THE OTHER SIDE OF DOUBTING THOMAS
1 John 1:1-2:2, John 20:19-31
I don't know how many of you are fans of the TV program Lost, but it is the one show that Kara and I make sure we watch from week to week. About a month ago there was a specific scene that caught my attention. In the scene Ben, the enigmatic leader of the "others" was attempting to talk another character Jack, into returning to the mysterious Island from which Jack and five others had barely escaped just three years prior to their conversation. Ben was trying to convince Jack to believe that it was his destiny to return and that the mysterious Island had a plan for Jack and the other five. Jack should believe and not doubt this plan. The conversation took place in a Catholic church and it just so happened that a painting depicting the scene of Thomas standing before the risen Jesus hung on the wall next to them. Ben seizing the opportunity for an apt illustration, points to the picture and states that the disciple Thomas earlier in the Gospel had been willing to follow Jesus even if it meant Thomas' own death. But it was Thomas' doubt concerning Jesus resurrection that stuck. Therefore he forever was remembered as "doubting Thomas." The implied message Ben was communicating to Jack was "do you want to be remembered as a doubter too?"
I think Ben spelled out quite correctly the negative image of Thomas that has been traditionally taught. Many commentators and preachers have declared through the ages that we should not be like Thomas! We should have faith, we should believe and not doubt. Some commentators almost invent ways to disparage Thomas. One older commentary I read suggested that Thomas was an example of what happens when we miss church. Thomas was absent the previous week when the other disciples saw Jesus so one of the things we should take away from the Thomas story is the fact that we might miss out on something big if we fail to meet together each week. So I guess we should all commend one another for being here this morning the week after Easter.
While I believe there is a reading of this narrative that does paint Thomas in a negative light, I want to explore an alternative view of the text. One that I believe is at least equally valid as those that paint Thomas in a negative light, and probably the more accurate reading of Thomas' interaction with the resurrected Christ. First I want to look at the two sides of Thomas presented in John's gospel, the scene where he is ready to die with Jesus and then the scene of his doubt. From there, I want to suggest that the story of Thomas' faith journey is a lot like our own. And finally I want to reevaluate whether Thomas' doubt should be seen as negatively as it has been suggested historically.
So after hearing the Lost character Ben's claim in that TV show, I sought to find out if he was telling the truth about Thomas' earlier desire to follow Jesus even if it meant his own death. I got out my Bible and sure enough there it was in John chapter eleven. It is in the narrative of the death of Lazarus. Jesus, knowing that Lazarus has died, tells the disciples that they all should return to Judea. The disciple's response is one of worry as they reply to Jesus saying that those Judeans were just trying to stone you and now you want to go back there? In the scene all the disciples are very hesitant to return with Jesus except for Thomas who seems to convince the others. This section of the story concludes with chapter eleven verse sixteen where Thomas says, "Let us also go that we may die with him." Here Thomas is not the hesitant one, he is the only one of the disciples who is courageous and willing to charge ahead and follow Jesus even at the cost of his own life.
In our post resurrection passage we are presented with a second picture of Thomas. Thomas is presented as one who needs to see, and to touch Jesus in order to believe that Jesus has truly risen. Instead of being the one trying to convince the others to risk their lives and follow Jesus, Thomas is the hesitant one who needs convincing. He resists the arguments of his fellow disciples, he needs to see with his own eyes and touch with his own hands in order to believe. This Thomas has his doubts and he is willing to voice them.
This multi-faceted view of Thomas I believe presents us with a valuable paradigm for our own lives of faith. I know my own faith journeys look like this. One minute I am willing to risk it all, ready to charge ahead no matter the cost. If Jesus is calling me to go then I will go. Though it may cause pain or trouble, or even a few questioning looks from friends and neighbors I know that following Jesus is the right and good thing to do.
But at other times I find myself not so sure. The good news of Christ's resurrection can be a hard pill to swallow when the world seems to be full of darkness and despair. I'm inclined to say: You expect me to believe that God came to earth in the person of Jesus, died and then rose again that the world might be reconciled to God and we reconciled to one another?" Have you seen the nightly news? All the wars, the death and the kidnapping! I don't see it! Where is this reconciliation? Where is this resurrection hope? Where is this Jesus? I won't believe it, I can't believe it until I see him with my own eyes, and touch him with my own hands! Maybe you have shared these inner doubts along with Thomas and me.
