Thank God for Thomas
John 20:19-31
by Jim Westmoreland
Thank God for Thomas! The point of the narrative in our scripture reading is to affirm the resurrection and to encourage us who were not there to rely on the inner witness of Christ in us to affirm our faith in the resurrection. But often Thomas is hammered for his doubts and honest questions. The description "doubting Thomas" is used for anyone who does not accept something right away. As I read our text about Thomas' reaction to the news of Jesus' resurrection, I thought, "that could have been me!" I, too, might have struggled to believe. For Thomas, it didn't fit the world he knew. He had to ask his questions, and he wanted to touch the wounds to see for himself.
And so, this morning, as we affirm our faith in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our faith in God and His saving work in Jesus, and our faith in the reality and completeness of forgiveness, can we be a believer and still sometimes have doubts or struggle to believe and understand? Can we have doubts and still be people of faith?
Paul Tillich, a theologian and writer, insisted there was no faith without doubt. Frederick Buechner, a writer who later graduated from seminary, wrote, "Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don't have any doubts, you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving." Now, it has been a few years since I have personally experienced that uneasy feeling of ants in my pants, but I can remember the sensation very clearly, and I can attest that it will keep you awake and get you moving.
I want to speak this morning to those for whom faith is not always easy. Sometimes, we wrestle with questions or doubts, and we wish that life was as easy as wishing it so. Even child-like faith is not without its questions and challenges. I can't remember my age, but my heart fondly remembers my granddad calling me "question box" because of the endless questions I asked him. The subject was whatever we were doing or talking about. It didn't matter. I was curious. I was interested, and, as I look back, I was growing.
In my teen years is when I first began to feel any guilt about my questions. Maybe that is when I first heard of "doubting Thomas" and thought that maybe questions or doubts were always a bad thing. But, thankfully, along my journey, I came to see Thomas as the "patron saint" for those who journey to faith dealing with their questions and doubts along the way, rather than instantly arrive. Thank God for Thomas!
One thing I have discovered is that questions don't go away with age. Well, some do go away, but new questions come, and, some old ones reappear, at times. Dr. Timothy Johnson, the ABC News medical editor who has been giving his reports on Good Morning America, World News Tonight and 20/20 since 1975, has written a New York Times Bestseller, titled, Finding God in the Questions: A personal Journey. He writes:
"Passages between the seasons of life have a way of provoking questions to answers we take for granted because we've been living with them for so long. When change occurs, old questions often take on critical importance again.
For many people religion provides answers (or at least a sense of security) to the big questions of life. For others the absolute claims of religion raise more questions than they answer. I have lived on both sides - and in some senses I still do. My path of faith has wandered through both doubt and belief, often at the same time.
Doubt doesn't have to tear down belief, however; it can purify it. When it does, the beliefs on the other side become more certain. This is why I would like to affirm that it is possible to find God even while you are still asking the big questions."(1)
On any given Sunday, as I look out, I see some of us who are in middle school or high school, some in college, some in young adulthood, others with young families, some recent or soon-to-be empty nesters, some thinking about retirement, and some thinking about the health concerns that come as we get older.
At each of those passages and turning points in our lives we are faced with how we will deal with our questions and doubts. Are they questions that we must ask on our journey of faith? Or are they reactions and defenses that put up barriers around us by which we avoid others and keep God and the church away from us? None of us are immune to the turns and disappointments of life. We cannot control what happens to us. We can only control how we react to what happens to us. Will our questions draw us to God or erect barriers to keep God at arm's length?
I thank God for Thomas because his questions were part of his faith journey to draw closer to the Lord.
All the disciples started out locked in a room again, afraid. What were they afraid of? Perhaps, that everyone was still in a killing mood. Why stop with the leader, let's get his disciples too while we are at it. May that was it. They had already heard the news from Mary, that she had seen Jesus, risen from the dead. Maybe, they were afraid of running into Jesus, and the thought of seeing a dead man was more than they were ready for. They were locked in a room, and Jesus was suddenly there with them. What is a locked door to him when he defeated a rock-sealed tomb? And so, he appears to the disciples in spite of their cowardice and obstinacy.
"Fear blinds us, distracts us, and disorients us. This is clear in the story as well. "Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.'" But, because of their fright, they apparently did not even know him. First, "he showed them his hands and side." Only then did they recognize and, yes, rejoice. When they saw that this person was one who had truly suffered, then there was no mistaking who he was."(2)
It is easy for us to forget that Christ is revealed in suffering. It is often in our greatest pain and agony of spirit that we are drawn closest to Christ. But, not necessarily. We can run from it. We can throw up hostile questions which become the barriers to protect us from getting too close to the suffering Christ. There is a mystery and genuine spirituality to suffering that is not self-martyrdom or self-pity. We have sensed that and heard the news media talk about in recent days as Pope John Paul II dealt with his suffering before his death. Though Christ had risen, He came and showed the disciples his nail-scarred hands as He said, "Peace be with you."
Thomas was not there that day. Just as the disciples did not recognize Jesus until they saw the wounds in "his hands and his side," so Thomas will recognize Jesus through the marks of suffering. I am moved by how Thomas responds to Jesus. His confession is more moving and heartfelt to me than Peter's earlier confession that Jesus is the Christ. That was more of a conceptual statement. Thomas, who has been dealing with his own fear and doubt, says, "My Lord and My God." I thank God for Thomas.
Glenn E. Ludwig, Senior Pastor of First Lutheran Church in Ellicott City, Maryland, shares this story about struggling with honest doubt. He writes, "I heard a pastor tell a story about a miracle that happened in the life of a 15 year-old girl during a weekend retreat. Quiet, reserved, shy, brilliant and troubled: that's how he described her. All weekend her hollow, lifeless eyes searched for answers to gnawing questions that had eroded her life and spirit and made her appear dark and despondent. But something happened: Her eyes became more restless and alert. She was searching and she somehow knew she was close to something.
"The group had spent the weekend on the theme "Discovery" and had talked about discovery of self, others and of God. And as another 15 year-old shared the pain of her older sister's recent suicide, the dam broke and water, like baptism, washed a face that hadn't cried in a very long time.
"Later on that evening, the group did a Bible study around Luke 9 where Jesus asked his disciples: "Who do people say that I am?" And later in the chapter where Jesus lays out the conditions for discipleship: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." When the pastor asked the group what that sounded like - a commercial, a Sunday school lesson, a parent laying down another rule - the young girl with the tear-stained face responded: "It sounds like something worth giving my life to."
The pastor said, "I sat with Thomas that night in the form of a 15 year-old girl, and we shared some bread and wine in the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ."(3)
Thank God for Thomas! Do you see it? Out of the struggle with honest doubt, a faith can be reborn, and new life can begin. It happened for this girl. It happened for Thomas. It can happen for you. As Thomas journeys through doubt to belief, hear again his response to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" Let us journey together with our doubts and our questions, and let us bow down and worship the risen Lord, with the words of Thomas on our lips, "My Lord and my God!" It can happen! It can happen for you! Amen.
Century Christian Church, April 3, 2005 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
1. Dr. Timothy Johnson, Finding God in the Questions, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004, p. 15.
2. Arthur Paul Boers, "Can You Blame Thomas?" Biblical Preaching Journal, Spring 2005, p. 4.
3. Glenn E. Ludwig, Walking To, Walking With, Walking Through, Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing.