Holy Trinity Sunday (Year A)
St. John’s, West Seneca
May 31, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
It is the Sunday set aside to think on the Holy Trinity, the great mystery of the Christian Church. It is a feast that was not formally set until the 14th century, making it almost a teenager when compared to Easter, Pentecost and Christmas. Today is the day designated to honor this mystery of the church that usually evokes some serious head scratching, even from theologians who have studied it for years. And yet, it is the central belief for Christians: one God in three persons.
We Christians believe in God, but we also affirm the deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Sounds like three gods to most people. And yet, as the Athanasian Creed says over and over, there is but one God. Luther says it best.
“It is a mystery in the strict sense, in that it can neither be known by reason apart from revelation, nor demonstrated by reason after it has been revealed, but it is not incompatible with the principles of rational thought”.
All that means is this: unless God helps you understand it, you won’t; and even once God helps reveal it to you, you are going to have a tough time explaining it to someone else, and to add to that, it does line up with philosophical principles.
Not that we haven’t tried to make it concrete. Over the centuries, many have tried to explain this concept that the Bible itself does not lay out with clear definitions. Many of us remember the illustration of the Trinity as water, which can be as steam, tap water, or ice, yet still maintains it’s molecular designation H- 2 – 0. Some have used the analogy of the egg, which is one thing, yet has distinctive parts: shell, yolk and white. Or perhaps, you think of St. Patrick and the cloverleaf, or the French, and the fleur de lis. I’ve used the image of a braid, which is made up of three sections, and even mercury, which can be divided but always comes together.
There have been mathematical models, geometric models, and still, we stumble to explain it, or even to grasp it. Human language has limitations, and so instead of trying to nail down a sound definition of God – one theologian compared that to nailing Jello to a tree – maybe we should consider the relationship of the Trinity and how it enters into our lives.
For those who believe, for those who have come to know God, the doctrine makes sense, for we come to know God in many ways. We know God as Father. We know God as Son. We know God as Holy Spirit.
God is the Father, the Creator of all that is. So, I chose this first slide. It is called: the Pillars of Creation. To me, I imagine the hand of God. These “pillars” are 6500 light years away and was captured by the James Webb telescope. These pillars are clouds of gas and dust covering several light-years within what is called the Eagle Nebula. The pillars are made from strong stellar winds and high-energy radiation from hot, newly formed stars in a star cluster. And while we see this photo, they most probably have changed as the creation goes on.
God continues to create from the farthest reaches of the universe to us in our daily lives. We know God as Father in his role as Creator, as the first reading in Genesis so richly reveals. We know that God sustains all things. Consider the seasons. Spring follows winter, the trees leaf out, the plants grow throughout the summer. Then comes fall with the harvest, then a dormant winter. And the cycle continues. Is it ever the same? We do know God – not just as the creator described in Genesis – but as a God who continues to create, a God who is always at work in all places and time. I see that creation of new life and possibilities all the time. God creates in us new ideas that truly benefit all, whether in science or history or literature. God the Father, Creator, sustainer of life, renews creation, restores creation, and maintains the creation.
We know God as Son, perhaps better. This image shows the cross, with God reaching towards us. God the Son, who became incarnate in Jesus, who lived among us, doing human things like cooking fish and eating with people of all stripes. He was compassionate, but could get tired and even angry, who became sad and frustrated, who wept, who suffered pain, died, and was raised. We know God the Son as a teacher, a healer, a passionate preacher, and as redeemer, always reaching for us to save us from ourselves.
We know God as Holy Spirit, but that is perhaps the most difficult to pin down. As we heard last week, the Spirits comes with fire, but the Bible also speaks of the Spirit as a dove. The Spirit of God hovers over the chaos in Genesis. The Spirit is the one who sustains and sanctifies. Sometimes this may be a feeling of peace and joy, for others, as on Pentecost, it may be more dramatic.
And so I come to the Trinity with this well-known icon. There are three seated at a table. But if you notice, there is one side which is open, with room for one more. There is even a cup waiting, an invitation, if you will, to join into this divine mystery.
It was John of Damascus – who lived in the early 8th century, who perhaps understood the Trinity best. John came up with a definition for the Trinity that threw out the normal attitudes and definitions. His word for the oneness and the threeness of God: perichoresis, loosely translated, means circle dance.
In other words, the Trinity is not defined by three distinctive things, of one substance, but as a circle – seen so often in nature – a community defined by love. To see one is to see all – to dance with one is to dance with all, being invited into the circle and into a relationship where we see God face to face.
Richard Rohr writes about this in The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation. It was published in 2016 and is widely read. Many have described it as transformative. Rohr explores this doctrine of the Trinity, but like John of Damascus, does not see it as an abstract mathematical puzzle or a rigid doctrine, “Rohr reimagines the Trinity as a dynamic, relational flow of love and community that humanity is warmly invited to join.
"Rohr challenges us to think of God not as distant or static, but one who is in a relationship with us. 'The Holy Trinity is what flows under, around, and through all things – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit divinely dancing. The Holy Trinity is what we enter into as God's beloved creation; our participation in the flow and divine dance enables us to be generous, serve others, and experience connection, harmony, and love.'”*
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the blessed Trinity, we celebrate this day as both a mystery and a reality. The truth is we will never probably understand the Trinity by trying to define it. Our task is to jump in and join the dance.
And so I say, enjoy the mystery, and remember that the best way to get the Trinity is to accept the invitation, join the circle and live the relationship. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
*Cross of Grace.org
7 Easter (Year A)
Acts 1:6-14
St. John’s, West Seneca
May 17, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
Some of you may remember the graduation speech from nearly 30 years ago by a woman named Mary Schmich. It was published all over and in the days before FACEBOOK, that was something. It became so popular that the Australian movie director Baz Luhrman put it with a downtempo beat with spoken vocals: Everybody’s Free to (Wear Sunscreen).
“Inside every adult lurks a graduation speaker dying to get out, some world-weary pundit eager to pontificate on life to young people who'd rather be Rollerblading. Most of us, alas, will never be invited to sow our words of wisdom among an audience of caps and gowns, but there's no reason we can't entertain ourselves by composing a Guide to Life for Graduates.
I encourage anyone over 26 to try this and thank you for indulging my attempt. Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.”
Where am I going with this, you may ask? Ascension Day was Thursday and the day commemorates the ascension of Christ into Heaven. Observed by most Christians, and with specific actions by Catholics and Anglicans, Ascension Day, also known as the Feast of Ascension, occurs 40 days after Easter, so it is always on a Thursday.
According to the accounts in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus appeared to many of his disciples during the 40 days following his resurrection. On the 40th day, he came again to the Apostles and led them out to the Mount of Olives where he instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Then, as they were watching, he ascended into the clouds. As they continued to watch, two angels appeared and declared to them that, just as he ascended, Jesus would return in glory.
This is one of the oldest feast days in the church. According to St. Augustine, one of the early church fathers, the Feast of Ascension originated with the Apostles. John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa, contemporaries of Augustine, refer to it as being one of the oldest feasts practiced by the Church, possibly going as far back as AD 68. There is no written evidence, however, of the Church honoring Ascension Day until Augustine's time in the fourth century.
For all the glory and the traditions associated with Ascension, however, one thing we cannot forget. And Luke records it for us:
“While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?'"
That is the question. Since the beginning of the church year, we have waited for Jesus’s birth in Advent and Christmas, seen who he is in Epiphany, walked with him to the cross, witnessed his resurrection and his forty days on earth. In any ways, this is our graduation from followers of Jesus to His disciples. So, class of 2026, as we come to Pentecost, here is my guide for all of us.
- Stop gazing at the heavens, unless of course, you are an astronomer. Or if you have caught sight of a sunrise or sunset that is too breathtaking, making it difficult to look away.
- Listen for the call of Jesus in all aspects of life. Don’t search for it; allow it to come to you. It often comes in unexpected times and places, often, on an idle Tuesday afternoon.
- Pray.
- Read the Bible. Who is Obadiah? What does Jude have to say to us?
- Go to church regularly. Hear the Word. Receive forgiveness. Join in what Luther calls the “Mutual Conversation and Consolation of the Saints” meaning that we are to take the Word to comfort, encourage, and forgive each other. Believe it or not, that happens when you stay for coffee.
