Believe It or Not

Sermon for April 19, 2009 The 2nd Sunday of Eastertide Text:  John 20:19-31 Title:  "Believe It or Not" A.   Do you remember the old Ripley's Believe it or Not comic books and TV shows.  I used to love reading and watching that stuff!  Robert L. Ripley began his newspaper career in 1910 at the age of 16 as a sports cartoonist but later became a reporter of the odd and unusual.  Ripley traveled to the farthest corners of the globe, visiting over 200 countries, meeting with kings and queens, cannibal chieftains, tribesmen and natives all along the way. His extensive travels earned him the title "The Modern Day Marco Polo."   And his work is still popular.  Today there are "Ripley's Believe It or Not" museums in California; in Orlando, in Branson, Missouri, in Gatlinburg, TN, and even in Australia; Denmark, and Thailand.  I think I loved Ripley's stories because it gave me a chance for my world to be expanded and challenged.   I--and any reader, for that matter -- am forced in every instance to make a kind of faith decision -- do I really believe this or not?  Do we really believe that there is such a creature as the Fiji mermaid?  Do we really believe that there is a Chinese Shrunken Head the size of a lemon?  Or do we really believe in Wadlow the Giant who measured 8 feet, 11 inches tall?  One has to wonder.  Well, when the disciples came to Thomas with the fantastic news of a risen Savior, they said to him, in effect, 'Guess what -- Jesus is risen!  The Jesus who was crucified between two thieves is alive!  He has appeared to Mary and to all of us!'  Believe it, or Not!!  And Thomas' response is an emphatic, "Not!"  He thought it was an idle tale, on a par with the shrunken head the size of a lemon tale.  He needed more proof:  "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."  Now in spite of such unbelieving rhetoric, we need to rehabilitate the reputation of Thomas, in order to gain a fuller understanding of this passage.   Poor Thomas has had to walk the corridors of history known as "Doubting Thomas," admittedly a tough label to wear.  Never mind the fact that this so-called "Doubting" Thomas is credited by tradition as having carrying the gospel to India, where there still exists a religious order known as Christians of St. Thomas of India. Nor does it seem to matter that this same tradition has Thomas suffering martyrdom for the faith.  In short, history has given Thomas a bad rap.  His reputation as a skeptic is not only undeserved, but is also the result of a too casual reading of the text. Indeed, when we take a look at the way Scripture actually portrays Thomas, it can teach us something about true faith in Christ. B.   John begins to flesh out the personality of Thomas in an incident found in chapter 11.  Jesus tells the disciples that the time has come for them to go to Bethany to see their friends Mary and Martha, upon the death of their brother Lazarus.  The disciples can hardly believe what they are hearing!   Bethany was filled with Jewish religious hatred towards Jesus, and so to go to Bethany was nothing short of putting one's head into the mouth of an angry lion.  Thomas speaks up and, addressing himself to his fellow disciples, says, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."  This is a comment that shows faithfulness towards the Master on Thomas' part, but also a twinge of sarcasm.  Let's all go and die together!!  Still, Thomas is hardly the doubter in this passage; rather, he shows himself to be both courageous and down-to-earth in his outlook on reality. The next time we hear from Thomas is in John 14. Jesus is speaking somewhat cryptically about his departure to do some heavenly site preparation.  "In my Father's house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you."  Thomas admits that he, for one, doesn't have a clue about what Jesus is talking about. "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" This, in turn, leads Jesus to speak one of the most memorable passages in the New Testament: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." It took remarkable, self-assured honesty for Thomas to acknowledge that, for him, Jesus was not making any sense. The third scene in which Thomas plays a significant role is found in today's gospel text. The gang was all there (except for Judas and Thomas) – not just the original apostles minus two, but many other followers of Jesus as well, meeting in a house behind locked doors, cowering in "fear of the Jews."  The report they had heard from Mary Magdalene and the other women had been routinely dismissed as an "idle tale."  Their fear of the authorities was grounded in the belief they would be accused of pillaging the tomb and making off with Jesus' body.  John's primary motivation in noting the closed doors in the room is to make a point not so much about a fear of discovery by the authorities, but about the body of Jesus.  The doors being "closed," Jesus nevertheless appears before them in a marvelous Resurrected body.  And yet His body is still flesh.  He is solid and touchable, not like a ghost.  He eats a piece of fish and honeycomb.  Fear changed into joy for the disciples when Jesus appeared among them.   His first words to them were a standard Jewish greeting, but because He says it three times in thirteen verses, it is obviously more than just a greeting.  "Peace be with you!"  Jesus grants the disciples God's peace, a peace that results from having a faith-filled relationship with the Master.  In the face of persecution, these disciples could still have peace, because God was with them.  Jesus takes the initiative and shows them in his hands and side the undeniable markings of the Crucifixion.  Jesus then breathes on the disciples, an action that loses all meaning for the modern reader until we realize that in both Hebrew and Greek, the word for "breath" and the word for "Spirit" is the same word.  