Believing Thomas
The Rev. George Yandell (This sermon is also available in audio) When
I was in seminary, fall of '77, I was taking a course on the gospel
of John
from Dr. Dick Reid. In the class was a student named John, from India.
He was a minister in the Mar-Toma Church, a sister church to the
Episcopal Church, a partner church in the Anglican Communion. Thomas
is the patron
saint of the Mar-Toma Church. (It bears his name.)
I
had never heard John speak—he was a slight man—but in this class, talking about the
Thomas passage in the gospel, John stood up to his full, bristling 5
feet four inches, and proclaimed loudly: "Let's get this one ting
straight—Thomas was NOT a Doubter." Then he sat down.
So
let's make an assumption—Thomas was not a
doubter. Rather, he was an ardent, strong-willed apostle.
He, no doubt, had heard from the disciples who were present
the Sunday before, Easter night--had heard that Jesus himself had
appeared
in the room where they had huddled in fear. He had heard what Jesus
did—he
had breathed on them, recalling the way Yahweh had breathed into
Adam's nostrils to animate him. And Thomas understood that
Jesus was breathing
into life a new Spirit-filled creation.
Thomas
knew that he had tried just as the other disciples had tried
to go out as
a "sent" one, an apostolein, to forgive sins,
and to tell the story of the resurrection. And had failed. He stumbled
against the
same problem each of us stumbles against—"If
only I could see Jesus now, and know for myself that he lives, then
I could be
a worthwhile
disciple."
Probably
others of the disciples—even those
who had seen Jesus the week before—had had the same difficulty;
they hadn't
been able to get through to the people around them the utter necessity
of repenting, turning to Christ, and living in the power of the resurrection. So, when they
were all gathered together again one week later, (the Sunday after Easter)
they were wondering about what Mary and Peter had told them, that they
had seen the Lord alive. When all of a sudden, Jesus stood among them
and said, "Shalom." And then, Jesus turned to Thomas, "Establish
it by putting your finger here that I am alive, have faith." And
without touching him, Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord & my God!" The
others witnessed it, and had their faith bolstered. Here
is the elegant, indulgent, risen Jesus; victorious and personally
available. He knew they needed continual contact. He knew them, had eaten countless
meals with them, had sat for hours wrestling out belief; Jesus knew what
each feared and what each could give to lead fearlessly. So his visit
indulged Thomas, but more importantly it showed them each that falling
short was okay; Jesus comes to each and puts wavering belief back in
balance. After all,
Jesus had died for them! He cared so intimately for them and all who
would come to know him through them that he would be with them always.
To me, that's the critical message of this Thomas Sunday. A message of
relationship. Jesus relates to every Thomas,
every Peter, every George, and accepts us. So the question of success
or failure
is moot—rather,
the question is, "Am I honoring Christ? Do I act in caring
response to others as Jesus has with me?"
I heard a
story from a colleague recently. It illustrates the way Jesus knows so
intimately our needs, unique to each of us alone. "A pastor
was invited to eat the evening meal with a family in his church. As he
stopped his car and walked up the sidewalk, he was met with two boys,
ages seven and five. The five-year-old was mentally slow. As they walked
to the house, their father drove up into the driveway. Both boys left
the preacher and ran to their daddy. On the way, the seven year old stopped
and picked up a flower to present to his father. The younger son did
not quite understand. He reached down, picked up a handful of dust and
rocks to give to his father. The dad picked each boy up and hugged him.
The preacher heard the father say, "Thank you for the flower. And
thank you for the rocks." As Jesus dealt
with Thomas's needs, so he deals with us all. And in our own experiences
we can come to say: "My Lord and my God!" We finally learn
what each disciple learned: to speak our faith in our own way, giving
our own account of the life beathed into us as new creatures of resurrection
power.
Now
it makes sense that Thomas was late on the scene to witness
the resurrection. Each of us comes to faith in her own
time, and relates to the risen Lord personally. Yet what affects
one of us affects us all—so
that my need can be an opportunity for another to learn his story more
fully.
And
finally what Thomas teaches me is this—all our stories are
God's story. Jesus is not reported to have left that room where the disciples
were. It simply states, "Now Jesus did many other signs among the
disciples which are not written in this book." Where else better
to find Jesus now, than among the disciples he has never left? Among
you and me, whose every gift he prizes because he knows us so intimately
he would die and rise again to receive us, embrace us and send us forth
to tell the world, "We have seen the Lord!" Amen.
Copyright
©2003 Calvary Episcopal Church This
homily was delivered at Calvary
Episcopal Church, Memphis,
Tennessee, on April 27, 2003, the Second Sunday
of Easter.
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