"Post-Traumatic Growth" - Sermon for Second Sunday of Easter

Post-Traumatic Growth
Easter 2 – Narrative Lectionary 4
April 27, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
John 20.19-31

Dave Sanderson was aboard US Airways Flight 1549 in January 2009 and shortly after takeoff he knew there was a problem. He could see that there was trouble with one of the engines, but he knew that the plane could fly with one. What he didn’t know was the both engines had problems. He would learn later that the engines had hit a flock of geese. What would be called later the “Miracle on the Hudson,” Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III landed the plane in the Hudson River. The impact broke Sanderson’s seat and water poured in, but he had presence of mind and sense of obligation to help others. One of the last people out of the plane, he plunged into the icy river and swam to shore where he was met by a number of people, including Red Cross workers. Sanderson was unhurt but he was not unchanged. He began speaking at Red Cross fundraisers, eventually resigning from his job to do the work full time. “The crash changed my perspective,” he says. “I started scheduling around my family instead of my job.”

Sanderson’s story and others appeared in a recent issue of AARP’s magazine. The article, “Surviving the Jolt” by Mark Miller, tells how life jolts can either derail us or propel us into reclaiming or remaking our lives. These jolts can cause people to reexamine their lives and lead them into wanting to make our lives matter. Miller cites Lawrence Calhoun, professor of psychology at UNC-Charlotte, who in 1995 coined the term “post-traumatic growth” (PTG). PTG is not just about being resilient or bouncing back, as important as those qualities are. PTG is different, Calhoun says: “When you stand back up you are transformed. This transformation often comes about because these life jolts cause us to confront questions we haven’t confronted before, wrestling with senseless events and struggling to find some meaning in their midst.

Jesus’ followers, especially Thomas, are undergoing PTG’s more well-known relative, PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They have been confronted with the seemingly meaningless death of their friend and leader. They have been jolted—hard—and as they are still reeling, jolted again with incredible news. Jesus’ tomb is empty, Mary Magdalene has seen Jesus, claiming he is has been raised from death. Most of them, except Thomas, are locked away in fear, and who knows where Thomas is. Jesus comes in the midst of their fear and, in Thomas’ case doubt, reorienting their world in a way they couldn’t have possibly imagined.

None of us wants these life-altering jolts, and no sane person would see them as a means to personal growth. Yet, chances are they will come to us all, sooner or later. The AARP article gives some advice on how to maximize PTG, but I want to theologize it in light of our reading today. The text gives us some good news and ways to handle jolts from a faith perspective. The first thing we want to recognize is that it is okay to be wherever you are in a given situation. Jesus’ followers, including Thomas, needed time even as Jesus appeared them, not once but twice. Sometimes we have unrealistic expectations about how long it will take to move through as situation. The notions of “getting over it” or “closure” are not only unhelpful, they are unrealistic and damaging.

That brings us to the second point: Jesus will meet you wherever you are, no matter how locked up you are in your situation. Just as Jesus comes to the disciples in a closed and locked room, so he will meet us, too. Third, we need to remember the importance of community and seeking out others to be with and help us. The disciples were trying to make sense out of this life-changing news together. Community supports us, guides us, and helps us to work through our situation to see what God is doing. This brings us to the last point. We need to be open to what God is doing in, with, and through your life, even if we can’t see it yet. I think that’s really the invitation that Jesus made to Thomas and the others.

Now, this is not a “don’t worry, be happy,” rose-colored glasses, everything will be fine attitude. No, this is certainty that in the midst of the worst that life can throw us, the risen Christ is with us. This is the assurance that God brings life out of death and hope out of despair. The risen Jesus promises to meet us in the midst of our brokenness, provides us with a community of faith, and works in, with and through us, offering new possibilities that are beyond our imagination. That’s what it means when we exchange the Easter greeting. For Christ is risen, and that is good news indeed. Amen.