Easter 2 - Faithful Thomas

Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church, Reston Virginia
Easter 2C (RCL); April 11, 2010
Leslie C. Ferguson, Seminarian
Psalm 111; Acts 5:27-32; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20:19-31

What a busy time the last 2 weeks have been, especially here at church. This season is a special time in the Episcopal Church – between Palm Sunday and today the church has had liturgies and lectionary entries for 16 distinct services, celebrations, and commemorations. During these two weeks we’ve experienced every imaginable human emotion; triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, bitter rejection on Maundy Thursday, immense sadness on Good Friday, bleak abandonment on Holy Saturday, joyous celebration of the resurrection on Easter, and a little fear the week after Jesus’ crucifixion. Yet in the week between Easter and today all the Disciples and others close to Jesus have met Jesus “in the flesh” with the possible exception of Thomas who meets the resurrected Jesus today. Ironically, by all accounts almost everyone did not initially recognize Jesus after his resurrection.

It is our human nature to want explicit proof and factual presentations. We hear it in our mottos like “the proof is in the pudding;” “100% satisfaction guaranteed or your money back;” and “30-day risk-free trial.” From my perspective, the need for explicit proof was no clearer than in my 22 year career in the Navy. From the outset I was encouraged to test everything for veracity – “the information is not real or true unless you can see it, touch it, taste it, and feel it.” The other mantra instilled in me, and something I passed on to those who followed me, was don’t do anything wholly new, if you found something that worked in the past (either your own efforts or the efforts of someone else) don’t change lest you fail in your endeavor.

Changing how you do things presents risks and takes confidence. Today’s gospel presents a contrast of risk and confidence in the face of change. We hear,

25 So the other disciples told him [Thomas], ‘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.’ 26 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.’ 27 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.’
John 19:25-27 (NRSV)

It is easy from the last portion of this passage to figure out why Thomas gets hung with the “Doubting Thomas” moniker – Jesus tells him to “not doubt but (only) believe.” Surely, there is a good reason to call Thomas doubting, Jesus did – right? Personally, I don’t like calling Thomas doubting; let’s face it, he’s looking for information at a time when the world as he knows it is spinning out of control; his Jewish sensibilities have been crushed and the one that he has come to love in the past 3 years is gone. Lots of reasons to question life and the way the world works.

Thankfully I’m not alone in my questioning of equating Thomas with a doubter. The writers of our gospel didn’t choose to imply that Thomas doubted Jesus’ resurrection. Scholars claim that Thomas was more skeptical than doubting and they point out that the scriptures convey Thomas’ desire to believe but that his reasoning about life and death was stretched to the point that it didn’t make rational sense anymore. The scholars also intimate that Thomas uses language that belied a distinct and long standing Jewish perception of life after death and the resurrection. As a faithful Jew, Thomas’ belief about death was being called into question by Jesus. It can be said that Thomas knew what a recently dead person looked like since he had seen Lazarus – so he was qualified to verify Jesus’ death and resurrection and make sure it wasn’t just an image like a ghost.

Thomas wanted to believe but found it hard to bring about the change of faith. His faith and all he held sacred was shattered and rattled by Jesus’ resurrection. In my opinion, Thomas was no different than any of the other Disciples – he needed to see Jesus with his own eyes. Thomas may have been colored by the reports that the other disciples didn’t recognize Jesus at first even though they felt they should have recognized him. Things didn’t work like they always had – the rules had changed. He wasn’t prepared to call his impression of a faithful life into question.

Yet we see a model of an appropriate reaction to a skeptic in this same passage. Jesus, the model of right practice and right action, sets a high bar for those who will follow him. How does Jesus do this? He models presence and perception in his interaction with Thomas. By our society’s rules it would be easy to dismiss Thomas – to send him away because he didn’t believe “correctly.” Jesus could break relationship with Thomas because Thomas hadn’t changed his perspective of what it meant to be the risen Son of God. I know I could be tempted to go there.

