Second Sunday of Easter
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Readings: Exodus 14: 10-end and 15: 20-21; John 20: 19-end
This first Sunday after Easter has, as you probably know, become known as ‘Low Sunday’; a lesser festival than last week, but a continuing celebration of the resurrection, nevertheless. We heard the account of the Israelites’ escape from Egypt across the Red Sea, a great deliverance which faithful Jews still recall at their Passover meal.
And from the New Testament, the story of doubting Thomas. It starts on the evening of Easter Day, when Thomas is not with the other disciples, and continues a week later, when he is. I was looking at two reflections on that well-known story. One, from a more evangelical persuasion, rather castigated Thomas for his lack of faith in the risen Jesus, but nevertheless drew some positives from the encounter. The other reflection dealt, I felt, more honestly with where many people are today, and suggested that doubt need not be a negative thing.
The great poet laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, experienced great sorrow and bewilderment after the death of a close friend, which caused him to question what he believed, and to say ‘There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds.’
Like Thomas and Tennyson, I guess we all live in the shadow of the cross at various times in our life, when the light of the resurrection is hard to perceive. We all experience shattered dreams, lost hope, suffering, and pain. We all have questions about God, and about life, that we cannot answer. Doubts are inevitable.
Almost every believer – at one time or another – will experience doubts. The Bible is full of examples of good people amongst God’s people, who struggled with doubt. Sometimes they doubted God’s existence. Jesus, on the Cross, exclaimed ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’, and even if he was quoting a psalm, he was acknowledging the despair of the person who originally said that.
Some people may not exactly doubt God’s existence, but they have observed the state of the world and the things that go on, and wonder about God’s sense of justice, love or fairness, or of his involvement in the world at all.
As for Thomas, he followed Jesus for three years. He touched him; he talked to him; he heard Jesus preach with power. He saw him perform miracles. Yet when his friends tell him of the greatest miracle of all – of Jesus being raised from the dead and appearing to them in that very room – he will not believe it. What was the dynamic like amongst those disciples? Ten against one. These were his friends.
Thomas was adamant that unless he saw not just Jesus – but the mark of the nails, unless he could touch those wounds, he would not believe. Possibly what the others told him seemed too good to be true, and he was afraid that he would find this was just a dream. But there are some things in life so important that we just have to do them for ourselves, for our own verification; so important that the say-so of others isn’t sufficient.
When Thomas did see Jesus a week later, we don’t find any hint of reproach in the Lord’s attitude to him; just reassurance. “Put your finger here….reach out your hand and put it in my side……Do not doubt but believe.” We’re not told if Thomasdid reach out to touch Jesus, but we are told that he exclaimed ‘My Lord and my God.’ This is the boldest statement about Jesus, and the greatest personal testimony, that anybody in John’s gospel has made so far – so thank you, doubting Thomas, for that! The word ‘Lord’ in the Greek is much more than, say, ‘master’ or ‘sir.’ As the writer of psalm 73 says, when meditating on God: “Whom have I in heaven but you? There is nothing upon earth that I desire in comparison with you.”
So doubt can even have value. Faith refined through the fire of doubt comes out stronger, more mature; more honest, more real. After Job had questioned the goodness of God after all the misfortunes that befell him, the Lord appears to him in a whirlwind, and imparts a few home truths, which causes Job to admit, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”
The author of the second reflection I mentioned earlier entitled it ‘The Benefit of the Doubt.’ Clever that!
So what to take from this encounter between Jesus and Thomas that might help us in dealing with our doubts; our misgivings – about God, about life, about the resurrection? Two things stand out. Firstly, it seems significant that Thomas remained with the community of faith. Although he couldn’t believe what the others were telling him, he did not leave the group. Although he didn’t share their faith, he stayed with them for strength and encouragement.
When we are struggling with doubt and questions, that’s when we most need to connect with other believers. None of us can live out our faith alone – not in the good times, and certainly not in the bad times. I remember a member of the congregation at Portsmouth Cathedral explaining to the Dean that she felt hypocritical coming to church because she was having so many doubts, and just couldn’t work it all out. To which the Dean replied, “Which of us hasn’t?”
Notice that when the Creed is said, the Prayer Book begins “I believe in God…” whereas in the modern language service it’s “We believe in God…” Christianity is a religion of community. It’s a “we” faith, not a “me” faith. When we struggle with belief, the Church believes for us, and the community of faith can help us through. Fortunately, in the Church of England, you are not asked to sign a check-list of what you believe as you come through the door. That would be a very interesting exercise.
No; the Church is there for all comers. We can remain connected to the Christian community even if our doubts are never resolved. There are many people who may not hold much semblance of Christian faith, but who find great meaning in the relationships they find there. Three times in our passage today Jesus appears and says to the gathering “Peace be with you.” It’s a demonstration of how anxious Jesus is to be with us and of his favour towards us. The Peace of God which passeth all understanding…
Secondly; let us note how Thomas sought renewed faith. Although he struggled with doubt, he remained open to new evidence of God’s reality. He wanted to believe and looked for reasons to do so. We can do the same. That renewal might happen in church, or when we look beyond the ugliness of the world and observe its real beauty. It might come through love shown to us, or by being surprised that we can show love to someone else.
Jane Williams writes: “Anything that rejoices in the mysterious joyful life of the world will help us to start to celebrate the Easter truth. Rejoicing in life in all its variety and abundance will help prepare us to recognise God’s new risen life.”
Of course, it has to be said that we will never have absolute scientific proof of God. As somebody has said, that would be ‘math’, not faith. But, if we seek renewed faith, we will often find new expressions of God’s presence in our life.
Today, let us continue to wonder at the mystery of the resurrection; this Easter faith which the Church has proclaimed for two thousand years and sees no reason for giving up on. Thomas wanted to see the wounds on Jesus’ hands and feet; to verify perhaps, but also, maybe, to revere.
I leave you with that wonderful verse from the hymn “Crown him with many crowns”:
Crown him the Lord of love! Behold his hands and side;
Rich wounds yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky / can fully bear that sight;
But downward bends his burning eye / at mysteries so bright.