I would like for you to think a minute about fear. All of us have fears of one kind or another. Some of us fear abandonment. Some of us fear illness or we fear having to be dependent on others. We often fear uncertainty. We want to be in control of the future, and the unknown events that lie ahead make us fearful.
After the crucifixion, the disciples were scared. You can understand that. They had seen Jesus killed. They were grieving his death, and they had to have a concern that they might be next. They went into hiding. The reading today tells us “the door was locked for fear.” They have been paralyzed by their fears. They are not doing the work of the Lord, and they have circled the wagons.
In the middle of this fear Jesus appears in their hiding place. He says, “Peace be with you.” Thomas wasn’t there.
All of us are inclined to respond to fear in different ways. Some people just naturally need to be with others to feel more secure. They look for a support network. Some people withdraw.
Thomas had fears and responded to them by removing himself from community. You may be thinking, “Well, that was what Thomas needed.” It might be what Thomas wanted, but I don’t think it was God’s will. I don’t think he was doing it for the Kingdom. I think he was doing it for himself and should have been committed enough to his brothers and sisters to be there for them, even if he did not feel like it.
I will point out that people who seek a support network may be just doing it for themselves too. It is what they need. The advantage of being in community is that perhaps you can get over your own needs and be there for someone else.
So Thomas missed the appearance of Jesus. He was not a witness to the risen Lord.
The other disciples found Thomas, and told him that they had seen Jesus. Thomas was famously skeptical, and so we call him Doubting Thomas. He doubted the word of the other disciples.
In our church, we follow a cycle of scripture readings called a lectionary. It’s a three-year cycle of readings. Most Gospel readings appear only once every three years, but this story appears every year. It is important enough we hear it annually, and we have to ask ourselves, if we are going to get a reading every year, why not a story about faith instead of doubt?
Perhaps this narrative is the Gospel reading every year to remind us that doubt is a part of faith. It is nice to know that we are not the first to struggle with fears.
The following week, Jesus appears to the disciples again. This time Thomas is with them. Jesus does not tell Thomas he is a bad disciple. Jesus gives him what he needs. Thomas said that he needed to see Jesus in the flesh and Jesus provided exactly that.
Thomas responds with a great confession of faith––“My Lord and my God!”
Compare him to the the Pharisees. They saw Jesus work miracles, but refused to accept what they had seen. Thomas is honest in his doubt, and he was willing to accept evidence.
Jesus at this point gives us the “extra” beatitude. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” These blessings are ours. All we have to do is believe.
And then the author of this Gospel says:
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.
In this Gospel, miracles are called signs. The miracles are like signposts pointing us to faith. This Gospel shows us these signs so that we can believe. He is giving us what we need.
During his life on earth, Jesus worked many signs. We didn’t get to see those signs, but we know about them through this Gospel. God has provided us signs as well. These are the signposts that point us to faith.
We have the complexity and beauty of nature. Oddly these signs lead some people to lack faith in God and have faith in science or human knowledge instead. It is not the case for me. I am constantly amazed by the discoveries and complexity of creation. The wonders of nature don’t prove God’s existence for anyone, but I understand them to be signposts, pointing us to faith. If we have our eyes and hearts open, we can find faith there.
We have the witness of other Christians. Not every Christian helps me to believe in Christ, but many do. I have known many Christians who have inspired me by their faith. I visit people in the hospital, and I have come away blessed by their faith. I have known Christians who didn’t have much, but who always had enough to share. I have known Christians who answered God’s call when it was not easy or convenient.
Those people are signposts pointing me to faith and helping me to believe. You know Christians like that too. Their faith is infectious. These people are gifts from God, helping us to believe.
Sometimes, God comes into our lives and plants a signpost just for us. I talked last week about hearing God’s voice and recognizing it over the noise in our lives. This is the kind of sign I am talking about here. We feel God’s hand nudging us.
I think all of us can think of times in our lives when God has saved us from ourselves. He has saved us from prayers that seemed like a good idea at the time. He gives us indications of his presence. We just have to be willing to see.
The question isn’t whether we will doubt. The question is whether we will have open or closed hearts. Either we are open to belief or determined not to believe.
So here are the takeaways today.
Jesus today blesses us because we have not been witnesses to the Resurrection and we believe.
We need to stay in community even if that is not what is feeding us. We may have an opportunity to be a witness to others.
We need to be a people with an open heart so that we can recognize the signs that we see and not dismiss them.
Finally the thing we need to hear so much that Jesus says it three times in today’s reading: “Peace be with you.”
I have said these words in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sermon preached by Fr. Tom at St. Thomas, Plymouth
April 28, 2018, The Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31