Jesus at that moment gave the disciples His Holy Spirit, signifying that they would be empowered by the Spirit, to know what to say and what to do in obedience to God's leading, even in the face of persecution.  The Spirit makes us into "a new creation," as Paul expresses it, of new life centered on God's Will for our lives and not our will for ourselves.  This is important for us to remember as well.  After seeing the Resurrected Jesus, after seeing the wounds of the Crucifixion and watching Him eat a piece of fish and some honeycomb, the disciples believed. Now lest we miss the significance of this, let me put it another way.  The incredulity of this group of disciples demanded proof no less than the disbelief of Thomas and what is more, it demanded the same kind of proof.  They doubted just as Thomas doubted and just as we would doubt if we were in their place.  History has given Thomas a bad rap – he needed the same proof from Jesus that the others needed.  Thomas insisted on reserving judgment until he could put his "finger in the mark of the nails."  But then, so did the others, in their own way. Not one of them had believed in the absence of some evidence.  All of them "did not understand the Scriptures, that Jesus must rise from the dead."  So a week later, when the disciples were again gathered behind closed doors, Jesus again appeared to them.  The meeting seems specifically convened by God to address Thomas' skepticism.  He invites Thomas to move from unbelief to belief.   And Thomas responds, "My Lord and my God."  Thomas' faith statement demonstrates a new and renewed life.  He was now the missionary who would preach the Gospel with vigor using his gifts of honesty, straightforwardness, and intellectual rigor for the advance of the Kingdom.  C.   So as we can see, calling Thomas "Doubting Thomas" really doesn't capture the depth of his faith experience.  Sure he doubted.  So do we.  But Thomas made it through His doubts, and used his God-given gifts to advance the Kingdom.  And the amazing thing is that God helped Thomas work through his doubts.  We can learn from Thomas that even though we may not know where our faith walk may lead us in this world, it is enough that our Lord makes the walk with us. And in those times when our faith needs the reinforcement of tangible reality, it is good to know that our Lord does not meet our doubts with chastisement, but with a manifestation of grace. And so there are a couple of points here that are helpful to we modern day disciples, even if we don't meet the risen Lord in bodily form, become stellar missionaries, and die like a martyr for the Kingdom.  1)      First of all, Thomas' encounter with Jesus teaches us that it is OK to doubt.  God is big enough to deal with it.  Notice that Jesus did everything He could to bring the disciples to faith.  And He went the extra mile for Thomas, because God had a place for this most imperfect, but struggling disciple.  Notice that at the beginning of the passage, the disciples had heard a report from the women that Jesus was alive.  But they didn't believe it, not really!  And what little faith they might have had did them no good; they were motivated to preach the Gospel or to care for the least, the last, and the lost.  They cowered behind locked doors, paralyzed into inaction by fear.  But Jesus understood that, and reached out to them at their point of need, to help them come to a life-transforming faith. One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters." Jesus was in effect saying to the disciples, 'Jump, I'll catch you!"  He acknowledged their doubt, and didn't scold them for it, but helped them work beyond it.  He appeared to them not once, but twice.  He showed them His hands and side.  He ate food.  He did everything humanly possible to quench the destructive flames of doubt, and to give them peace. And the Lord does the same for us.  Maybe we doubt because something has happened to cause doubt.  Maybe we've lost a loved one, in the process, harshly throwing those all-too-familiar words at Heaven, "Why, God, Why?!"  Maybe a loved one has betrayed us.  In this economy, maybe we've been laid off, or experienced a reduction in pay.  All of this can cause the embers of faith to grow dim.  But Jesus understands that.  And He reaches out to us in love, to prove to us that He is always as close as our very breathing.  He moves us beyond doubt, to understanding and peace.  It may take a long time.  But God's got eternity to work with! 2)      Secondly, and building on the first point, our faith becomes reality when we have a genuine encounter with the Lord.  We may not have all of our questions answered, but our fear can be removed.  Today, we encounter Jesus through His Spirit, which He gave to these first disciples shortly after His Resurrection.  Many times, our doubts lead us to faith, because we have to run up against the solid wall of disappointment and hurt before we dare to fully trust God.  It is an awfully hard lesson to learn, but very often faith must grow out of tragedy.  Tragedy, you see, interrupts the normal flow of life, and knocks us off balance.  We no longer depend only on ourselves because in the face of tragedy, our own resources may not be enough.  Not that God causes tragedy.  But God can create reality that is good out of tragedy.  God can renew our faith when we surrender fear, stop centered on our own resources to answer the problem, and truly turn to the Lord.  At such times, we learn that Jesus really does exist, and is present with us at all times.  He wants to bless us, and He will if we just allow Him to do so. The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us. So what about us?  Do we need a genuine encounter with the Lord?  Has life beaten us down to a mere shadow of our former selves?  Are we filled with doubts and pain?  Our Lord is risen.  He is risen indeed!  And He is there with us, just a prayer away, to remove doubt, to negate fear, and to put our feet back on the path of faith.  Amen. Keith Almond P.O. Box 4388 Leesburg, VA  20177 703-344-3569 almond_keith@yahoo.com