- Pray again.
- Listen to the hymns and songs we sing, and if it is not your favorite, read the lyrics. That is often a good story there. God has not stopped inspiring musicians
- Ask a few questions about why we do things the way we do. Or better, pick up a hymnal and read through the service, notice what “is” done and what “may” be done.
- At the conclusion of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus simply says: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” It is that simple.
- Don’t wait for an illness or financial setback to see the light. Every week I meet people who know Jesus, and even in the midst of bad news and the poorest health, they give thanks to God for all that they have been blessed with. They want to get well so they can get back into that game for one more inning; that is the very definition of discipleship.
- Jesus taught us to live in the present, with an eye to the future. The goal is to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. In other words, get into the game, get involved and things will happen.
- Take seriously what Jesus took seriously. Love God. Love your neighbor. And yes, it can be that simple.
- And continue to pray that the church will be the church. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
4 Easter (Year A)
John 10
St. John’s, West Seneca
April 26, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is set aside -yearly- as Good Shepherd Sunday. Always in the lectionary is the 23rd Psalm, and this year, John 10: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
The voice of God is present throughout the Bible. The Psalmist tells us that
Psalm 29:4–5 : "The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars."
1 Kings 19:12: "...and after the fire a still small voice," or the sound of sheer silence.
God’s voice can be overpowering to some as in the Transfiguration, when God speaks "...a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!'"
God’s voice is powerful, yet gentle. It is not noise.
God’s voice brings peace.
It calls for obedience.
And that’s where we are today. We are constantly getting into trouble, largely because we too tend to wander off, and in doing so, miss God’s voice, the voice of Jesus, the Good shepherd. We have way too much noise and far too many distractions, and just as sheep seem to be afraid of everything, we too often use distraction as a way to not face our fears.
- We get distracted because we don’t believe that we can relate to another’s cultural or ethnic background, and we become irritated with an accent or custom that we don’t understand, and so we turn away to something else.
- We get distracted when the room temperature is off; it’s hot and stuffy, and our minds start to wander.
- We get distracted when we so strongly disagree with another that we refuse to listen.
- And we are so stressed out because of issues at home, at school, at work that we feel there is just no point.
And let’s face it, there are so many other interesting and seductive voices out there, telling us exactly what we need and why we need it.
Paying attention to God's voice, really listening to what is being said, is difficult when we are so distracted. And yes, we do tend to follow the rest of the flock. Virtually everybody and anybody can hear God's voice, but few choose to listen. After all, who has the time, or even the temperament? And yet, for those who hear and who are willing to train their hearts and minds, Jesus has good news.
William Barclay, whose commentaries I have read, writes of coming across a shepherd in his travels.
“Sometimes the shepherd talks to them in a loud sing-song voice, using a weird language unlike anything I have ever heard in my life. The first time I hear this sheep… language I was on the hills at the back of Jericho. A (Shepherd) had descended into a valley and was mounting the slope of any opposite hill, when turning round, he saw his (flock) had remained behind… Lifting his voice, he spoke…in a language that Pan must have spoken on the mountains of Greece. It was uncanny because there was nothing human about it. The words were animal sounds arranged in a kind of order. No sooner had he spoken than an answer in bleat shivered through the herd, and one or two of the animals turned their heads in his direction. But they did not obey him. (He) then called out one word, and gave a laughing kind of whinny. Immediately, one with a bell round his neck stopped eating, and leaving the heard, trotted down the hill, across the valley, and up the opposite slopes. The man, accompanied by this animal, walked on and disappeared round a ledge of rock. Very soon a panic spread amount the herd. They forgot to eat. They looked up for the shepherd. He was not to be seen. They became conscious that the leader with the bell at his neck was no longer with them. From the distance came the strange laughing call of the shepherd, and at the sound of it the entire herd stampeded into the hollow and leapt up the hill after him.”
Is that us, or what? But there Jesus is, always calling us back, cutting through all the distractions, over and over. God had given the law, and sent the prophets, but it was not enough. And so the great shepherd comes, lives and breathes and engages us, so that even over all the noise, His voice is heard. And we, as the sheep, fearful, do hear and follow.
Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” Jesus engages us and beckons us on to eternal life with him. Jesus encourages us to put away all that extraneous distraction and listen. Jesus asks us to hear and follow, and that, as sheep know the voice of the shepherd, we too will always know his voice. Truly, the LORD is our shepherd. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
3 Easter (Year A)
Luke 24:13-35
St. John’s, West Seneca
April 19, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Road to Emmaus has been called the best short story of all time, and no wonder. It has all the ingredients of a great read. A road trip, a stranger joining the conversation, an epiphany.
However, what captures me is the road. The road is not only a reality that we travel daily. Of course, we drive, but in the not-so-distant past, most walked. I love a road trip. There is no better way to see a country, provided you get off the main highway. It takes time, and does not feel rushed. And who knows who you will run into?
So I began musing and, movie buff that I am, I began thinking about all the “road” movies that have made for great entertainment. Think of the “The Road to” movies with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, or Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks. There is The Road, Arlington Road, Revolutionary Road, Reservation Road and Glory Road.
Movies about roads and journeys abound: The Lord of the Rings, Green Book, Thelma and Louise, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, all come to mind. There is a new adaptation of The Odyssey. There is definitely something about being on a road, on a journey, that captures our imaginations and inspires us.
And while this Road to Emmaus is certainly one of the best, it does not lie in the past only. This is our story — the story that sums up the nature and purpose of our calling as Christians.
Think about it. There they are, these two disciples, probably as exhausted as they are discouraged as they walk the seven miles from Jerusalem to their home in Emmaus. We don’t know why they have left the company of their fellow disciples, only that they are now walking home. It reminds me of the Latin phrase “Solvitur ambulando,” which means to work out a problem while walking.
And who should meet them on their weary way but Jesus. He does not meet them in Jerusalem, or in their home. He simply joins them. He does not ask for them to do something extraordinary. Rather, Jesus meets them where they are – on the road, as part of their journey. And Jesus meets them at a low point; they are sad, perhaps despondent. They don’t recognize him and so they do not change their expression or their tone when they ask if he is the only one who has not heard.
Jesus opens up the Scriptures, helping them to make sense of what has just happened, but continues with all of Scripture, so that they see that God is at work, with redemption that comes through the cross. And just as Jesus is to continue, Cleopas and the other traveler invite him to stay with them. They share a meal, and as the bread is lifted and blessed, broken and given to them, they see. Not in a great vision with fancy effects, but in this simple and symbolic act. Their walk together had been an explanation of Scripture and the sharing of a meal, and they realize that they are in the presence not just of Jesus, but God the Father who began it all by calling for light in the darkness.
Then he is gone, and they realize that they should have known by the way they felt. And now they will go as well, because a story like that has to be told. “That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
Luke deliberately doesn’t name the other disciple, leaving that so you can be on the road to Emmaus as well. Can you find yourself in this story? Because this is what we do. For we are blessed to be called to this meal weekly, to gather around, knowing that Jesus comes to meet us where we are and wherever our journey takes us.
“And if you have any doubt that this is exactly what Luke is telling us, consider the scope of this passage.
"In particular, notice that if you took out the Emmaus story and skipped from verse 12 to verse 36 you’d hardly miss a beat. Luke has clearly inserted this post-resurrection appearance story into an otherwise relatively stable tradition. Why? To respond to the heart’s desire of later Christians to see and experience the resurrected Christ just as the first believers did.
"Last week we listened to John’s story of Thomas where Jesus blesses all those Christians who have believed without seeing. This week it’s Luke’s turn, as he offers in this passage a word for those Christians who come later, starting with ‘these two’ and continuing on to each and every one since, now coming — though not concluding! — with those who will gather this Sunday as we interpret the Scriptures and share the bread.
"It’s not a bad pattern to emulate, is it? Meet people where they are. Open up the Scriptures so that they can make sense of their lives in light of God’s mercy. Gather them to the meal that they might behold and be nourished by Christ’s own presence. And send them on their way, back into the world to partner in God’s work and to share God’s grace.”
