to see them end on the business end of a cross. But that's probably not the only reason the door was locked. They might have been afraid of something - or someone - else. And they wanted to keep that person as far away as possible from them.

The announcement of Jesus' resurrection might not have been good news for the disciples. They knew what they had done. They knew that they scattered like scared rats when Jesus was arrested. Peter knew that he denied knowing Jesus while Jesus was being questioned and tortured by the police.

They knew that, while Jesus was hanging in torment waiting for death to take him, the only comforting eyes he saw were the women - and John.

Everyone else had disappeared when things started getting real.

They probably knew that their abandonment was just as painful to Jesus as the nails in his hands and feet. John says that the door was locked for fear of the Jews. But I wonder if the door was locked because it was one specific Jewish rabbi they were trying to keep out out.

They had heard that Jesus was back. And now they...(whole thing here)