Second Sunday of Easter
March 30, 2008
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
So. I guess you expect me to preach a sermon on doubting Thomas. And I suppose I should. But in my short life as a priest of the church I have already preached all the sermons I know about doubt, and about Thomas. And some of you who heard my sermon last year will probably not want to hear anything much the same.
Nevertheless, I want to preach a sermon about this story of doubting Thomas, because it is an important passage of scripture for me. I confess that I have lived with considerable doubt in my life of faith, and I would not be surprised to know that you have lived with some doubt in your own life of faith from time to time. But I can tell you that my experience of doubt has given me the courage to preach sermons which do not condemn doubt; rather, my sermons have attempted to show the value of doubt to faith. Because it might seem that doubt is an obstacle to faith, especially in the moment that we are experiencing it. But doubt is not an obstacle to faith; apathy is the obstacle to faith. Not caring enough to doubt, or believe is the obstacle to faith. Doubt is not apathetic and doubt is not a passive state of being, because when you doubt you still care about the thing you doubt, otherwise you would not invest your time and energy doubting it. In fact one might say that doubt is a partner in faith, because doubt is always in dialogue with faith.
In the end, you cannot have doubt without faith, and you cannot have faith without doubt. It is not possible to doubt something you don’t believe or don’t care about, and it is not possible to believe in or care about something which is not open to doubt. So my advice to people of faith is this: Doubt boldly. And my other advice to people of faith is this: Believe boldly. Otherwise you become an apathetic believer, a passive Christian and a lukewarm follower of Christ. So, I say doubt boldly and believe boldly, so that you can know what you believe and not fear what you doubt. Doubt and believe boldly so that your faith will grow and the life God has given you will make a difference in the world.
Well, it looks as if I have given you at least a summary of my past sermons on faith and doubt. And I am glad that I did. Because faith and doubt are important to the story of doubting Thomas. However, I told you I wasn’t going to preach a sermon on doubt this Sunday, so I need to go on to preach what I believe are the larger issues in today’s gospel. Issues which have greater consequence for us. Issues which have an even greater impact on our faith than doubt.
You see, I believe the larger issues which are a threat to faith in this story of doubting Thomas are not about doubt, the larger threats to faith are fear and non-belief. When I look at the behavior of Jesus’ disciples in our gospel account I see faith paralyzed by fear; when I observe the behavior of Thomas I see faith shut down and closed off by non-belief. What I see in Thomas and in the disciples are experiences I have known in my own life and perhaps you have experienced them in yours; times when our faith has been paralyzed by fear, and times when we closed the door on faith for lack of interest or the willingness to doubt or believe. The story of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples convince me that fear and non-belief are what keep us from living confidently, even boldly, into the fullness of our faith
There is no doubt that fear is what keeps the disciples hidden away in a house where the doors are locked for fear that they might be discovered. We know that the disciples fear being discovered by Roman authorities who might identify them as followers of Jesus, and by Jews who know who they are and might hand them over to the authorities. On the other hand, we have to wonder why Thomas is not among them. How is it that Thomas can be out in public and not fear what his brothers fear.
Well, the little we know of Thomas in scripture suggests an answer. Thomas is a somewhat gloomy fellow. His encounters with Jesus show him to be quite literal minded, very practical and even “matter of fact.” Thomas is the kind of person who always sees a glass half empty rather than half full. Thomas has been compared to that cartoon character of old (whose name escapes me) who walked around with a cloud over his head. People have compared Thomas to Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street and Grumpy, one of Snow White’s seven dwarves. And there is no mistaking Thomas in the character of Lucy in Peanuts cartoons. Which makes me believe that whether we think we need them or not, it is likely that we all have a Thomas in our life, or maybe we are Thomas in someone else’s life. In any case, these cartoon characters show us that someone like Thomas can serve a useful purpose for others. And I am certain that Thomas served a very important purpose in the community of disciples who followed Jesus. The disciples certainly were not surprised by Thomas’ non-belief when they told him they had seen Jesus. Nor were they antagonistic toward him. And we can see from the few encounters Jesus has with Thomas in scripture that he knew Thomas well, that he loved him, and he knew how to handle him.
