Loving God, just as Thomas sought to see the risen Jesus, so we seek you this day. May we, too, experience life in your name and the abundance of the Holy Spirit in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

It seems that Thomas has been given a bad rap. His name has become synonymous with doubting, as in, "Don't be such a doubting Thomas!" This has led people to believe that there is no place in the Christian faith for doubts or questions. You either believe it, or you don't. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

First of all, if somebody were to ask you what the opposite of faith is, how would you respond? How many of you would say that the opposite of faith is doubt? I think this is what we have been taught, but it's not true (at least not according to the gospel of John)! According to John, the opposite of faith is disobedience (Jn. 14). Those who believe in Jesus do as he has done. Those who love Jesus obey his commands. Those who do not believe do not obey the commands of Jesus.

Now, somebody might ask, well what about that verse that says, "Do not doubt but believe" (Jn. 20:27)? This is where it gets really interesting to be able to look at the Greek words that are used. As it turns out, there are a number of different Greek words that are used to mean "doubt," and not one of them are to be found in this verse (or anywhere in today's gospel, for that matter). In this case, the translation which comes closest to the Greek is "do not be faithless, but believing" (RSV, KJV). The words are apistos and pistos: Pistos is trust, or faith or certainty. Apistos is not having trust or faith or certainty.

So why has Thomas always been referred to as "doubting Thomas" instead of, perhaps, "confessing Thomas"? After all, Thomas is the only one whom we hear confessing, "My Lord and my God!" (Jn. 20:28). In fact, I would wish for every one of you to be able to have a faith strengthening experience like Thomas had.

A number of different authors have written over the years about the different stages of faith that people go through in the process of growing to maturity. For those who take their faith seriously, there is normally a period of time during which we ask lots of questions and search for answers and refuse to blindly accept what others have passed on to us. For most people, this time of searching lasts for at least a few years, and for those who are introduced to the faith as a child, this questioning often happens during adolescence and young adulthood. However, unlike what we seem to have been taught about Thomas, this time of searching and questioning is not a bad thing. It is simply a part of our growth into mature believers.

There is always a place in the Christian community for those who have doubts and questions. Keep in mind that Thomas did not stop meeting with the other disciples. In fact, it's quite likely that they were seeing each other every day during this time. And notice, too, that the others did not kick Thomas out of their group because he refused to believe them. The others had experienced the presence of the risen Jesus in a way in which Thomas had not. They had even received the Holy Spirit directly from Jesus. However, Thomas was not about to take their word for it. He wanted to see the risen Jesus for himself. After all, he had seen Jesus dead just like the others had. How could he possibly believe that Jesus was alive?

And so Thomas spends a week, meeting with the other disciples, worshipping with them, and refusing to believe them. And then, the Sunday after his resurrection, the risen Jesus appears once again, bringing peace, and inviting Thomas to touch his wounded hands and side. And Thomas, having now encountered the risen Jesus for himself, confesses "My Lord and my God!"

Thomas has come to the place of having a mature faith - an owned faith - a faith that he has made his own. He has come through a time of searching and questioning, and his faith is all the stronger for it. However, for our part, we are among those who are blessed because we have not seen and yet have come to believe (Jn. 20:29). We are among those who encounter the risen Jesus in ways other than physically seeing him and touching him.

For most people, such encounters happen through worship and through prayer and through the Scriptures. Such encounters happen in Word and Sacrament. For those of us who seek God and who test out the faith by living it, things happen along the way which strengthen us in our faith and show us that the power of the Holy Spirit is entirely real.

In my own case, it was a series of experiences in which I knew that I had received answers to prayer which served to solidify my faith. Even though I still had unanswered questions, I learned through experience that the gospel is true and that Jesus is living and active through the Holy Spirit. If we were to go around the sanctuary here today and hear different people's stories, there would be many different faith strengthening experiences that we would hear about. There is no "one size fits all" type of experience that everybody must go through in order to come to faith.

In fact, salvation is not based on what we have or have not experienced or even what we have or haven't seen. Rather, salvation has to do with how we respond to God's living Word - to Jesus, the Christ. Today's gospel is not only about how we come to believe in Jesus. It is also about what happens after we believe.

In this respect, there are at least two things that are mentioned. We believe, and through believing we have life in Jesus' name (Jn. 20:31). At the same time, we believe, we receive the Holy Spirit, and we are sent out to proclaim forgiveness and new life (Jn. 20:21-22). Of course, these things are very closely connected.

For one thing, having life in Jesus' name has a lot to do with receiving the Holy Spirit. One of the images that is used to describe the Holy Spirit in John's gospel is rivers of living water, flowing from the hearts of believers (Jn. 7:38). We also have the image of the branches growing out of the vine and bearing much fruit (Jn. 15). In each case, the source of life is Jesus, and that source produces in us fruit such as love and joy and generosity which flow out just like that living water.

The purpose of this fruit, of course, is in order to bear witness to others. After all, what better witness is there than to see people actually living Jesus' commandment to love one another as he has first loved us? What better witness is there than to see the fruits of the Spirit in evidence in all that we do?

At the same time, there is that interesting little verse about forgiving and retaining sins (Jn. 20:23). This rather scary image comes to mind of a priest or a pastor or an elder saying to people, "Okay. You and you - you can be forgiven. But as for you - no way!" Most commentators seem to agree, though, that this is not what today's gospel means. The thing is that, in the gospel of John, sin does not refer primarily to moral failings. Rather, sin is equated with being blind to what God has done for us in Christ.

And so, if I refuse to see God at work through Christ and reject the relationship with God that is offered me through Christ, then my sins are, in effect, retained. However, when I embrace the relationship with God through Christ that is offered to me, then my sins are forgiven. And not only are my sins forgiven, but I am given the Holy Spirit, and new life, and am sent out in order to share this life with others.

My prayer for you today is that, like Thomas, you would have those faith strengthening experiences in your life. My prayer for you is that, through believing, you would have life in Jesus' name. My prayer for you is that you would experience the power of the Holy Spirit working through you in order that you, too, might bear witness to others. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (Jn. 20:29). Amen.

Easter 2(C) John 20:19-31

April 15, 2007

St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore

? 2007 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved