Loving God, you come among us in the midst of our doubts and fears, speaking words of peace and forgiveness.  As we gather together today, help us to know the depth of your love for us, as well as the power of your Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    When you think about Jesus’ disciple Thomas, how is he usually described? [doubting Thomas] Do you think that’s a fair description? [responses] Why or why not? [responses] Consider all of the other resurrection accounts that we find in the gospels.  In every case, when one or more of the disciples say, “We have seen Jesus.  He is alive.  He is risen!”, the response of the others is always the same:  They don’t believe it.  And so, Thomas isn’t any different from any of the other disciples.  Not one of them believes that Jesus is risen until they actually see him and eat with him and touch him and talk with him.

    Really, can we blame them?  Are Thomas and the others actually doubters, or are they simply realists?  After all, they all knew that Jesus had died.  At least some of them saw him being crucified and saw him breathe his last and watched as he was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb.  So, they didn’t doubt that Jesus was dead.  And really - how often is somebody raised from the dead? [not very...]

    And so, is it a bad thing to have doubts? [responses: yes, no, normal] Do any of you have doubts?  Are there things about Jesus that you find hard to believe, or things that are part of the Christian faith that you’re not too sure about? [responses] It seems to me that a lot of us have been taught that it’s a bad thing to have doubts and that somehow our faith isn’t strong enough if we have doubts along with it.  It seems to me that perhaps we’ve been missing what actually happens in today’s gospel and how Jesus responds to the disciples’ doubts and fears.

    When Jesus first appears to the disciples, they are full of fear.  They are gathered together in a house, and the doors are all locked for fear that the authorities might be coming for them next.  And then, when Jesus appears among them, they are probably afraid for different reasons.  Is he a ghost?  How could he be there?  Hadn’t they just seen him dead and buried?  And then there are those who ran away...  And then there’s Peter, who denied even knowing Jesus.  They are guilt-ridden and ashamed and afraid and maybe even think that they are losing their minds.

    And Jesus, knowing all this, comes speaking words of peace and forgiveness.  Each time, the first words out of his mouth are “peace be with you.”  Their frailties and failings are forgiven.  Jesus’ purpose is not to judge them but to give them peace.  And then, having received this peace and forgiveness from Jesus, they are sent out to go and share the good news.  They are also empowered by the Holy Spirit and given the authority to forgive sins in the name of Jesus.

    It seems as though it might be a nice, tidy ending right there.  However, Thomas is not with the others when Jesus comes, and simply cannot believe what the others are telling him.  And so Jesus, knowing that Thomas needs that same experience of being able to actually see him and touch him and talk with him, appears among them again the following Sunday.  Once again, his greeting is one of peace, and he goes straight to Thomas.

    Jesus comes back for Thomas.  He shows Thomas his hands and his side, and Thomas immediately responds with a confession of faith: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28).  That’s all that Thomas needed or wanted.  He simply needed the same experience as the other disciples had with the risen Jesus.  Now Thomas is ready to go out and share the good news along with the others.

    Yet, at the same time, Jesus knew that there would be many who would hear the disciples’ story and would not have the benefit of actually having seen Jesus after he had risen.  And so, Jesus announces God’s blessing on all those who will have doubts and on all those who will believe in spite of their doubts: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29).

    Today, as we gather together for worship, Jesus comes to us as well – not as a physical presence, but as a spiritual presence.  Jesus’ first words to us, as well, are words of peace and forgiveness.  The peace of Christ is announced to each person here during our worship, and, having confessed our guilt and our shame, God’s forgiveness is also announced to us in the name of Jesus Christ and by his authority.

    At the same time, those first disciples were not the only ones to be sent out in the power of the Holy Spirit.  In fact, Jesus continues to pour out his Spirit on all those who believe in him.  The Spirit is poured out at baptism and at confirmation.  The Spirit is poured out on those who come in repentance and faith for healing.  The Spirit is poured out on all those who ask for it, and sometimes simply on those who are open to it.  The Spirit is there, ready to lead and to guide us.  “Will we allow it?” is really the only question.

    Finally, Jesus continues to bless us both in our faith and in our doubts.  In fact, Jesus lets us know that it is quite normal to have doubts, and that we don’t have to have everything all figured out before coming to church or before going out there and engaging in ministry and service.  In fact, sometimes we engage in service to others first and then come to see how God has been working through us.  Sometimes we begin teaching before we have everything figured out, and then suddenly realize that our faith has been strengthened, too.  Sometimes we dare to pray with somebody, not knowing how we will find the words, but willing to ask the Holy Spirit to speak through us – and then we discover that the Spirit actually does give us the words.

    I’d almost like to change the words to our last hymn this morning.  I believe it’s the second verse that says, “Now he sends us all out, strong in faith, free of doubt” (EvLW #535).  While I do believe that people who have been exercising and nurturing their faith do get to this point, we’re probably not all there - and that’s okay.  I also believe that perhaps Jesus would send us out “strong in faith, with our doubts.”  Either way, we are sent out in peace and in the power of the Holy Spirit, and may the good news also be made known through us.  Amen.

Easter 2(B)                                    John 20:19-31
April 15, 2012
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2012 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved