The Rev. Brenda Sol1
THE GREAT GRACE OF DOUBT
4/8/18 ~ St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Encinitas, CA
Easter 2(B): Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31
Good ol’ Thomas! Every year our joyous Easter celebration with all the glory of the resurrection, is followed by “Doubting Thomas”, raining on the festive parade as he stands there, insisting:“unless I see the marks…unless I put my hand in his side, I will NOT believe.”
While other Gospel readings are rotated in a three-year lectionary cycle, John’s account of Thomas and the other disciples encountering the risen Christ is assigned for us to read annually, on the first Sunday after Easter. It makes me wonder…why did our church leaders decide, over the centuries, that we need to hear this story every year?
Maybe because it isn’t always easy for us to really believe in the “new life” that is offered to us through Jesus.It’s only natural to want some proof of God’sexistence.So Thomas represents the doubter in all of us, demanding proof. He wants to see the woundsin Jesus’ side, because he isn’t about to settle for a second-hand account. But Thomas is not alone in his doubt, and neither are we.
In fact, Thomas follows in a long line of biblical characters who question. Sure, there are those whose faith is astounding—take the hemorrhaging woman, for example. Her faith is so strong, she doesn’t even plan to talk directly to Jesus. She knows and believes that she will be healed simply by touching his cloak.
There’s also the Centurion guard whose faith is so strong that he tells Jesus, “you don’t even need to make the trip to my house; I know you can heal my servant from here.” And Jesus does so. They are among the folks who Jesus affirms: “because you believe, you are healed.”
I think one of the most eloquent declarations of those who doubt, but are willing to override their reservations, in order to experience God’s grace, is made by the man who wants his son healed. Jesus says to him, “All things can be done for the one who believes,” and the guy cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”.
The great thing about these stories is that there is never any point at which Jesusgives up on those who don’t understand, or who doubt.Instead, the doubters are given multiple opportunities to move toward belief. Instead of reprimanding anyone, Jesus encourages them to dig deep and expand their faith. For instance, he says to the leader who thought his daughter had died, “Do not fear, only believe”. He says the same thing to Thomas: “Do not doubt, but believe.”
There’s another role Thomas plays in being the doubter—he represents the one in the community, who is willing to speak out, saying: “I’m not so sure about this.” In the case of the disciples, it’s obvious that these were tumultuous times—they are behind locked doors fearing for their lives. When the stakes are that high, it’s only natural to ask, “are we really sure about this?”
So Thomas gives voice to that which isn’t being spoken. And isn’t it true that most often when someone questions something in our own communities, there are usually at least a few people who are thinking: “thank goodness someone finally said something!”? And, then, because the “elephant under the rug” has been acknowledged, the community can move forward to the task at hand.
For instance, a number of years ago, in seminary,there was a paper coming due in a few weeks that our professor hasn’t said much about, so I raised my hand, and asked, “could you tell us more about the next paper?”. Now this was not a professor one questioned in this way. So as much as I neededthe information, I was also worried someone else was going to get exasperatedby my stirring up the professor with my questions. I was so relieved when my buddy, Don, leaned across the table and whispered, “what took you so long? You know we rely on you to ask these questions!” Turns out we all have necessary roles in community.
Today’s reading from Acts describes the ideals of living in community—sharing everything we have so that no one goes without. In the Psalm, we also heard about community—nations seeking new ways of being together, so that there’s a sense of unity. At St. Andrew’s we strive toward that unity, remembering that being unified, and sharing everything, does not mean that we always agree. In fact, struggling with our doubt, and raising the questions might just help us achieve unity.
We share our joys and our fears; our understandings and our confusion so that we can discern the best path for life-giving action. That’s what we are called to do in community. So at times, we have to be willing to be “countercultural”—to be the one who says, “I’m not so sure about that”—even when everyone one else around is saying, “sure; that’s fine.”
We have to be willing to say, “No. I don’t think it’s fine that this policy seems to treat you and me fairly, but essentially forces our neighbor down the street out of her house.” We have examples in history of people who were willing to voice their doubt. For instance, there’s a village in France (and forgive my pronunciation) called Le Chambon, that became a safe-haven for Jews escaping Nazi Germany. When so much of the world just seemed to look the other way, this little, primarily Protestant, farming community said, “that doesn’t seem quite right to us. We will not let these people be hunted down and killed.” Because of their doubt, thousands of lives were saved.
I’ll give you a much less dramatic example. When I was the membership and marketing director at The Rainier Club in Seattle—a club that had had the reputation of being an old, white man’s club back in the day—I was always the one saying, “I don’t think a picture of a bunch of white men reflects our commitment to diversity.” And either with a roll of an eye, or a joke, one of my co-workers would indicate, “not this again.” Yes…this again.
We have to be willing to voice our doubt so that our actions contribute to the “New Life” we have witnessed. That’s what Thomas does for the disciples. He names the doubt and in doing so, the whole group gets another opportunity to experience the risen Christ first-hand—they get to deepen their faith.
As it turns out, however, it isn’t “proof” that convinces Thomas that it’s Jesus. In fact, there’s no indication in the story that he actually puts his hands in Jesus’ wounds. Instead, Jesus demonstrates that he “knows” Thomas, and that seems to be all it takes.
Jesus obviously knows Thomas so well, that even though all the other disciples believe from the prior visit, Jesus returns, so that Thomas might also believe. In this way, Thomas is like Mary Magdalene at the tomb. She finally recognizes Jesus when he calls out her name—when she realizes he “knows” her.So Jesus says to Thomas, “Do not doubt, but believe," and Thomas answers, "My Lord and my God!” because he realizes this is Jesus…this is the one who “knows” him—who knows all of us.
It’s okay to doubt and question. In fact many spiritual leaders and scholars agree: doubt is healthy for our faith journey. The Lutheran theologian, Paul Tillich wrote: “Doubt is not the opposite of faith; doubt is one element of faith.” And, yet, it’s crucial that we keep our hearts and ears open so that when God calls out our name, we recognize the voice. That’s grace—being known by God is grace. The author of Acts calls it: “great grace”; “And great grace was upon them.”
As I mentioned, the other common thread in all of these stories is community. In almost all of the Gospel stories, those who are healed are asked to go tell their family or their community, about the healing so that others might believe also. As Mary Magdalene leaves the tomb, Jesus asks her to tell the other disciples that he has risen.
We carry on a rich tradition of sharing our faith, because we know in our hearts proof isn’t necessary for belief; grace is what we need. “Great grace was upon them;” and great grace is upon us. So we don’t say, “you’re only welcome in this church if you truly believe,” we say, “come and explore with us, so that we might all believe together, because as John says, it is “through believing that you may have life in his name”.
-AMEN
Collect of the Day:
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Acts 4:32-35
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Psalm 133
1
Oh, how good and pleasant it is, *
when brethren live together in unity!
2
It is like fine oil upon the head *
that runs down upon the beard,
3
Upon the beard of Aaron, *
and runs down upon the collar of his robe.
4
It is like the dew of Hermon *
that falls upon the hills of Zion.
5
For there the LORD has ordained the blessing: *
life for evermore.
1 John 1:1-2:2
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.