So it is important to look at the difference in Thomas’ response to Jesus’ death and resurrection. There is much we can learn from it. First we have to ask why Thomas is able to be out in the world while his brothers hide in a locked apartment, paralyzed by fear. Well, knowing him as we do, it is likely that Thomas has come to believe that Jesus is dead. As time passes and there is no evidence of resurrection it would seem that Thomas dismisses the possibility of resurrection; he empties the contents of his half empty glass of faith and he goes back into the world to live his life. And yet, Thomas returns once in a while to visit his brothers. Could it be that the waters of faith still cling to his empty glass, or does he return periodically because he still loves his brothers and wants to stay in relationship with them.
Either way, it is clear that Thomas has gone on with his life because he has little or nothing to doubt or fear. And so when his brothers tell Thomas that they have seen Jesus, his response is emphatic: I don’t believe you! And I will not believe you unless I can see for myself. Now this is a bold response in a pagan world where capricious gods would be quite miffed by such a challenge to their power and authority, and there would be great consequences to the one who rebuffs such a god. But Jesus is not like these gods, and once again he shows us how unlike them he is. First of all Jesus is able to humble himself to become human and live and die as one of us. He understands Thomas and he is willing to meet Thomas in his place of non-belief to show him the truth of his resurrection. This certainly explains Thomas’ response to Jesus.
When Jesus invites Thomas to touch his wounds, Thomas falls on his knees and declares, “My Lord and my God.” In that moment the door of non-belief opens and Thomas’ seemingly empty glass is filled to overflowing by the waters of faith. And the irony in this story is that while Thomas is able to roam the streets in public without fear or belief, he was not without faith; he simply closed the door on faith, shut it down, and closed it off. It is obvious that the doors of Thomas’ faith are locked up as tight[ly] as the doors of the room his brothers are hiding in. And what we realize is that Thomas does not fear, because he does not believe. And that helps us understand why his brothers are in a place of fear and why they are paralyzed by it.
It is clear that Jesus’ disciples fear much more than the Jews or Roman authorities; they fear Jesus, himself. They fear that, in fact, Jesus IS alive, and they might have to face him. They fear they will have to face the consequences for doing precisely what Jesus said they would do; they abandoned him in his greatest hours of need. And now he has returned from death just as he promised he would. Mary Magdalene has told them so, and unlike Thomas, they believe her. Now, you would think that Jesus’ disciples would be looking for him, in joy and anticipation of a reunion. But they do not seek him out. Instead they hide in fear. And you can hardly blame them. They are also aware of the consequences for those who abandon their pagan deities in this world. Would Jesus wreak the same kinds of punishment or revenge upon them?
No. Not Jesus. They might have known that. But fear kept them from believing it. So Jesus will once more remind them. Once again he will show who he is. Jesus will come to the disciples in a way which assures them of his love and his solidarity with them. He simply appears to his disciples—twice, and the first word Jesus utters both times is “Peace.” “Peace be with you,” Jesus says. Now, I could preach an entire sermon on Jesus’ greeting to his disciples, but suffice it to say that Jesus knows, and we know the “peace” which can come to us when we are able to put away our fears; Jesus knows, and we know the peace that can come to us when closed doors of unbelief open to belief. And we can be certain that as soon as Jesus announces that he as at peace with his disciples they know they have been forgiven. Jesus is ready to commission his disciples for the work they will do in the world when he returns to God. And his disciples are ready to receive it.
Peace and forgiveness are the words of commission Jesus gives to his disciples that day. The same peace and forgiveness which will continue to unlock the faith of those in every generation whose faith is paralyzed by fear, and those who cannot or will not believe. But their work will not be easy. Jesus points out to his disciples, they have been privileged to see and touch the wounds of the one who has died and been resurrected to life; the one who was able to unlock their fear and unbelief and restore them to faith. A faith which emboldens them to go into the world to establish the church in his name. A faith they will be willing to die for. Because they have seen and touched and believed. Those who come after, however, must believe even though they have not seen him or touched him. Generations to come must be able and willing to bear witness to Jesus’ life and ministry by the witness we receive from those who did see and touch his wounds, and those who follow them in faith.
But no one said living by faith would be easy. We still recognize ourselves in the disciples’ fear and in Thomas’ unwillingness to believe. Nevertheless, as believers we struggle to live by faith and not by fear, and we live faithfully in the hope that the doors of non-belief will never close on our faith, or our doubt. But we can be sure of one thing. The good news of our gospel story today is that the fear which can paralyze our faith and the doors which can close on our faith are not the end of faith. There are no doors locked up so tight that Jesus cannot open them and go through them to find us. Even when we don’t want to be found. But especially when we do.