April 12, 2026 – The Second Sunday of Easter

CHIMING OF THE HOUR

WELCOME

PRAYER

Holy God, we were with you as your rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and cleansed the temple.  We were with you that evening when you met with your disciples and broke the bread and drank from the cup.  We were there in the garden when you were betrayed and taken away.  We were there when you were hung on the cross and died for our sins.  And we were there when the tomb was empty and you rose from the dead.  Be with us now.  Amen.

PRELUDE               “The Morning of the Third Day”              Lani Smith

CALL TO WORSHIP

Peace Be With You

As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. 

A week later, Thomas was with the disciples in the upper room.

Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.

*HYMN No. 245                “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today!

1 “Christ the Lord is risen today!” Alleluia!
All creation, join to say: Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, O heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

2 Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise. Alleluia!

3 Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now your sting? Alleluia!
Jesus died, our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where your victory, O grave? Alleluia!

4 Hail the Lord of earth and heaven! Alleluia!
Praise to you by both be given, Alleluia!
Every knee to you shall bow, Alleluia!
Risen Christ, triumphant now. Alleluia! 

CALL TO CONFESSION

Lord, we need to confess that we doubt Your great love for each of us as Thomas doubted.  We need to understand Your great capacity to forgive us as you want us to forgive others.  May we try to acknowledge Your greatness as we realize our faults.  Let us join in the unison prayer of confession:

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Lord God, we confess and acknowledge that we are flawed and need to be reminded to receive the Holy Spirit and the power of forgiveness as demonstrated by Jesus to the disciples.  Let us choose to believe and show through our actions that we are disciples of Christ’s Word.  Amen.

Silence is observed

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Lord, we remember the promised You made to redeem us and we gratefully accept Your forgiving grace.  May we continue to accept Your forgiveness until you raise us up to Your kingdom.

*RESPONSE AFTER ASSURANCE NO. 246, v. 5                “Christ Is Alive!”

Christ is alive, and comes to bring
good news to this and every age,
till earth and sky and ocean ring
with joy, with justice, love, and praise.

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Before the foundation of the world Christ forgave us, and forgives us still today.

Let us forgive as we have been forgiven and share the peace of Christ.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

And also with you.

Worshippers are invited to briefly “pass the peace” of Christ to those directly seated around them thus keeping our worship time “decent and in order” with a focus upon being part of God’s community.

ANTHEM                “Empty Now”           Joseph Martin

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the disciples who believed in Jesus’ resurrection even with doubt like Thomas.  Help us to recognize the Holy Spirit in our lives, and to feel “Peace Be With You.”  Allow your Spirit to descend and open our hearts to hear Your Word.  We ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

SCRIPTURE           John 20:19-31

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Pause…

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!!

SERMON                “Time in the Pit”

I want you to think about something for a moment. Last Monday morning, when you woke up and got ready for school or for work or to go through your list of daily chores, when you opened up the newspaper or logged on online, did it still feel like Easter to you? Were you still humming Alleluias and proclaiming “The Lord is risen!”?

Or when the alarm went off last Monday morning and you got up to face the world, had the Easter shine already worn thin? Hmmmmmm….

Did you feel like Easter, even though it had just been announced on Sunday, happened so long ago? Instead of feeling like an Easter person, did you feel a growing sense of discontinuity between your Sunday worship and your Monday life?

On that first Easter evening, the disciples were certainly stuck in a growing sense of discontinuity, one mixed up with great fear. Things with Jesus had been going so well up until that week. His entrance into Jerusalem had been picture perfect—a wonderful counterprotest to the imperial parade. But by Friday, he was dead. Nailed to a cross. Put into a tomb. And in this Gospel of John, even after Mary Magdalene testified to the other disciples about seeing the risen Jesus face-to-face, they were still not convinced. They were so deep into the pit of despair and chaos that they could not believe her proclamation. So, they hid out behind locked doors.

Walter Brueggemann penned a phrase for the disciples’ kind of spiritual pit. We have talked about it before. He calls it a place of disorientation (a place of chaos and disorder. We move into this place, into this Pit, because of experiences like a job loss or a bad diagnosis or being bullied at school or a relationship failure. Sometimes we are plunged into the pit by something as simple as a cross word, a sharp criticism, or a minor setback. And still other times, we move into it because of what we see in the news about our world or our nation.

In other words, we fall into disorientation whenever we realize the world of Monday morning looks drastically different than the world of Easter Sunday. This is not just an adult phenomenon. As I read through the faith narratives of our confirmation class, I noticed quite a few of them also give voice to a sense of being in their own pits of disorientation, sensing their own Mondays that feel so far away from Easter Sunday.

