John 20:19-31 (2nd Sunday of Easter) – April 27, 2025

Introduction

It’s the Sunday after Easter. The big energy of resurrection morning has passed. The sanctuary feels quieter. The lilies are wilting. And in many congregations, the people who came for Easter joy are back to routine—or simply gone.

This is often the moment the church exhales with a kind of unspoken exhaustion.
We made it through Lent. We pulled off Holy Week. The world is in chaos and we are through.

Now what?

But maybe this is exactly the space where resurrection appears. Not in the rush of the crowd or the excitement of the fanfare, but in the quiet. When all that’s left is us and whatever Christ might do next.

Jesus Appears Where Breath Has Grown Shallow

The disciples are gathered, but they’re not celebrating. They’re hiding, anxious, uncertain what to do now. They’ve heard resurrection news, but they haven’t yet felt its reality.

They’re together, but it doesn’t mean they’re breathing freely. The room is locked. The atmosphere is tense. And suddenly, Jesus is there.

He doesn’t come with thunder or spectacle. He doesn’t demand proof of their faith. He simply speaks: “Peace be with you.” And then, he breathes on them.

Resurrection Begins with Breath

This is an incredibly tender moment in Scripture.

Jesus breathes the Spirit into his friends. He does not to correct them or send them rushing out.
He simply restores their breath.

This isn’t a grand commissioning.

It’s a resurrection exhale.

A gentle reminder that life with God is sustained not by striving, but by Spirit. By breath. Before the disciples are sent, before they believe fully, before they understand, they are invited to breathe again.

So often, the church forgets this. We fill our calendars, try to fix everything, worry about decline, stretch ourselves thin. But Jesus doesn’t meet us with more pressure. He meets us with peace. And breath.

A Word for the Church Today

This story reminds us that resurrection isn’t just a moment. It’s a way of life. And it starts with breath. Not the breath of programs or productivity. Not the breath of frantic momentum. But the steady, calming breath of Christ’s Spirit.

For congregations that feel weary or unsure, this is not a call to do more. It’s an invitation to pause. To gather, even in uncertainty. To wait, even in doubt. To breathe in peace, again and again.

Preaching Possibilities

Frustrated with Exhaustion (Your Own and Others)

There’s chaos in our nation and world right now. And it has most of us exhausted. But then, while we are exhausted, we are frustrated that others are exhausted too.

We want to be able to take to social media and just convince people that someone being disappeared without due process is just wrong. And then we are exasperated when others don’t take us at our word and be swayed by our cut and dry arguments.

We are exhausted that racism still exists in this country. Didn’t we do like 6 books studies in 2020? Shouldn’t we all be on the same page already?

We are so frustrated that folks can’t just see what we see! If they did, then maybe finally we could just take a breath and stop being so exhausted!

Dear Church, stop expecting yourself to be the savior of this world (especially with one social media post). Stop running so far, so fast, that you run out of breath. Stop thinking that you have (or need to have) all the clear-cut answers for this broken world.

When Christ rose, the world was still broken. The empire still stood. Fear still surrounded the church. And yet, the breath of peace reached the disciples. It didn’t send them sprinting. But it steadied them. It prepared them. And eventually, they stepped out of that locked room.

They stepped into a world that hadn’t changed, and they changed it. For better and worse, the disciples and the Church changed this world. Not by having all the answers. Not by fixing everything at once. But by breathing. By trusting the Spirit. By sharing the Good News in the face of fear.

Resurrection doesn’t erase exhaustion. But it gives us breath enough to begin again.

Final Word

The church doesn’t always need new ideas. Sometimes we just need new breath. Not a new program, but the presence of the risen Christ. Not pressure, but peace.

Jesus comes to his gathered people, locked in fear, unsure what’s next, and gives them what they didn’t even know they needed: Spirit. Breath. Life.

Church, take a breath. Let Christ speak peace. Let the Spirit fill your lungs. Let resurrection begin, quietly and truly, again.