No Doubt

Psalm 118:14-29 John 20:19-31

I don’t know about you, but I think Thomas gets a bad rap.  He gets the unforgettable label, but we know that he is not alone.  Not seeing, not believing.  Join the club, Thomas. We are more like you than not.

Lutheran preacher, David Lose,[1] explains to us that we don’t know Thomas as “the Twin” as John describes him. No, for us he is forever, “doubting Thomas.” But think about it: Thomas doesn’t ask for anything more than the other disciples have already received, except, well, he does want to touch him.  But so did Mary.  Sure, it’s easy for the other disciples to believe — they actually already saw Jesus.

But Thomas didn’t, and, given the emotional horror of the last week, who can blame him.  Last time he likely saw Jesus was on the cross.  Last time he heard about Jesus he was gone from the tomb. Where was Thomas when Jesus first appeared? John doesn’t tell us.  Thomas looks at the disciples and sees their refusal to confront the reality that Jesus is gone.  In other words, they, like many who lose someone they love, are in denial.   Thomas refuses to join them in their seemingly make-believe world.  Wouldn’t we?  We are more likely to side with the disciples.  The alternative hurts as I, and probably you, well know.

I hate grief.  It’s no wonder we often try to avoid it.  Yet, I know we must gut through it to heal.  Everyone.  All of us. Shock and denial come first and it was too soon for Thomas and the rest of the disciples to process anything.  It was only days after the earth went dark and Jesus uttered the cry, “Abba, Abba, why have you forsaken me?  It is still unreal.  The disciples expect to hear Jesus chiding them about their grumbling.  Like, you guys never seem to get it?  But, Thomas – Thomas who lives in the glass half-empty world can’t stand the pain.

In my thinking, he does not want to be a part of the disciples gathering when Jesus is not there.  This rings true, doesn’t it.  Especially when the matriarch or patriarch is gone.  We can’t bear to see that empty chair at the head of the table.  Let’s go do something else. We need to be distracted.  We need to get away.

Thomas was a realist.  Let’s not forget: in John chapter 11, it’s Thomas who recognizes that for Jesus to return to Judea is to face the threat of death, and it’s Thomas who urges the other disciples to go with Jesus, likely as a protection team. So while we don’t know where Thomas was when Jesus first appeared, we do know where he wasn’t — locked in the upper room for fear of the religious authorities with the other disciples.

After being offered by Jesus to touch his wounds, Thomas declines. Thomas finally addresses Jesus as, “My Lord and my God!” Strikingly, no one else assigns and credits divinity so directly to Jesus. Peter comes close, in Matthew 16:16, saying to Jesus, “You are the Messiah.”

Jesus, may not be talking to Thomas so much as to us, when he says

20:29 Jesus said to [Thomas], "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Who, after all, are those who no longer see Jesus – the world.  People like you and me who will believe even though we have not seen? It’s John’s readers — then and now — which means that Jesus is talking to — Jesus is blessing! — us.

It is not a coincidence that John offers his conclusion to the gospel immediately after this blessing by saying,

Jesus did many other things…not written in this book. These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and believing have life in his name.”

John turns his attention fully to us, he writes this gospel for us!  He invites, persuades, even cajoles us toward faith in Christ. But more than that, here, Jesus — through John’s gospel — blesses us, and so grounds us in faith. John informs us in the hope that we, like Thomas, will see and know that Jesus deserves our attention, loyalty, devotion, and acknowledgment.  That we, like Thomas, who longed for something he could see and feel. can say, “My Lord and my God.”

Jesus is talking to us, right now, right here, right where we sit.  Recall the blessings God has bestowed upon you.

When grief and sorrow, resentment even hatred, distance and apathy appear to block our way, our vision, our acceptance of Jesus – He is there.  Standing. Embracing. Loving us. Always and forever.  Most of the time, we know this to be true.  But it is especially true in our moments of doubt, uncertainty, and skepticism, when we don’t know it. Jesus is there.  Isn’t this the greatest blessing?  That Jesus is with us in our strength and our weakness, in our faith and in our doubt?  He brings us all together into his fold.

Jesus’ grace covers us all the time.  He does not leave us, even when we leave him.  This Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, who died and was raised for our sake and who, even now, is blessing us all. Telling us, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." "Receive the Holy Spirit.
Thanks be to God

[1]

David Lose Lutheran preacher working preacher 2010