While this paradigm is helpful, I think there is a problem with how these two positions are often viewed. It is too easy to see the Thomas that was willing to die with Christ as the good example and the Thomas who doubts as the weak or bad example. It is too easy to see these two positions as polar opposites of each other in Thomas and as we experience them in our own lives. When we think in this way we see our doubts about faith and our questioning of God as something to be hidden or ashamed of. But is this the accurate view? Is this the proposal of our scripture this morning?
I would like us to reevaluate this conclusion, and question the fact that Thomas' doubt and our own is really a weakness. While it is true that Jesus tells Thomas that "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." And on the surface this statement seems to be a jab at Thomas' doubt. However, I believe this is an oversimplification of the text that leads to its misreading. The words of Jesus are not meant to disparage Thomas and the other disciples for believing because they saw Jesus in his resurrected state. Quite the opposite, the entire text seems to indicate that without the resurrected Christ revealing himself to the disciples there would not be a proclamation to be passed along. Therefore, I believe that Jesus statement to Thomas is not to disparage him but to encourage those Christians who would believe in the apostle's proclamation by receiving the gift of faith.
So instead of seeing Thomas' doubt as a weakness I propose we view it as a strength. It would have been possible for Thomas just to go along with the other disciple's account of Jesus appearance. But, instead Thomas desires to see Jesus for himself. He wants to feel Jesus' presence with him. Thomas does not suppress his doubt but declares it to the gathered community and to God. This is an active doubting, a questioning that seeks an answer. If the other disciples had seen Jesus then Thomas wanted that same opportunity as well. Thomas tenacity in seeking Jesus for himself is laudable and understandable given the circumstances. Thomas' request could call to mind the very words of Jesus, "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Well Thomas was not afraid to knock on that door and wait for it to be opened.
And the fact is Jesus doesn't just open the door, he walks right through it. He enters into the room of Thomas' doubt with outstretched hands and a wounded side offering them for Thomas to see and touch. As Jesus stands before Thomas he calls on him to believe. Thomas response is one that recognizes the amazing gift that has just been given to him. He replies "My Lord and my God." This statement is the most powerful statement of Jesus identity in the entire Gospel of John. It echoes back to the prologue of John's gospel that in the beginning was the Word....and the Word dwelt among us. Thomas gets to see Jesus, to really see him with the eyes of faith. This powerful declaration of Jesus' identity is not uttered by one of the other disciples, not by Peter, nor the unnamed "beloved disciple" but by Thomas the so-called doubter. This recognition does not come because the other disciples convinced him that Jesus had risen. Nor does Thomas make a trip to the empty tomb. No, this declaration, this amazing declaration of faith from Doubting Thomas, comes in the only way it can ever come, the only way it can ever come for any of us, it comes as a gift from God. The God who has revealed God's self in the person of Jesus Christ.
So I propose instead of seeing Thomas' doubt as a negative we instead view it as a positive one, a seeking after God for answers. Not a model of what we should not be but a model of how we should share our doubts with each other and God. Instead of thinking of our times of doubt as negative times in our lives we should perceive them as opportunities to petition God and actively seek the presence of the risen Christ. We do this because we know that God is not offended by our questions and doubts and Jesus has encouraged us to bring all our requests and our doubts before him. And during those times when we feel our faith is strong, when we are willing to risk our own life to follow Jesus, when we are able to declare "my Lord and my God," may we realize that these moments are not of our own doing, but solely a gift granted to us by the God who hears our requests and reveals God's self to us in the glorious mystery of the resurrected Christ.
So as we come to this table today, as we remember the death of our Lord until he comes again. Let us come as we actually are. Let us come with all of our faith and all of our doubt. Let us passionately seek the presence of Christ in our midst, for he has promised to be present with all those who gather in his name. He has promised to present himself to us in this meal. So let us come, see and touch the body of our crucified and Risen Lord which is broken for and offered to each and every one of us. Amen.
April 19, 2009
Jason Rea
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