“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:19-23)  Happy Easter!  And no, I am not late.  We are in the season of Easter for seven Sundays.  That is over three times as long as the Christmas season.  Perhaps it takes us a lot longer to become accustomed to a resurrected Lord than it does for the Christmas baby!  Our Gospel lesson this week begins with the disciples in what appears to be their natural state: fear!  The doors are locked!  Even after the joy of the empty tomb, later that very same day, the old ways come creeping back: fear of the enemy, worries about what will happen next.  Yes, it may take us quite a while to get used to a resurrected Lord.  I return quite often to a quote from Soren Kierkegaard. The young philosopher said, “I think that if I ever become seriously a Christian I shall be most ashamed of not having done so before, of having wished to try everything else first…If Christ is to come and take up his abode in me, it must happen according to the title of today’s Gospel: Christ came in through locked doors.”  I have discovered over the years that more often than not, Jesus still comes into my life through locked doors.  He does not allow my fears and hesitations, my sin or sloth to keep him away.  Still, more often than not in spite of my unwillingness to follow, he comes to me and says, “Peace be with you.”  How about you?  Any locked doors in your life?  Any fears, prejudices or bad attitudes that you think may keep out the resurrected Lord?  Be careful, the tomb really is empty and our resurrected Lord is out and about through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Welcome him in and get ready for more joy than you and I ever thought possible.  Have a great week!