Loving God, you have created us in your image, redeemed us through Jesus Christ, and blessed us by your Spirit. Help us to continue to grow in our faith, even in the midst of our doubts, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In 1968, as Apollo 8 orbited the moon, astronauts Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and Jim Lovell read from Genesis chapter one: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (RSV). For them, it was a moment where science meets faith. As they were looking at planet Earth from space, they saw the beauty of the universe created by God. They had a “God’s eye view” of planet Earth. They saw Genesis in a whole new light.

Others over the years have had similar reactions as they have studied the marvel of the human body, or the intricacies of the plants and animals that we see around us. Many scientists have had their faith strengthened by the discoveries that they have made and the delicate balance which they have observed within this created world.

At the same time, others have decided that somehow faith and science are mutually exclusive. Some have decided that all of the days and years in the Bible are exactly like we count them today, and therefore all talk of life on this planet going back millions of years is rubbish. Others have decided that evolution makes eminent sense and therefore the Bible must be wrong. Still others debate the “big bang” theory, while others ask how the dinosaurs fit in. So how do we find the truth in all of this?

First of all, the one true God who is revealed to us in the Scriptures and also in the magnificence of creation is the Creator of the universe. This is part of our faith as Christians. However, this does not mean that we need to discount all theories and discoveries which scientists put forward. Could God have used a “big bang” of some sort in order to get the process of creation started? Certainly. Why not? Could God have used some evolutionary processes along the way? It’s entirely possible. Could God’s days have been many, many years long? Absolutely! To God there is no difference between a thousand years and a day. It’s kind of like the phrase “in the day,” which doesn’t always mean one 24 hour day (cf. Gen. 2:4).

Ultimately, the Bible’s primary concern is not to give a scientific description of the process of creation. Rather the Bible’s main concern is to introduce us to the God who loves us, and who saves us, and who created us in God’s own image. Actually, the amazing thing in the message of the Scriptures is not that God created the universe, but that God continues to care about us and to desire a relationship with us.

It is clear right from the start that God is all about relationships, as even creation is done in concert with the other members of the Trinity. Did you notice in the reading from Genesis that God is not an “I” but a “we” and an “us”? According to John chapter 1, Jesus, the Son of God was present at the time of creation (Jn. 1:1-4), and the Spirit was there according to Genesis, moving over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2). God the Father is the primary Creator, but the Son and the Spirit are involved in the process, too. Perhaps, in part, that is why there are so many different types of human beings – all created in the image of God!

“We’re many kinds of people with many kinds of faces, all colours and all ages, too, from all times and places” (Avery & Marsh, We are the church). Do you recognize those words from the song? “I am the church! You are the church! ...” All of those different types of human beings are brought together by Jesus into one church – one body – one family. All of us are created in the image of God. All of us have been redeemed through Jesus Christ. All of us have been given gifts for ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This brings us to the gospel for today, where the eleven disciples are gathered together with Jesus and they worship him. And as they worship, they doubt (Mt. 28:17). And yet, all of them are given the same commission and the same promise: Go... baptize and teach and make disciples... and “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20).

There is a lot that we can learn from those three simple words: “but some doubted.” In spite of their doubts, the Holy Spirit came upon those same disciples and did great things through them. We tend to forget that it is a perfectly normal part of faith to have doubts. I don’t know of any person of faith who never has any doubts. It should be a comfort to us that the disciples were still doubting even after they had spent many days with Jesus, both during his earthly life and after his resurrection.

Yet, it seems that today, many people use doubts as an excuse to not even try in the first place. I’ve had people tell me that they don’t attend worship because there are certain things in the Scriptures where they can’t quite work out all of the details in their mind. Well, since when do you have to have every detail all worked out in order to have faith? The same is true for those who might contemplate baptism or confirmation. If we all had to wait until every doubt was gone from our minds, then there would be very few members of the church!

To doubt is simply to be human, and God can use us anyways. In fact, it is often through stepping out in faith and engaging in ministry that we discover the amazing things that the Holy Spirit can do through us. On the other hand, when we allow our doubts to control everything and simply sit on the sidelines, our faith never grows any stronger.

Seeing as Indiana Jones is back on the big screen again, I can’t help but think of one scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It is an excellent illustration of stepping out in faith, as Indy is faced with a gaping chasm that seems to have no way across it. Of course he is being chased by the bad guys and has nowhere else to go. The clues that he has been following lead him to believe that he needs to just step out there – an apparently foolish move that seems certain to send him to his death. As he takes that first step, his foot lands on a bridge that is invisible until he throws some pebbles out onto it. Stepping out in faith is sometimes like that.

In recent days, I suspect that many might use earthquakes and cyclones as occasions for doubt and questioning. Yet, there are many different approaches to take to the same events. Some will say that it is a sign of the end times. Some will ask how God could do such a thing. Some will see it as a natural part of the cycle of life and death, as there are always powerful forces of nature at work. Some will see the humanly created death traps that are concrete buildings. Some will see it as a natural form of population control. Some will get angry at God. Some will see proof that there is no God.

My mother-in-law has seen many different tornadoes and storms in her life-time, having lived in various parts of the States. However, she doesn’t fear them. She says how she has seen tornadoes that will skip along, hit one house and miss the next one. She simply figures that if it lands right on you, then your time was up, and you’re in God’s hands either way. This is truly the perspective of faith.

As we worship, we will quite often have doubts at the same time. Yet, this does not stop God from giving us the Holy Spirit or from using us as the presence of Christ in this world. In fact, it is often as God works through us that we discover that the power of the Holy Spirit is real and that Jesus truly is with us at all times. “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). Amen.

The Holy Trinity(A)            Genesis 1:1-2:4a
May 18, 2008                      Matthew 28:16-20
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore

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