Barbara Lundblad writes: “Hopefully, you now know that this is not just a story about two disciples on the road to Emmaus two thousand years ago. There are two disciples. One was named Cleopas, and the other? The other is you. Or me. Luke left a blank space for us to fill in our own names. All our hopelessness is there on the road, every broken-down dream, every doubt we’ve ever had or still have. Are you waiting for a clearer revelation, for deeper assurance of Jesus’ presence in your life? I would like that, too, and some days, that assurance is as close as my own breathing. But not always…
"The journey of faith moves slowly frame by frame, most of the segments utterly ordinary. A few still photographs hold particular moments we might dare call revelation. Along the way we are sustained as they were by hearing over and over words of scripture we have heard before. Sometimes, it happens that our hearts are opened and we hear as though for the first time. Then at a table or an altar, beside a hospital bed or in a nursing home, someone takes bread, blesses and breaks it and holds it out. One of those who receives the bread is named Cleopas. And the other? You know.”
Think of the important roads in your life, where you have been led, how you got there, who you met on the way. You will find that Jesus has always walked with you. Sometimes you have recognized him, and sometimes not. However, God has accompanied His people for centuries, and He is true to His promises. There is a proverb that says “Some roads are not meant to be traveled alone.” I would argue that with God, we do not travel alone on any road. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
2 Easter (Year A)
John 20: 19-31
St. John’s, West Seneca
April 12, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Presbyerian pastor by the name of Barbara Jordan, in a piece called “Thomas Doubting”, writes this: “How easy is it to label someone? We do it all the time. When a coworker doesn’t complete a project on time, we call her a procrastinator. When a neighbor lets the weeds grow wild and rarely mows the yard, we call him lazy. When a classmate calls us friend then talks about us behind our backs, we call him a traitor.”
Today we have before us Thomas, one of the twelve. Thomas has – I believe – suffered because of this label. Often, to be called a “Doubting Thomas”, is either a reprimand at best, and at worst, an insult. We do need to consider Thomas from a different perspective; we do need to look at him not as one who is lacking, but as one who needs to believe.
We are told by John in today’s text, that ten of the disciples have gathered in the upper room, doors locked, for “fear of the Jews”. For whatever reason, Thomas was not there. Perhaps he was grieving in private, or searching the city and himself for answers or clues. Whatever the situation, the disciples were gathered and Jesus appeared, coming through the wall. A professor of mine once said that Jesus had no choice but to miraculously enter through the door, because if he had simply knocked and announced his name, there would have been a pile of bodies on the street beneath that Upper Room. Jesus enters the room, and greets his disciples with “Peace be with you”. When Thomas is told of this, John tells us that he said that he needed to touch Jesus in order to believe. Thomas is at a disadvantage, for the ten had seen him, been in his presence. Thomas – who no doubt believed his fellow disciples – simply needed the physical presence of Jesus, not so much to be sure, but to have the experience of which the disciples spoke. And it happens, when they are gathered once again and Jesus appears and Thomas – at that point – has no need to put his hands on Jesus’s wounds.
Labels – once used – are hard to get rid of. Who first called Thomas the doubter? Who knows? The problem with labels (like those words we use), is not only can they be cruel or even ridiculous, but they tell so little of the person. History is replete with labels. Consider Ethelred the Unready, Louis the Fat, or Sigrid the Strong-Minded, who as a Viking queen, had suitors who displeased her killed. Or consider, General John Pope, who lost the battle of Second Bull Run, and who, for his blustery and ill-planned ways, had earned the nickname “Headquarters in the Saddle,” leaving his skeptics to say that he had his “headquarters where his hindquarters should have been.” Some do probably accurately describe a person, but most do not, especially when it comes to slang terms.
See what labels do? Labels mess up the context, and when we simply label Thomas as the doubter, we are reducing him to one incident. Who among us has not doubted? How many of us don’t take little things on faith?
- How many of us check the carton of eggs for cracks?
- Or, if purchasing fast food, check the order to make sure all is there?
- Or, like some, who do not want direct deposit, because we want to actually touch our money?
- How many of us pinch ourselves when really good things happen?
Labeling too often only considers too little of the person. Thomas is an active disciple in the Gospels. Thomas – after all – was chosen by Jesus and followed him faithfully for three years. Thomas was the one who said that he would gladly go with Jesus to Jerusalem, and die with him. And in today’s text, we find him asking for evidence and when presented, simply does not need it. And there are many that we simply do not know about Thomas’s life. Tradition has it that Thomas took the good news to India, where he was martyred.
