This is "Doubting Thomas" Sunday. Not a great distinctive title for poor ole Thomas to be known by, but it is a distinction; for there are no other feasts except Christmas, Easter and Pentecost that come around unfailingly every year except the feast of "Doubting Thomas."
Why is Thomas given such a dubious distinction? And after the greatest feast in the Christian calendar, the resurrection of Jesus? Well, I guess that answers it: It takes faith to believe that a man can rise from the dead. And Thomas seems to have been a little lacking in faith. But to his credit, and our advantage, Thomas ends up by making the most powerful profession of faith ever.
Was Thomas a wimp? No. You may remember when Jesus and his disciples were a two-day's journey away from Lazarus' house, and word was brought to Jesus that Lazarus was dead. As Jesus showed he was going to Lazarus, some apostles said, "But, Lord, just recently in that area they were looking to kill you." Thomas jumps in and says, "Let us go and die with him" (Jn 11: 16). No wimp there.
And at the Last Supper, when Jesus told his apostles he had to go away, but they would soon follow because they knew the way, Thomas, always practical, said: "But Lord, we don't know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Thanks to this question from hard-headed Thomas, Jesus utters those beautiful words: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life"(Jn. 14: 1-7).
No, Thomas was "straight-on." He had thrown in his lot with Jesus. And such a character, when he thinks he has been disappointed, will grieve by himself, work it out on his own. That's why Thomas wasn't at that first meeting with his brothers in the Upper Room when Jesus came. And hearing Jesus had come, Thomas remained stubborn: "I won't believe unless. ." His demand for tactile proof melted into nothing when Jesus appeared to Thomas and the eleven the following week, offered his wounds to Thomas, and said, "Touch and see. ."
Thomas needed no touching. He came out with the most powerful profession of faith till then uttered: "My Lord and my God."
With Thomas, we have found that we cannot make a wall to keep out pain. Our only security is other people. God has given us community, church, as his very own body. Paul speaks well of church as the Body of Christ. Only abiding in that Body do we find safety. So Paul says, ".not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).
Forgiveness is the crux of the Thomas story. In appearing to the Twelve, Jesus said "Peace" and then breathed on them all. This breath goes back to Genesis when God breathed life into Adam and Eve. Forgiveness is new life. It is the breath of the Holy Spirit breathing into us, through us, into others, bringing them alive.
"As the Father has sent me, so I send you," Jesus said (John 20:21). How had the Father sent Jesus? On a mission of forgiveness. How are we sent, then? On a mission of forgiveness. Our ministry is to preach forgiveness to all. As Paul says in the second reading, "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see every thing has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled himself to us through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation . so we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5: 17-20).
Now, we could leave this story in the past and say, "Oh, yes, that is what the early disciples were called to do, that's really hard work; now let's get on with things." People, we are Christ's disciples today. We are the ones that Jesus talks about in verse 29; "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
We are Christ's disciples today, and Jesus Christ commissions us to ministries of forgiveness for ourselves, our neighbors, our families, our communities, our nation and our world.
It's very difficult wok, and it is only by the hot holy breath of God that we are enabled to move forward. Because God first loved and forgave us, we are empowered to love and forgive others.
Forgiveness: it's difficult.
- Charlie Brown is trying to help Snoopy sort out a situation with Woodstock. Snoopy has retreated to lying on top of his doghouse, trying to avoid the whole situation. Charlie says to him, "I have a suggestion." Snoopy responds, "Doesn't everyone?" Charlie suggests, "Why don't you try to find out what it was that you broke at Woodstock's party? Maybe that would be the first step toward your reconciliation." Snoopy thinks for a moment, and then responds, "I always trip on that first step."
- Corrie ten Boom told a pastor about not being able to forgive a wrong that had been done to her. She had forgiven the person, but she kept rehashing the incident over and over again, and couldn't sleep. She cried out to God for help. The pastor said to her, "Up in the church tower is a bell which is rung by pulling on a rope. But you know what? After the bell ringer lets go of the rope, the bell keeps on swinging. First, 'ding,' then 'dong.' Slower and slower until there's a final dong and it stops. I believe the same thing is true of forgiveness. When we forgive, we take our hand off the rope. But if we've been tugging at our grievances for a long time, we mustn't be surprised if the old angry thoughts keep coming for a while. They're just the ding-dongs of the old bell slowing down."
How does this apply to Thomas? In a real sense, Thomas was not able to forgive. He was not able to forgive Jesus? Doesn't that sound blasphemous? How can it be? As we said, Thomas was practical, hardheaded; when he gave himself, he gave his all. He had hoped Jesus would conquer his enemies. When he saw Jesus dying on the cross, Thomas was crushed.
So were the other apostles, you say. Yes, but for Thomas it was bad enough to have been made mock of by a Savior who did not come through with promises of eternal life. But to be told by his fellow apostles, after the resurrection, that Jesus had arisen. That was too much. Why had Jesus not appeared to him, Thomas? Of course, Thomas forgot that that was his fault for not remaining with the Twelve in the Upper Room.
So when Jesus finally appeared to the apostles and Thomas, Thomas, we might say, was burning. How could Jesus have made such a fool of him not only to have allowed himself to die on a cross, but to have let Thomas to be held up to ridicule by his fellow apostles? Thomas was hurt. But at Jesus' word "Peace," and at the gently open request of Jesus "Come, see, touch, feel ." Thomas melted with forgiveness and love and faith.
Jesus uses touch very much; and touch is so important, especially when forgiveness is needed..
Jesus invited Thomas to believe by touching him. In the United States, touching is not a common means of relating to one another. American parents touch their children only about two times per hour on average. In contrast, French parents touch their children about six times per hour.
Although for some reason Thomas wasn't in "church" on Easter evening, Jesus still sought him out to give him an opportunity to believe. Does the church today likewise seek out those who have been on the outside?
- In The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George G. Hunter III tells about a time when he was staying in a town where he was scheduled to present an evangelism seminar at a church the following day. Since he had some extra time that evening, he decided to walk down the street from where he was staying to the laundromat and do some laundry. While he was at the laundromat, he struck up a conversation with the eight other people who were there. It turned out that seven of the people did not currently have a church affiliation. Six said they had never been involved with a church. Five, however, said that they would be interested in a church if there were a church that was interested in them. So Hunter wrote down their names and addresses. The next day, when he went to the church where he was giving his evangelism presentation, he presented the list of names to the church leaders who had assembled there. But the leaders' immediate response was, "Oh, the people who frequent that laundromat aren't very nice." [2]
Jesus has risen. He calls us to carry out his ministry of forgiveness, the one he received from the Father, the one he hands on to us as he breathes on us, whispers "Peace," and says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
[1] Ann Hinz, "Hot, holy breath of God," Lectionary Homiletics 12 (5): 30,
(Lectionary Homiletics, Inc., 13540 East Boundary Road, Building 2, Suite
105, Midlothian, VA 23112), April 2001.
[2] "Proof enough - illustrating text and theme," Lectionaid 9 (2): 25
(LectionAid, Inc., P.O. Box 19229, Boulder, CO 80308-2229. J. Nichols Adams,
publisher) March, May 2001.
(Comments to Jerry at padre@tri-lakes.net. Jerry's book, Stories For All Seasons, is available at a discount through the Homiletic Resource Center.)