Perhaps it is helpful to remember that this place of the Pit, this place of disorientation, is not simply a post-modern experience. We find this experience of disorientation all throughout scripture. Job lived in it. The prophet Jeremiah wrestled with it. The psalms of lament are full of it. Even Jesus himself cried out from the Pit on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

That night, that Easter evening, the male disciples joined their biblical ancestors in the Pit, that place of disorientation. They were there because they had believed that Jesus was indeed the Messiah but then he died and nothing made sense anymore. Nothing, that is, until they saw him, their risen Lord, just as he promised, just as Mary Magdalene had told them. As John reports, they saw him with their own eyes and with their own hearts. A new way of being, an Easter way of being, was given to them, and they all rejoiced; they all felt whole again.

Almost all. By the time Thomas reenters the story, he realizes the other disciples had already received what they needed from Jesus. They had already received his breath, his commissioning, his peace. Their time of disorientation was over. But Thomas’s wasn’t. He had been out of the room when Jesus appeared to his friends, and he did not experience the risen Jesus for himself. Without that experience, Thomas realized he could not believe the testimony of his friends. He found himself still down in that pit of chaos and disorder.

Yet honestly, on this second Sunday of Eastertide, I am glad that Thomas was still in that Pit. But I am even more appreciative that he talked about it. Thomas was perfectly honest about how he felt and his struggle to keep the faith. The truth is that he did not have to be that honest. He could have pretended that he believed the testimony of his friends. He could have gone through the motions of faith and just acted like everything was OK. He could have put on his good church face, so as to not upset everyone else’s good mood.

But for whatever reason, thank God, Thomas refused. Rather, he looked at everyone’s Easter faces and said in a straight tone, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Thomas laid it all out there, for all to see. He made the brave decision to hide nothing from his friends or from his God.

We have something to learn from Thomas and his unflinching honesty, his refusal to believe without fighting for it. Frankly, I find his witness of struggle wonderfully freeing. I hope our confirmands do too. For on this past Monday morning, after the Easter shine had faded and I realized life continued on, I found myself asking, “What on earth is going on in this world, in our country? Why does it always look like Good Friday is still in charge?”

You must have those moments too, right? Surely every once in a while, on a Sunday morning you find yourself walking into worship, gritting your teeth and internally saying, “Here we go. I don’t think I can believe today, but I am just going to smile my way through.” I imagine the great majority of us experience moments like that, which is why I am always glad to spend time with our brother Thomas.

The witness of Thomas and others in our scripture shows us that being completely forthright about our sense of disorientation and deep struggle for faith is OK. Actually, let’s take that a step further: their witness of struggle shows us it is not just OK; it is also faithful. Frankly, I believe their witness shows us that that kind of honesty, that kind of deep struggle, might even be necessary in order to fully live as resurrection people.

Remember what Presbyterian preacher Frederick Buechner has said: He claims that if you do not have doubts, you are either kidding yourself or you are asleep. It is near impossible to go through life with eyes wide open without experiencing moments of disorientation. Life is not whole yet. We live in a world where evil still exists  –  and where suffering and pain continue to hold court. So, if we find that we never struggle or wrestle for faith, we might wonder if we are kidding ourselves or asleep.

But Buechner also writes something else about doubts. He writes that doubts are ants in the pants of faith. They keep us moving. They keep us awake. They keep us from getting lazy without faith. When we are honest about our painful times of disorientation, when we refuse to spend all of our energy denying that is how we feel, those moments of wrestling and struggle can become, in time, life-giving and faith-defining.

Thomas would testify to that experience. Some of our confirmands would say the same. He laid it all out clearly—without flinching, without hiding, without shame. And look at what happened. Jesus came to him, held out his hands, and met him where he was—right there in that Pit, in that struggle, in that wrestling match. Notice that Jesus did not scold him and say, “How dare you not believe.” Instead, he held out his hands and said, “Peace, Thomas. Touch my wounds. Move from unbelieving into believing.”

Thomas was brutally honest about his struggle to believe and to trust, and our risen Lord met him in that struggle. Though we do not know whether Thomas followed through with touching the wounds, we do know that something happened, because immediately after Jesus met him where he was, Thomas cried out with the strongest faith confession of any of them: “My Lord, and my God.” He moved from being fear-shaped, Good Friday-shaped, into being hope-shaped, Easter-shaped.

