Chetwynd Shared Ministry
April 8, 2018
Scripture: John 20:19-31
So let’s talk for a
few minutes about those disciples of Jesus – especially that inner circle of
twelve that accompanied him on all of his journeys. They got to see first-hand all of the
miracles that Jesus did, they got to hear all of the sermons that Jesus
preached, and they also got to hear extra teachings that were for the
disciples’ ears only.
So… bible quiz
time. What do you think of when I
mention the following disciples:
Bartholomew? Nothing?
then how about:
Phillip? Nothing again? then what about:
James, son of
Alpheus? Still nothing? let’s try an easier one:
Judas Iscariot? OK, now we’re getting somewhere.
Simon Peter?
What about Thomas?
Poor old Doubting
Thomas. With all that he did in his
life, both before and after Jesus died, he will be forever remembered for that
one sentence: “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.” I’ve
heard it suggested that if we forever call Thomas by Doubting Thomas, maybe we
should also name Peter Denying Peter or Sinking Peter.
But Thomas was so much
more that just that one sentence. I
almost want to re-name him Courageous Thomas.
At the beginning of the story that we read today, we’ve gone back in
time by a week. It’s the evening after
the discovery of the empty tomb. It’s
only 3 days after Jesus was arrested and 2 days after he was put to death. We’re told that the disciples have locked
themselves in a house, for fear of the Jewish leaders – these same leaders who
had had Jesus arrested. They were likely
terrified that if they were found to be Jesus’ disciples, they would face the
same fate.
But when Jesus appears
to them the first time behind those locked doors, Thomas isn’t with them. I wonder where Thomas has gone. He was from Galilee in the north, not from
Jerusalem, so he couldn’t have been hiding in his own home. Maybe the other disciples had sent him out to
pick up food for their evening meal.
Maybe they knew that Thomas was the only one who wasn’t afraid to go out
into the streets. Courageous Thomas.
And if we go back
earlier in John’s gospel, back to Chapter 11, this is just before Jesus makes
his final journey to Jerusalem. Jesus’
friend Lazarus lived near to Jerusalem, and Jesus got word that he was
sick. Jesus tells his disciples that he
wants to go to Lazarus, but most of them protest that it is too dangerous. They remind Jesus that last time he was in
Jerusalem, the people tried to stone him.
Only Thomas stands with Jesus.
It’s Thomas who tells the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may
die with him.” It’s only Thomas who has
the courage to go with Jesus into danger, despite his fears. Courageous Thomas.
And finally, Thomas is
the first person in the gospels to name Jesus as God. In our reading today, when Jesus appears to
Thomas, Thomas cries out, “My Lord and my God!”
So not only Courageous Thomas, but Insightful Thomas.
And the tradition of
the church holds that Thomas continued his life as a disciple or apostle of
Jesus after the story in the gospels ended.
Even though the stories of Thomas are not written in the scripture, the
tradition of the church says that 20 years later, around the time when Peter
was heading up the church in Jerusalem, around the time when Paul was spreading
the Christian faith all over western Asia and southern Europe, around this time
Thomas traveled east until he landed in southern India. Thomas is believed to have been the first
missionary to India, where he preached the Christian message among the small
Jewish community that was in the state of Kerala at the time, and among the
non-Jewish people of India. Even today,
there is the St. Thomas Christian Community in India that traces its roots
right back to this same Thomas that we read about today.
So… having hopefully
redeemed Thomas somewhat from that one blundering sentence that he made when he
was in a moment when he was feeling overwhelmed and grief-stricken, and maybe
even feeling a bit left out having missed Jesus’ appearance, what can we make
of this story?
First of all, I think
that we need to consider that Thomas was feeling overwhelmed and
grief-stricken. He had given up his
home, his family, his livelihood, in order to follow Jesus. He had been committed to Jesus’ mission – we
can see this commitment in his willingness to follow Jesus to Jerusalem despite
the danger. And now Jesus, the one for
whom he had given up everything, had been crucified. Their little group was left without a leader,
and in danger themselves. Emotions were
running high in these days shortly after the crucifixion.
And then, in a moment
when Thomas had left the house, Jesus appeared to everyone else. I can relate to how Thomas might have felt in
that moment. There’s a party and it
seems as though everyone else is invited but I didn’t get an invitation. There’s some news going around the family and
everyone else seems to have heard, but I am the last person to find out. I find Thomas’ situation to be totally
relatable. No wonder his reaction seems
to be a bit of, “No fair. You guys all
got to see Jesus but I didn’t. I don’t
believe it really happened, and I won’t believe it until I can see Jesus for
myself.”