But this isn’t where Jesus went in his relationship with Thomas. Jesus came to Thomas in his questioning and skepticism; Jesus met Thomas where he was even though Jesus wanted him to be someplace else – a place of faith based on relationship not proof based on facts. Jesus met Thomas in the place where he was; not the place where others, especially us and the Disciples, thought he should be. In love, Jesus ministered to Thomas’ disbelief and transformed his skepticism into a commission – to become a bridge between the old ways of faith and the new way of belief in the risen Christ. Thomas was the bridge to the future world of God in Christ, one where Jesus was not physically present and the old ways had to be rethought and re-visioned.

It can be said that Thomas is more of an image than he is a person. Thomas was the image of the old ways; he was all that was good and proper in the Jewish faith centered on the covenant with יחוח. The “image Thomas” can be viewed as one that is stuck in its way, the tried and true practice that is fixed and steady (but maybe stagnate). Today we see Jesus as an image leading to a change in the way the world of faith worked; a change that wasn’t momentary but forever. As understated as this may sound; Jesus’ resurrection turned reality on its ear and upset the religious structure and society for eternity. The imagery of Thomas is one that marks a change; a change of perspective in our faith. Thomas shows us that we can either choose to be held and comforted in the old ways of our belief – in a place that is comfortable and secure but not moving forward; or we can move forward in a new way, looking for God’s direction and revelation; movement into a new place.

A poignant illustration of this type of journey can be found within 20 miles of St. Anne’s; a life-changing place for many people. I am talking about Virginia Seminary. In my class alone there are 47 people who have changed the outward trajectory of their life’s journey. They have “given up” their past security and dependability and moved to a new, life changing place. Many have given up steady employment and financial security to pursue their calling by God. They have chosen to attend Seminary with no surety about what is laying ahead on the road to God’s kingdom.

How does this illustration lead us as we reflect on Thomas? The message from today; we have a choice. We can live like the image of Thomas – wedded to a life of security and the old ways of doing things and believing. Or we can move forward into the new and often scary ways where God is calling us out of security. If we choose the latter we will be charged, like Thomas was, to carry the message of Christ forward and help others live into their understanding of the Holy Spirit in and around them. We will need to be open to a new life as an “Easter Person.”

Where is our challenge? Where is God challenging us – our personal lives and the life of St. Anne’s as a community of Easter People? We believe we hear God’s call to proclaim equality and fair treatment for all people, not just those who are in the majority; those who meet the old standard of “normal.” But we are called to meet others who don’t share our perception about God’s call to action; we are called to love the “other” and honor their position and perception of equality and fair treatment. We are called to mutual ministry – sharing our story and working in community.

Likewise, we are called to grow spiritually without losing sight of our heritage. St. Anne’s came into existence over 40 years ago as a church without walls. As we continue to move forward from this time we need to keep our eyes open to change without losing sight of the bedrock of our communal existence. By living authentically and in consonance with our past we will be able to work together and move forward with a sense of trust and belief that God is present and will provide for our needs – if we but strive to do God’s work – to remain a church without barriers to Christ.

Last, we need to be a loving congregation of searchers. We live out our perception of God’s call in community and are called, like Thomas and the Disciples, to remain in community as each of us searches for the “right fit” between our recognition of God’s plan and God’s actual plan. And that support is for all people in our midst; not just the ones who habitually need our support – Seminarians, Postulants, and Aspirants in our midst; our support is demanded for each other and for our clergy as they continue to form their lives after God’s call.

When the going gets rough we need to take comfort, like Thomas, that we will not be nor ever have been abandoned by God – even in our doubt. God will never cast us aside, even if we try to create God in our image of God or make “him” play by our rules. We are blessed to be able to love and care for those who have doubts and lapses of faith in their walk; we need to walk with them; we need to hold their hand when they are scared and deeply challenged by their perception of God.

As Easter people, in the spirit of Thomas, we are called to question our past in light of what we’ve been told about the present with an eye towards the future with God.