Labels reduce us. Like the label on any can of food, it simply lists statistics. The names we use for one another do the same. Labels keep us from seeing others as human beings, just like us.
So, let me share one of the articles I keep in a file to be used at a later time. This man did not care about labels.
“In 1948, Ed Sullivan shook Nat King Cole’s hand on live television. Sponsors threatened to flee. So he shook it again. And again. And again—every week for twenty-three years.
Ed Sullivan wasn’t a gifted performer.
He couldn’t sing. Couldn’t dance. Wasn’t charming. He stood stiffly under the lights, spoke in a halting monotone, and always looked slightly uneasy in his suit.
Critics said he had the warmth of a plank of wood.
They missed the point.
Ed Sullivan changed American culture more deeply than almost anyone in television history—not through talent, but through a stubborn, unyielding refusal to bend on dignity.
The Ed Sullivan Show premiered on June 20, 1948, originally called Toast of the Town. It was a variety show—something different every week. Comics. Acrobats. Broadway singers. Opera. Circus acts. Music.
And from the beginning, Sullivan did something almost no one else would.
He booked Black performers.
Not tucked away. Not isolated into ‘special’ episodes. Not separated or diminished. They appeared alongside white performers, introduced the same way, treated the same way.
This was 1948.
America was still legally segregated. Interracial marriage was illegal in most states. Black Americans couldn’t share schools, restaurants, water fountains, or movie theaters with white Americans.
And Ed Sullivan put Black excellence into American living rooms every Sunday night.
On July 18, 1948—just the fifth episode—Sullivan paired Ella Fitzgerald with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. She sang with breathtaking ease. He danced with masterful precision. It was joy on display, broadcast across a divided nation.
For many white viewers, it was the first time they had ever seen Black artists treated with open respect on television.
Sullivan kept going.
Louis Armstrong. Nat King Cole. Pearl Bailey. Lena Horne. Duke Ellington. Count Basie.
And he didn’t keep his distance.
He shook hands. Kissed cheeks. Talked warmly on camera. Treated them as stars.
That basic humanity enraged sponsors.
Southern affiliates refused to air episodes. Advertisers demanded he stop ‘fraternizing.’ Letters poured in accusing him of corruption and indecency.
Sullivan refused.
When he kissed Pearl Bailey on the cheek in 1952, sponsors exploded. He didn’t apologize. He booked her again.
He didn’t lecture America. He didn’t claim activism.
He simply refused to participate in humiliation.
Week after week. Year after year.
In 1956, he introduced Elvis Presley—music rooted in Black culture—into white living rooms. In 1964, he introduced The Beatles to America, launching a cultural earthquake.
But he never abandoned Black artists while elevating white ones.
James Brown. The Supremes. The Temptations. The Jackson 5.
The soundtrack of integration unfolded live on television.
Ella Fitzgerald appeared eight times over twenty-one years. She later said Sullivan gave people “a new beginning.”
That was his power.
Black performers trusted him to treat them with dignity. White audiences trusted him enough to let him challenge their assumptions.
He used that trust quietly, carefully, relentlessly.
By the time the show ended in 1971, integrated television was normal.
But it wasn’t inevitable.
It happened because one stiff, awkward man refused to segregate his stage.
Ed Sullivan wasn’t flashy.
He wasn’t cool.
He wasn’t beloved for charisma.
But he was decent.
And sometimes decency—practiced consistently, without compromise—changes everything.
He shook Nat King Cole’s hand.
Sponsors objected.
He did it again.
For twenty-three years.
That’s integrity.”
In this season of Easter, there is new life. So be curious and challenge your assumptions. Let’s be decent to one another. It is what Jesus asks of us.
These fifty days of Easter are one celebration of new life. If we truly believe that the victory has been won, that the sting of sin and death are conquered, then we need to live like it is.
The world cries out for us to take a fresh look. Let’s forget labels altogether and join with Thomas and the disciples is saying: My Lord and my God. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Easter Sunday (Year A)
Matthew 28:1-10
St. John’s, West Seneca
April 5, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying these words. “It is said that an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him with the words: ‘And this, too, shall pass away.’ How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!”
