[Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 4

[Joe Parrish]

Madame C. J. Walker, who was born Sarah Breedlove, in Delta, Louisiana, became America's first black millionaire. She defied the odds of her state of existence. She was illiterate but eventually developed a business that influenced the world's hair products. Madame  Walker's husband was killed when she was 20. As a single parent she raised her two-year old daughter. She could not read or write during this period of her life. At a point in her life she found herself going bald. She prayed to the Lord to save her hair. Ingredients to make a formula appeared to her in a dream. She understood her dream to be evidence that the Lord was alive in her experience and guiding her. Through her belief in the Lord's presence, she became successful.
Now, you may think that a silly thing to do: Pray for God to save your hair. But the Lord honored that simple belief. From that simple belief, Madame Walker experienced the reality of the Lord's aliveness in her life. Because of this experience, she went ahead to produce hair products and methods that contributed to the development of the whole hair product industry.

http://day1.org/633-experiencing_jesus_aliveness_through_believing

Isaiah Jones Jr., 2001
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I believe that inside us all there is a spark of hope which, like a keyhole, allows us to peek out from behind our locked doors of doubt and fear and confusion to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Risen Lord. We find ourselves most able to identify with Thomas because doubt is the simplest door to lock and hide behind. 

http://day1.org/853-behind_closed_doors

Duane Steele, 1997 
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To forgive is not a right to be jealously guarded, but an obligation to be exercised generously. We do not earn our own forgiveness by forgiving others.  Rather we manifest the generosity and implacability of God's forgiveness of us.

http://www.agreeley.com/hom10/apr11.htm

Andrew M. Greeley, 1999
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To symbolize the giving of the Holy Spirit/Breath, Jesus "breathes on" (emphusao -- only occurrence in NT) the disciples (without Thomas!). The same word is used in Gn 2:7 (LXX) where God breathes the breath of life into the nostrils of the man and he becomes a living being. It is used in Ez 37:9 where the breath breathes on the slain [the dry bones], so that they may live. It is also used in Wisdom 15:11c where God "breathed a living spirit into them."
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"User Friendly Evaluation," by C. Jeff Woods... has a chapter called "Evaluation and Church Renewal." He defines church renewal as:
  Church renewal occurs when a distinct group of people expect the Spirit of God to challenge, direct, and empower them to reach their potential of being the church in today's world.

One of his four assumptions about church renewal is:

  the church does not renew itself. The Holy Spirit challenges, directs, and empowers the work of renewal. . . . The Spirit renews the church. Many church renewal resources coerce the pastoral leadership into feeling responsible for the church's state of renewal. That's simply not biblical. Pastoral leadership has a great deal to do with the activities in the congregation, but renewal results are the sole property of God's handiwork. Even Paul, who liked to tell churches that he had more to boast about than anyone else if he chose to do so, reminded the church, 'I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth' (1 Cor. 3:6). God is the one who provides growth and renewal for churches. Numerical growth. Common-bond growth. Growth in maturity. All kinds of growth. God is the source." [p. 49]

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john20x19p.htm

Brian Stoffregen
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For the fourth Gospel, the day of Pentecost is no tongues of fire or a bewildering, amazing, perplexing cacophony of voices, but the peace of one voice, the shepherd's voice, who bestows on his disciples the abiding presence of "I am." 

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=5/11/2008&tab=4

Karoline Lewis, 2008
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God is breathing the Spirit into us & the whole creation all the time. It is a collective gift rather than a private one. Here in the upper room Jesus breathes it upon those who have desperate need of Comfort & Assurance, of Courage. 

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/marginallymark/MMKJN201931E2.html

Brian McGowan
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