John 20:19-29
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
In the evening of the same day that Mary Magdalene had found the open and empty tomb, the disciples were huddled together in a locked house, afraid they too were being hunted and not at all sure what to believe about that empty tomb, when suddenly Jesus stood there in their midst. He blessed them and showed them his wounds and bestowed on them the gift of the Holy Spirit so they could go out and continue his work.
But Thomas was not there with them at the time, and when he returned they all rushed to tell him what had happened, but he then made the one statement we always remember about Thomas: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Ever since then, we have all been pretty “judge-y” about poor Thomas, suggesting that he was wrong to question what they were saying and that we, of course, would never have had a single doubt.
Every generation since those first original disciples has faced the same issue: We weren't there, we didn’t see it ourselves, all we have to go on is what other people say — and so, like Thomas, we have to decide: what do we truly believe?
We want to believe it’s all true. Most days we can claim that we believe, and yet, there is often a small lingering doubt. Just that little bit of fear that we might be believing something that isn’t so. William Sloane Coffin, a great preacher and teacher (whom I was lucky enough to work with briefly, when I was in seminary) once said: "As I see it, the primary religious task these days is to try to think straight....You can't think straight with a heart full of fear, for fear seeks safety, not truth."
And so, those of us who call ourselves believers, tend (if we’re honest) to bounce around a bit. Some days we believe. Some days we doubt. Some days the fear wins out and we hesitate to trust. Most days we choose to believe in spite of our doubt. And this, of course, is the very definition of “FAITH.” Faith is not knowing something as a fact. The dictionary definition of faith is: firm belief in something for which there is no proof.
We believe because we trust those who have told us the stories, and because our own lived experience of God in our lives gives us reason to trust, and trusting, to believe. So, like Thomas, having known Jesus in our own lives and our own experience, we can truthfully say — “My Lord and my God!”
But Thomas was not there with them at the time, and when he returned they all rushed to tell him what had happened, but he then made the one statement we always remember about Thomas: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Ever since then, we have all been pretty “judge-y” about poor Thomas, suggesting that he was wrong to question what they were saying and that we, of course, would never have had a single doubt.
Every generation since those first original disciples has faced the same issue: We weren't there, we didn’t see it ourselves, all we have to go on is what other people say — and so, like Thomas, we have to decide: what do we truly believe?
We want to believe it’s all true. Most days we can claim that we believe, and yet, there is often a small lingering doubt. Just that little bit of fear that we might be believing something that isn’t so. William Sloane Coffin, a great preacher and teacher (whom I was lucky enough to work with briefly, when I was in seminary) once said: "As I see it, the primary religious task these days is to try to think straight....You can't think straight with a heart full of fear, for fear seeks safety, not truth."
And so, those of us who call ourselves believers, tend (if we’re honest) to bounce around a bit. Some days we believe. Some days we doubt. Some days the fear wins out and we hesitate to trust. Most days we choose to believe in spite of our doubt. And this, of course, is the very definition of “FAITH.” Faith is not knowing something as a fact. The dictionary definition of faith is: firm belief in something for which there is no proof.
We believe because we trust those who have told us the stories, and because our own lived experience of God in our lives gives us reason to trust, and trusting, to believe. So, like Thomas, having known Jesus in our own lives and our own experience, we can truthfully say — “My Lord and my God!”
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