From Doubt to Discovery

2nd Sunday after Easter

Reading: John 20:19-31

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

We proudly proclaim this truth throughout the Easter season and throughout our entire lives. But just like the year 2020 keeps coming back at us like, ‘but wait! There’s more!’ so too does the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christ rose from the dead! *But wait! There’s more!* Christ appeared to the disciples in a mysterious, ghostlike state, or so we must image as he was able to just appear inside a locked room. Christ appears in the midst of his disciples, all of whom ran away terrified when Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death and who are still so terrified that they have locked themselves inside a small room together. Christ walks right into their fear and says, ‘Peace be with you,’ which echoes the messenger’s words at the empty tomb, ‘Be not afraid.’

It is natural to be afraid; to be afraid of death, to be afraid of the unknown, to be afraid of the world outside our locked doors. The miracle has happened, Christ has rose from the dead, God could have left it at that, but God says – ‘Wait, there’s more! I’m still here! I am right here and I will never leave you. Be at peace. There is nothing to fear.’ And not only that, but did I mention that God in the flesh still bears the wounds of death!? Jesus Christ’s actual body rises again, not just a soul or spirit, but his literal body - with holes where the nails had been and a gash in his side where they pierced him with a sword. In this way the disciples knew, and WE know, that this one who has been risen IS in fact the SAME one who was murdered and descended into the dead. Christ doesn’t try to hide his wounds in shame, but invites the disciples to see them and believe. Believe that by those wounds they are healed.

But Thomas, poor Thomas was not there that day to see Christ. Thomas gets a bad rep and is made famous by his doubts. But aren’t our doubts just as natural as our fears? Aren’t we giving Thomas too much of a hard time? The other disciples didn’t have time to express their doubts, Christ offered up his wounds, proudly displaying them for all to see and believe. Perhaps Jesus just spoke before they had the chance to, otherwise they too would have asked to see, just like Thomas. And when Christ does appear in front of Thomas, he does not chastise him for his doubts. He offers up his wounds all the same. ‘See. Feel. Just as the others did. I am your Lord, God. Be at peace. There is nothing to fear.’

Too often I hear that doubting is a bad thing, that questioning and thinking critically about faith is wrong or sinful, yet Christ seems to know how natural it is, not only for Thomas, but for all people and beats us to the punch, willfully revealing who he is in our midst. We may not like to have doubts, they may be uncomfortable or get out of hand at times, but we are born with doubt as an innate part of our being and I think God did that on purpose. Galileo even said that doubt is the father of discovery and I couldn’t agree with him more. For it is in doubting something that we come to actively pursue it.. to dive deep into it, question it, examine it, draw conclusions about it and share our findings. Great things have come from humanities ability to doubt.

Jesus himself doubted the status quo of his day. He doubted it was God’s will that prostitutes should be stoned to death, that healings couldn’t happen on the Sabbath, that Jews couldn’t socialize with Samaritans, that sinners couldn’t join religious leaders for dinner, that masters couldn’t wash their servants’ feet.

And our denomination’s name-sake, Martin Luther - He doubted that you could actually buy your way or your loved one’s way into heaven.

Or Martin Luther King Jr. - He doubted that God made white bodies superior to black and brown bodies.

By doubting all of these things, questioning them, pushing back on them, and standing up for their findings, our world is a better place today. A more united and compassionate place. Far from perfect.. but making progress.

Not to mention the people we read about in the Bible. I think sometimes we forget just how real the Bible is.. we fool ourselves into thinking it’s all picture perfect and holy in a way we could never be.. but actually the Bible is just story after story of imperfect humans doubting and struggling and wrestling with God. They didn’t always do the right thing. They didn’t always have perfect faith. But what they did have was life with God.

Abraham and Sarah doubted they would ever have a child, doubted Sarah’s 90 year old body could bear a son. They laugh so hard at the prospect that once they do have that son they name him Isaac, which means laughter!

Then there is Jacob, whom we are told literally spends an entire night wrestling with a figure who seems to be the Lord. When the sun comes up Jacob is rewarded for this wrestling by being renamed ‘Israel’ which means ‘one who has striven with God.’

Moses constantly doubts himself, King David was far from perfect, Job wants to put God on trial, Ecclesiastes chimes ‘Vanity of vanities! It’s all vanity!,’ the Psalmist cries out ‘My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me! How long, O Lord will you hide your face from me!?’ Jesus himself cries out in the garden ‘Father let this cup pass from me!’ and again on the cross he cries with his ancestors ‘My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me!’

Today, let us not be so hard on ‘Doubting’ Thomas or ourselves. Let us lean into our natural ability to doubt. Let us find peace in the Bible, the cradle of Christ, knowing that we are not alone and that we too are just a people sharing life with God, the Creator, who was and is and is to come.

Let us doubt. Let us dive head first into the vast ocean that is our God, much too vast for us to ever fully comprehend or fathom. Let us explore as much as we can, finding new things everywhere we look; dark corners, breathtaking views, life-threatening creatures, friendly curious creatures, a vast array of beautiful life. May we never tire of the mystery. May we never put our faith to rest, but actively pursue it for the rest of our lives. May we find ourselves surrounded and embraced by the presence of Christ who shows up, shows us his wounds, and grants us peace.

Right now we too are locked up in our homes full of fear.

Take heart.

Your Lord, God comes to you, unstopped by locked doors, and breaths the Spirit of life into your lungs. Christ has dead.

Christ has risen.

Christ is the very air you breathe and the very blood in your veins and Christ will come again.

This is the promise of our Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Alleluia!