And the thing about Jesus
is that he never condemns Thomas for these words. Jesus doesn’t rebuke Thomas. Instead, Jesus meets Thomas where he is. Jesus knows what Thomas needs in that
moment. Jesus says 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.” Jesus welcomes
Thomas’ questions, and then gives Thomas exactly what he needs.
The words that Jesus
ends with have often been used to put down people who dare to question their
faith; but as those of you who have been coming to our bible study groups
already know, I am all about questioning our faith. To me, a faith that can’t stand up to our
questions is a faith that isn’t worth having.
So how about Curious Thomas or Questioning Thomas instead of Doubting
Thomas.
And if you look
closely at the words of Jesus, you will see that he doesn’t condemn Thomas for
his questions or for his doubts. Jesus
merely says “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
come to believe.” He’s not saying, “More
blessed are those who have not seen.”
He’s not saying, “You’re a better person if you can believe without
seeing.” Instead, Jesus is offering a
blessing for everyone who believes, including those who have been given the
gift of believing without seeing.
I think that our
doubts and our questions are a very real part of our faith. I once heard one of my favourite writers,
Anne Lamott, interviewed on CBC’s Tapestry, and she said, “The opposite of
faith isn’t doubt. The opposite of faith
is certainty.” As soon as we are certain
of something, it is no longer faith. As
the writer of Hebrews said, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and
the conviction of things unseen.” Once
we can see something, it isn’t faith. In
that moment when Thomas stood before the risen Christ, his belief wasn’t
grounded in faith – it was grounded in someone that he could see and touch; but
in all of the moments that came before this one, and in all of the moments that
came after it, Thomas was acting on faith.
When we question
something, when we have doubts, when we wrestle with something, these are all
opportunities to strengthen our faith.
These are all opportunities to encounter Christ, the author and
perfecter of our faith. God welcomes our
questions and our doubts.
So Jesus met Thomas
where he was, and gave Thomas what he needed to believe. So too, Jesus meets us where we are at. God knows what we need in order to
believe; and our faith is a gift from God.
Even when our doubts and our questions can seem to crowd out any hope or
any grace; even when grief or anger or fear are so loud that no other voices
can be heard – Jesus meets us where we are at.
We might not be able
to recognize God at first, when God meets us in the middle of our doubts or
fear or grief or anger. Even Thomas,
standing before the risen Christ, didn’t recognize him right away. Jesus first offered his peace to the
disciples, and then invited Thomas to touch his wounds; and only then does
Thomas cry out, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus is recognized in the peace that he brings to any situation; and
Jesus is also recognized in the woundedness, in the vulnerability, in the
honest pain that we experience. That is
where Christ is.
One of my favourite
books is A Winkle in Time by Madeline
L’Engle, and it has recently been turned in to a movie. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I still
re-read the book every couple of years. And not only is it one of my favourite books,
but the main character, Meg, is one of my favourite characters in all of
fiction. In the book, Meg is a teenage girl;
highly intelligent, awkward in her own skin, stubborn, angry, mis-trustful of
authority, who questions everything. She
doesn’t accept anything just because someone says so. 11-year-old Kate really related with her; and
adult Kate still relates with her a lot of the time.
Now there is one scene
towards the end of the book where Meg is about to head back in to the darkness
to try to rescue her father and her brother from the evil that is holding them
captive. As she is heading back in,
other characters offer Meg gifts, and one of the characters says to her, “I
give you your faults.” Meg doesn’t
understand this gift at first – after all, she has spent her life trying to get
rid of her so-called faults. But when
she heads back in to the darkness, it is precisely her stubbornness and her
questioning of authority that allow her to rescue her father and brother by
love, which had been the gift from another character. By questioning, Meg’s love was able to grow.
And so as we move
through the season of Easter, the 50 days between last Sunday and Pentecost,
and as we encounter the risen Christ in the world we live in, I encourage you
to keep asking questions. Dig deeper
into your questions and your doubts. For
it is in doing this that you will give your faith an opportunity to grow.
Let us pray:
God of resurrection,
Give us the faith to
know
that you meet us where we are;
Give us the courage
to ask difficult questions,
and to acknowledge our doubts;
And help us to grow in
faith,
knowing that you welcome our
questions.
We pray this in the
name of the resurrected one,
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
(This is the same cover as my copy of the book -
except mine is a wee bit more battered-looking due to frequent re-reading!)
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