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April 8 2018 Psalm 133
Doubt: Prelude to faith John 20:19-31
By Rev. Dr. Janet Macgregor-Williams
West MilfordPresbyterian Church
Today’s story is all about honest doubt. I don’t know about you, but I will confess that there are times when I doubt, times when I question. But what we don’t realize is that doubting is a part of faith. The contemporary theologian, Paul Tillich said: “Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith.” In the same way that we ask questions to gain knowledge, doubt opens the door for belief. For when you doubt you are asking questions, but in order to ask questions, you must believe that there is something out there to question.
Mary Magdalene had come to the disciples and told them unbelievable tales of an empty tomb and even seeing the risen Christ. The frightened disciples were hiding out behind a locked door. No one could get in--the door was barricaded against the authorities (and their supporters) who feared the way the crowds loved Jesus. Those authorities had executed that troublesome prophet and teacher, and might want to come after his disciples, too. Not only were his followers bereft at the death of Jesus and perhaps at their own failure to stand with him to the end, but now this woman was making the most incredible claim that could reverse their sense of failure and inadequacy, their turmoil, their loss of hope. All might be made right after all; all might be healed. Could it really be true?
Suddenly there he was, in their midst. What were his first words? "Peace be with you." No fear. No scolding. No turmoil. No doubt. Peace. Christ breathed on them and gave them the Spirit. We get our first glimpse of what is to come with Pentecost. Easter tell us that we are recreated through Christ's resurrection...a current (continual) experience of new life in Christ available to all." Creation, resurrection, re-creation. God continues to speak, and to act.
The message of Easter isn’t over. It is good news that continues to act in the world. It is good news that death doesn’t have the final word, that the resurrection is more than an April fools day joke, it is a reality.
In the evening of the same day, the disciples see Jesus, in his body, wounds and all. But Thomas, who arrives afterward and misses everything, very reasonably says he won't believe until he sees for himself the mark of the nails on Jesus' hands (he sounds almost modern, requiring empirical evidence, doesn't he?). He even wants to put his own finger in the mark of the nails and to feel the reality of the resurrection for himself. Barbara Brown Taylor describes Thomas as "a brave and literal-minded maverick who could be counted on to do the right thing, but only after he had convinced himself that it was the right thing."
Perhaps we've been too judgmental of "Doubting Thomas." After all, the disciples have all seen Jesus and the marks on his hands and side. But once Thomas "sees" and even touches the wounds of Jesus, he believes, too. We have labeled him “Doubting Thomas” but maybe it should be “Seeing Thomas,” or even “Believing Thomas;” for once he saw, he believed.
If we are honest, at one time or another we have probably all had our doubts. But the question is do we also see and believe? The Church is the Body of Christ, we often say; if that is so, then it is the risen Jesus alive and at work in our world today. Resurrection isn't something that happened a long time ago, something that we simply commemorate each Easter. In our day-to-day lives as the church in ministry, we put our hands on the wounds of this broken world, but we also witness to the hope that sustains us: we will rise again, and everything is going to be all right in the end.
As we hear the story of Thomas, we are reminded that the resurrection isn’t just about seeing, it is about change, it is about transformation. Thomas saw and believed, his life was changed. The disciples went from cowering behind locked doors to sharing the good news. The most powerful argument for the risen Christ isn’t the empty tomb, it isn’t even the appearances of the risen Christ. The most powerful proof of the resurrection is the transformed lives of the disciples.
Whenever we're afraid and hiding out, all locked up, God comes to us in the midst of our fear and says, “Shalom,” "Peace be with you." Whatever doubts churn in our minds, whatever sins trouble our consciences, whatever pain and worry bind us up, whatever walls we have put up or doors we have locked securely, God comes to us and says, "Peace be with you." Whatever hunger and need we feel deep in our souls, God calls us to the table, feeds us well, and sends us out into the world to be justice and peace, salt and light, hope for the world. We can do it, if we keep our eyes open, our minds limber, and our hearts soft and willing to love. As God sent Jesus, God sends us, this day.
When author Madeleine L'Engle (author of “A Wrinkle in Time”) was asked,
"Do you believe in God without any doubts?" she replied, "I believe in God with all my doubts."
It is when we can be honest about our doubts and bring them to God, that we discover the risen Christ and our lives are transformed. Kahlil Gibran described faith as “a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.”
We often are afraid to admit our doubts, but doubts are not a bad thing. If Thomas had never expressed his doubt, he might never have come to believe in the resurrection. Thomas comes to faith because he first has the chance to voice his doubt and questions and then experiences Jesus for himself. In the same way, God welcomes our doubts and questions and transforms them into faith. The reality is that doubt is the prelude to faith.