That move is part of the biblical promise. We find the same move in the psalms of lament. Near the end of each psalm, you always encounter a sudden move to newness, and you can never explain it. Something happens in the space between the paragraphs of prayer. To the reader, those words come as a complete surprise. How did they get from “My God, why have you forsaken me” to “In the midst of the congregation I will praise you” we might wonder.

Yet I can tell you from my own life, and maybe some of you could say the same, that when we are willing to be honest and up-front with God about where we are struggling or where we are more fear-shaped than not—if we are honest and unflinching about that—then we are always much more ready to receive God when God meets us in that place and breathes on us God’s spirit of peace, renewing our hope, giving us courage to keep on. Though sometimes it takes a long time for that moment of meeting to happen, it always does. Even when we don’t think we will find God, God will always find us.

And when that happens, we will end up standing in a new place, with a new orientation, grounded in Easter hope, practicing resurrection. Like Thomas, we too will be aware that we did not bring ourselves to that place of newness. Rather, we will know that we have been brought to that new place of hope by the Risen One, who is more than willing and more than able to meet us precisely where we are, believing or disbelieving, in order to help us become whom he calls us to be. This is the resurrection relationship to which we are all invited—all invited by the Crucified and Risen One who meets us wherever we are, sees us for all of who we are, and loves us fiercely into our Easter future, never giving up on us, never letting us go. Amen.

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                              The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

*HYMN No. 238                “Thine is the Glory”

1 Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory
thou o’er death hast won.
Angels in bright raiment
rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes
where thy body lay.

Refrain:
Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory 
thou o’er death hast won.

2 Lo! Jesus meets us,
risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us,
scatters fear and gloom.
Let the church with gladness 
hymns of triumph sing,
for the Lord now liveth;
death hath lost its sting.

Refrain:
Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory 
thou o’er death hast won.

3 No more we doubt thee,
glorious Prince of life!
Life is naught without thee;
aid us in our strife.
Make us more than conquerors
through thy deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan
to thy home above.

Refrain:
Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory 
thou o’er death hast won.

THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER

Eternal and life-giving God, we thank you that you are our only comfort in life and in death. We come before you today as people with grateful hearts, thankful for your loving kindness, your trustworthy promises, and your never-failing grace and love for us in Jesus Christ. Lord, hear our prayers.

Loving God, our world is full of death and dying. We are tempted to believe that death has the final word. Help us remember, celebrate and embrace the Easter message of life everlasting, not just as hope for the future but as strength, power and motivation for living today. May we believe and show in all we do that nothing in all creation, not even death, will be able to separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[Here the worship leader can add prayer concerns and joys particular to the worshiping community.]

God of grace and God of glory, your Word is full of testimonies to your live-giving power and purpose. We thank you for believers who have shared their experiences of your grace and life that we may come to believe. Lord, help us live as faithful followers of our risen Lord. May all that we do point to the source of our life and hope, Jesus Christ, who was dead but lives again by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And now, as your beloved children, we are bold to pray together,

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

PASSING OF FELLOWSHIP PADS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

TITHES & OFFERINGS

To know Jesus is a wonderful gift from God.  He stands among us, hears our prayers and forgives our sins.  Now use our time, talents and tithes to further the mission of this church and to bring peace to all in the name of Jesus.

OFFERTORY ANTHEM

*RESPONSE N0. 248, v.3           “Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna”

Christ is risen! Earth and heaven
nevermore shall be the same.
Break the bread of new creation
where the world is still in pain.
Tell its grim, demonic chorus:
“Christ is risen! Get you gone!”‘
God the First and Last is with us.
Sing Hosanna everyone!

*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Father, we recognize and acknowledge the man gifts You have given us.  We return to you only a small portion of these gifts.  Show us ways in which we can share our gifts in a way to reveal Your presence and truth to all.  We ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

*HYMN No. 463                “How Firm a Foundation”

1 How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God’s excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

2 “Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

3 “When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

4 “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

5 “The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”

*BENEDICTION

Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!
Thanks be to God
who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved,
be steadfast, immovable,
always excelling in the work of the Lord,
because you know that in the Lord
your labor is not in vain.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with all of you.
Amen.

*POSTLUDE

 

The Liturgy for today’s service was written by the Lenten Bible Study Group:  Kathy Federici, Ed Parkin, Rich Anastasi, Pat Nolte, Marian Craig, Mary Mottola, Milt Fredericks, Pris Flynn, Jack Hill, Denise Campo, Karen Criscillo, Betsy Carlson, Janice Anastasi, Bernie Carlson, Russ Pine & Nancy Webster.