This too shall pass. I imagine that is what the women who went to the tomb that first Easter morning were thinking. Grief-stricken, weeping, lonely, this too will pass.
And it did, with fanfare. There was an earthquake and an angel of the Lord appeared, rolled back the stone. The guards who had been on duty there were frozen with fear, became like dead men themselves. The angel had an announcement: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead,[b] and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”
They left with fear and joy, only to be met by Jesus, who repeats the angel’s message of “fear not.” They are instructed to go and tell the good news in Galilee.
And this, too, shall pass away. The grief, the sadness, the disbelief of the events of the prior week must have all been all too clearly remembered when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to Jesus’s tomb that first day of the week. No doubt burdened with sadness, they had gone to see the body and perhaps to finish the preparations for a proper burial that the Sabbath had cut short. As sad and unbelievable as the days had been, now all had been turned upside-down.
But did you notice the two emotions after hearing these greetings: fear and joy? And which of you wouldn't be afraid if your world had just been turned upside down by the resurrection of a friend you knew was dead and gone? And, who would not be joyful at hearing this news? The Resurrection is so powerful precisely because it shocks us with new and unexpected life.
That is why those words --And this, too, shall pass away – are so powerful.
While the resurrection is a one-time event, the resurrected life is not. We see that God has the power to raise the dead to new life. Matthew's witnesses attest to the fact that Jesus's body was raised, not just his eternal significance. They touch him and hold him, verifying that he was raised as a whole person, not as a symbol of truth and goodness and immortality. The Resurrection is not an image of victory over death - instead, it is rock-hard evidence that God has won this battle. He has won it for all of us, for all time.
I said a few weeks ago that there is always a resurrection going on.
Remember those words?
“The reason we’re here this morning is not just because a resurrection happened, but because there’s one goin’ on.
Every time I see a brother come to Christ, there’s a resurrection goin’ on.”
Every time I see…you fill in the blank.
A colleague wrote that: “Our lives are a series of losing…and of finding. Of letting go…and finding something solid to hang on to. Of dying and rising to something new. As that process unfolds again and again, God weeps alongside us. Then God calls us out of whatever tomb we’ve been in. And in ways both dramatic and small, God offers us new life in Jesus’s name." That is resurrection.
There is the story of a schoolteacher, who served on special assignment with children confined in a large city hospital. She received a routine call requesting that she visit a particular child who had been admitted and would require a long stay. She took the boy's name and room number (409) and was told by the boy's regular teacher, "We're studying nouns and adverbs now. This boy needs help so he will not fall behind."
It wasn't until the visiting teacher reached the boy's room that she realized it was located in the hospital's burn unit. No one had prepared her to confront a boy who had been horribly burned over much of his body and who was in great pain. She wanted to turn on her heel and walk out, but she stammered, "I'm the hospital teacher, and your regular teacher asked me to help you with nouns and adverbs."
Because of his condition, the boy could barely respond. The teacher stumbled through the grammar lesson, but felt guilty for asking the boy questions or trying to correct him.
The next morning, however, this teacher ran into a nurse on the burn unit who asked her, "What did you do to that boy in 409 yesterday?" The teacher started to apologize, but the nurse interrupted: "You don't understand. We've been concerned about him. But ever since you were with him yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment, like he wants to live."
The boy himself later explained with tears rimming his eyes, "I had given up. At the lowest moment, the teacher came into my room. I suddenly realized that they wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they? I decided I wanted to get well, if they thought I could. So I prayed, asking God to help me want to live. And here I am."
There’s a resurrection going on…
I imagine that those two Marys were at their lowest moment, maybe dying a bit themselves. Many is the time I have been at that crossroads, as we all have. But there is always a resurrection going on and God wouldn’t raise his son from the dead if he didn’t want us to live, and to live joyfully. We may have fears; however, God is there to turn those fears into joy. The signs all around us may point to death and destruction, but God wants us to keep working on our nouns and adverbs. There's a lot of life yet to live, and work to be done. And that is what Easter is all about. Hallelujah! He is Risen!
Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
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