The scriptures were the Gospel of John 20:19-31 and Psalm 118:14-29. The sermon was preached on April 28, 2019 at Peace Presbyterian Church in Winterville, NC.
Without
Doubt
The
lesson today from the Gospel of John
is
a scripture I have preached on before;
a
familiar scripture to all of us.
A
new thing I discover when I began
studying
these verses this time is the
doubt
and
the purpose of Thomas’
doubt.
You
and I are acquainted
with the story of Thomas,
who
had been known as ‘the twin’ and is now known by
the
unfortunate name of
Doubting
Thomas,
the one who needed
to see to believe.
But
first, lets look at what all
the disciples
have
experienced over a short amount of time…
the arrest, trial,
and crucifixion of Jesus,
being told by the
women of the missing body,
seeing the empty
tomb,
and hiding in fear
of what may happen to them.
How
could all of this have happened?
They
must have been experiencing doubts…
doubts
about what they had learned and seen,
doubts
about the future, their personal futures
and
the future of the ministry Jesus had begun…
was it over?
Then
Jesus appears to them…
the
shock of recent events,
their
doubt,
their
fear,
transforms
to amazement…
Then
the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Thomas
was not
with then, he missed out;
he
doubted what the others told him.
Like
Thomas we have times of doubt,
doubt
about many, many things.
There
are those big moments of shock that
stun
us into disbelief:
each
generation can look back to one such experience…
whether
it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor
or
the attack on the Twin Towers,
you
and I have known that
feeling.
I
remember a day in late January over 30 years ago:
I
was in college and as I returned from class
my
room-mate told me the space shuttle had exploded.
My
reaction was shock and I replied to her,
“No,
that cannot happen.”
Less
than two weeks ago,
that
moment of disbelief
happened again...Notre Dame,
the
sight of the cathedral burning
at
the beginning of Holy week,
the
spire falling…
how
could this be happening?
Thomas
must have felt something similar when the other
disciples
told him that they had seen Jesus;
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.”
I
did not
believe my room-mate about the Challenger
explosion
until I turned on the news;
I
had to see to believe.
Thomas
did not
have a tv to turn on and see the event replayed.
One
pattern to notice in the examples I gave earlier,
they
brought us to disbelief because of the tragedy
of
the circumstances;
sadness,
loss, and the bleakness
of
the events gave us doubts about what would come next.
For
Thomas,
he
doubted the good news,
the
best possible news…
“We
have seen the Lord.”
The
idea of seeing and
believing is present
throughout our lives
today.
We
need proof that something has been done:
a
receipt for expenses,
a
copy of a letter,
a
report turned in,
evidence
and facts.
What
is it about human nature that makes us doubt?
Even
when you and I
are told of good news,
we
may doubt
it as truth:
“Your illness has
gone into remission”
“Here is a full
tuition scholarship”
“Congratulations,
its twins”
“Despite the
destruction, there were no
fatalities”
“Jesus died for
you and
He is Risen”
Jesus
comes again to the disciples and has compassion
for
Thomas;
he
presents Thomas what he needs to believe.
Jesus
does not
yell at Thomas or scold
him for his disbelief.
He
presents to him as he had to the other disciples…
he
showed them his hands and his side
Jesus
offers Thomas what he needs…
“Put
your finger here and see my hands.
Reach
out your hand and put it in my side.
Do
not
doubt but believe.”
Thomas
sees and
his doubt becomes belief…
So,
the question presents itself:
Is
seeing believing?
or
more precisely:
Do
you and I
need to see in order to believe?
Do
you and I
have to see something to know it is true?
Jesus
tells Thomas:
“Blessed
are those who have not seen
and
yet have come to believe.”
The
20th
chapter of John ends with this statement:
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.
These
2 verses are sometimes overlooked in the story of Thomas
yet
as I studied on them,
they
seem to sum up the Gospel,
the
good news, the message meant for us today;
even
though you and I
are 2000 years removed,
we
have proof beyond our vision,
beyond our touch,
beyond our ears.
You
and I do not
have to see Jesus’ wounds or
touch
his scars or even hear his voice.
Can
we have faith,
even
when we do not
have evidence in front of us?
YES!
…these
are written so
that you may come to believe.
Faith
is available to all, in all times and places,
you
and I do not
have to be an eyewitness;
Belief
–“For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so
that everyone who believes in him may not perish
but
may have eternal life.”
Assurance
–“Peace be with
you.”
Faith
–“Now faith is
the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction
of things not seen.
Words
like assurance,
hope,
and conviction,
do
not point
to needing proof,
but
to believing
in the unseen.
Thomas’
reaction: “My
Lord and my God!”
these
words are Thomas’
statement of faith!
Thomas
sees God fully revealed in Jesus.
You
and I have the
scriptures of the Bible to aid us
in our journey of
faith;
we also have creeds,
confessions, and statements of faith.
We
find comfort and guidance among these words.
Our
doubts and fears
are calmed by the words of the Bible.
We
believe without
seeing.
Without
a doubt,
you and I
know:
we
are loved by God;
Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God,
our redeemer and
savior;
you
and I are called to
follow in Jesus’ footsteps,
to be his disciples,
to witness and
proclaim the good news;
there
is life anew
given by the Holy Spirit
Within
the scripture from John,
Thomas’ doubt
serves a purpose.
Thomas
is an example of a spirit that was present
in
that early community;
he
represents the doubts and denials voiced in his day.
Without
his doubt:
things
would have been easier,
“ok, Jesus was
here, I believe you.”
We
would not
have the message that God approaches us
and
gives us what we need
to believe;
the
scriptures of the Bible are here as written proof
“these
are written so
that you may come to believe”
Our
faith is a gift from God!
You
and I discover that
there is
compassion
in
the midst of doubt;
God
does not scold us,
God loves us
“O
give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good,
for
his steadfast love endures forever.”
God’s
love for all
is the reason that
God
made flesh walked among us over 2000 years ago;
God
continues to be active in our lives,
you
and I are blessed as
believers.
You
and I can be comforted
that even when we face doubts
about
ourselves, others, or events in our lives,
even
one of Christ’s own disciples doubted.
Like us, Thomas is a believer who wrestles with uncertainty.
So, a thank you to Thomas, the twin,
proudly
embrace the name Doubting Thomas,
for
without your doubt,
we
may face circumstances with despair instead of hope.
From
his doubts, faith does arise;
from
the darkest of doubts,
can
come the greatest of faith.
The
Lord
is God, and he has given us light.
Thomas
went on to profess faith and be a missionary….
he
traveled to India
spreading
the Good news to many;
his
doubt and fear became faith, a strong steadfast faith.
We
are confident in our faith,
we
are blessed
even
though we did not see, we
do believe!
The
love of God, which was embodied in Jesus,
is
not
something temporary
that
was present only in the incarnation; it continues.
God
is still with us.
God
is always with us.
I
say this, and we know this, fully assured and without
doubt.
