by Rev. Carole Horton-Howe
Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.
John 20:19-31 (NRSV)
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."
Doubting Thomas - Giovanni Serodine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "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."
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said 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." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
“I’ve always been a reluctant believer.” This is what a hospice patient told me during one of our visits. He said it softly and slowly, as though to give it oxygen would be to give it a life of its own that he couldn’t take back. He didn’t make eye contact. I was very surprised to hear this. This man was a retired priest, with a long life of compassionate service to others. He was a passionate advocate for the poor and homeless populations where he lived. He regularly received cards from former parishioners thanking him for the impact he’d had on their lives. I couldn’t imagine anyone ne less likely to have doubts than him. Now as he was suffering from a disease for which there would be no cure. And he was wondering – not for the first time - whether he could truly believe the resurrection promise.
He’s like Thomas in the room with the disciples hearing that Jesus has been there, has given them the Holy Spirit but still asking himself whether the good news is too good to be true. Is the resurrection of Jesus something we can be certain of and rely on for our own eternal life journey?
What Thomas is really after is an experience of truth. We don’t know where he was or why he wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to the disciples. But when he did return to them he wasn’t willing to accept as truth what they told him. He needed the same experience of Jesus that they had – and more.
If we think about it, the desire for truth winds all throughout the gospels. And the stories of Holy Week and Good Friday put an especially fine point on it. Friday morning Jesus’ trial before Pilate is a mockery of justice. Pilate questions Jesus and he seems disdainful of the whole situation. “YOU are the King of the Jews?” he asks Jesus. The Jewish authorities are hostile to Jesus more concerned with their own survival and with no legitimate charge against him. Pilate would prefer not to be bothered by this Jewish disturbance. He can’t figure out who Jesus is or why he’s even there.
Pilate’s parting question to Jesus, “what is truth?” hangs in the air. The irony was that Truth was standing right before him but he could not see it. What blocks our seeing truth can be our agendas based in fear, powerful narratives and anecdotes that we can’t overcome on our own. Many of us grew up with a narrative that doubt is sinful, that questioning shows an absence of belief and that belief alone that God wants from us. If we think of belief as what God wants from us then doubt and disbelief are experienced as sinful. So if we have doubt like Thomas’ did it is seen as an absence of faith.
But let’s look at what Jesus did for Thomas in his moment of disbelief. He came to him and offered him what he needed. He offered Thomas something denied to Mary and others. He asked Thomas to touch him so he could have his truth. And in this moment a sweet promise is made: God who knows our needs will meet us precisely at the point of our need. God who knows our hearts and minds and the condition of our need will be there for us as we continue to seek and continue to demonstrate a need for God’s presence.
The gospel tells us that a week later his disciples were again in the house and Thomas was with them. Despite his unbelief Thomas still gathers with them, still wants to be part of this group. And in the other disciples we see a second beautiful lesson of Christian friendship. It always has room for everyone, especially the doubters. They clearly welcome him. We hear nothing about their shunning him, or gossiping him. The disciples embody this sort of friendship. Jesus had done exactly the same for them. They loved Thomas as Jesus loved them.
Please know this: if you have doubts you’re in the right place. We get it. In this church you are welcome. We are together to support and lift each other up. That’s what true faith communities do and that’s what we do. You will never be minimized and told that your faith isn’t strong enough. You will never be excluded for having questions. You will be welcomed. We will sit with you, struggle with you.
Can we put our fingers in Jesus’ side and touch him? No. But can the stories of the resurrection experience make us feel as if we can? Yes, if we open our hearts to them. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. The story is alive because even a modest beginning of belief is all the Holy Spirit needs to make Jesus come alive for us, in us and through us to others. These stories we feel breathe on us the same way Jesus breathed on the disciples. They have the power to make us weep, rejoice, hope and act.
We believe not because we have seen his wounds or placed our hands within his side, but because we have seen Christ in the face of another, who has also not seen or touched Christ, but lives their life in such a way that Christ has been made present in our midst. It is in gathering together in loving relationships that Christ is made known and the experience of truth is ours. We are made to make a difference to be part of Jesus risen life on earth so that we may proclaim to all we encounter “we have seen the Lord” and have life in his name.
Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed! And so are we. Alleluia and Amen.