Called to Confidence

On April 15, 2012, I preached at First Presbyterian, Lee's Summit, MO.  The sermon discussed our calling to be a people of confidence.  The reading for the day was John 20: 19-31.  Below is a video of that sermon and following are my manuscript notes (as always, close but not word for word).​

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I like to think of myself as a logical person.  When faced with a challenge I try not to rush to conclusions.  Instead, I examine the available information, discuss the situation with trusted friends and mentors, and make a decision only after careful consideration and discernment.  At least that’s the plan.  As often as not I find myself reacting based on partial information, assumption, and unfounded fears.  I can hardly imagine how I would react if I were in a situation where there was a real reason to be afraid - to truly fear for your life.

However, that is the situation we find the early disciples in.  They are meeting behind locked doors because they fear the religious leaders of the day.  We can only imagine the conversation that must be taking place - earlier in the day some of the group discovered that Jesus’ body was gone - and then angels appeared asking why they were weeping.  More than that, Jesus had revealed himself to Mary - causing her to return to the group proclaiming “I have seen the Lord.”

Even without the events to follow, this has been a day of wonder and confusion for those early disciples.  Less than two weeks prior their rabbi and leader had been worshiped as they entered Jerusalem.  They observed the passover feast together.  Things had been going so well!  Then arrest, condemnation, crucifixion, and death.  Now, the body is missing and some of the group are claiming to have seen angels and the risen Lord.  The emotions in the room must have been at a fever pitch - fear, anger, confusion - and even a little hope.

Into this maelstrom steps the risen Christ.  Unlooked for and unexpected, he arrives in their midst - and he greets them “Peace be with you.”  At this point John does not say how the group reacts, but Luke is more clear - saying that many of the disciples thought it was a ghost.  It is only after being shown the scars and wounds on his hands and side that they rejoice.  After a charge to receive the Holy Spirit and to go into the world, Christ is gone.

Now we come to the interesting part of the story - our friend Thomas.  We don’t know why Thomas wasn’t with the rest of the group that night, but it must have been one heck of a “you should’a been here” moment when he came back.  Imagine yourself in his place, you come back from your errands and find out that everyone else has just had a visit from Jesus.  Some of the women are talking about seeing him at the tomb, most of the disciples are talking about how he appeared in the locked room, and all of them are telling you “We’ve seen him!  We’ve seen the Lord!”

I can only imagine that Thomas was confused, frustrated, and just a bit upset.  Maybe he was questioning why Jesus visited when he was gone.  Maybe he thought the rest of the group was suffering from what we today would call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  All we do know is that after being told that the Lord has returned he states he will not believe it until he has touched the wounds with his own hands.

Now, it would be easy at this point to cast Thomas as the fool in the story.  After all, for generations we have warned against being a “doubting Thomas” – the study notes in one bible even refer to Thomas as a “stubborn-headed skeptic of the worst kind.”  To be sure, Thomas is not without fault in this story; I’m sure that a compelling argument can (and probably should) be made about trusting in faith, but remember Thomas isn’t the only disciple who wanted to touch the scars!  When Jesus arrives in the locked room and says “hello” the first reaction of the group ISN’T joy, it’s fear!  It takes the touching of the wounds to ease the fears of the rest of the group, even with Jesus standing in front of them – yet it is Thomas walking into the scene a bit later that takes the blame for doubting the words of his friends.

Of course, it is easy for us to look at the incident with the benefit of the biblical record and two thousand years of hindsight and come to the conclusion that Thomas was making an obvious mistake – of COURSE he should have trusted the word of the other disciples, could he not see that Jesus was the Messiah and had just conquered death?

Surely, we – if given the opportunity to stand in that room – would not make the same mistake?  After all, we know that Christ is risen, so why would we doubt his presence?  If Christ stepped into our lives today, surely we would notice!

We judge Thomas for expressing his doubt by saying he wanted proof of the resurrection.  But where does that leave us?  What about your doubt, what about mine?  While it may not look or sound like Thomas, I think it may be just as powerful and maybe even more damaging.

See, the thing is I have gotten really good at sounding like I have no doubt.  After a decade of working at church camp, I can answer a lot of the standard “God questions” and those that I don’t have a ready answer for I am good at explaining why we just can’t know everything about God.  I can elaborate on the importance of the Apostle’s Creed, discuss the basic elements of Presbyterian History, and sing camp songs praising our Awesome God until those nice folks at IHOP finally ask us to leave.

However, beneath the surface the doubt waits.  For me, it appears not as doubt over God’s existence or even if Christ overcame death.  For me, it is the fear that I’m not good enough, worthy enough, of this amazing saving grace.  You see, I know what goes on inside my head.  I know I make mistakes, sometimes big ones.  I make comments that hurt people I care about, make decisions for personal gain, and I often ignore the needs of others.  To be quite simple, I know my long list of sins.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that I’m not the only one here today who suffers from doubt.  Of course, your doubt may take hold in a different way.  Maybe you doubt that you have the gifts necessary to serve, or that your friend or neighbor would respond positively if you invited them to church, maybe you even question if you are a “church” person at all.  For each of us it will look different.

But be sure, doubt infects our lives, often times without us even knowing it.  We make decisions based on our fear of the unknown, our desire for stability.  We want some assurance that we are not without help on this journey.

The good thing is we are not alone in our fear.  How many stories in scripture are centered on the desire of God’s people to feel safe and secure?  From Genesis to Revelation the story of God’s people is a story of doubt!  The Israelites doubt God in almost every story we read, Job gets in an argument with God, even Jesus’ own disciples are constantly wanting more explanation.  We, and Thomas, are in good company when it comes to wanting some reassurance.

Luckily for the Thomas, Christ is more than willing to step into the situation and ease his doubts.  A few short days after the initial encounter the group is again back in the locked room – this time with Thomas present.  Again, as before, Christ is suddenly among them wishing them peace.  With no further discussion Jesus turns to Thomas and shows him his hands and side – exactly the request Thomas had made just days prior.  In the words of John:

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.”

Jesus doesn’t ask Thomas for anything, he doesn’t require some sort of apology for not trusting the word of the other disciples, there is no strange ceremony to grant him forgiveness.  Jesus simply comes into the lives of his followers and says “believe.”  In usual form, Christ uses the moment to teach.  With some admonishment Jesus prepares Thomas and the rest of the disciples for what is to be a journey of faith:

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.” ... [T]hese 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.

That’s the powerful thing, isn’t it!  “Through believing you may have life” - what an amazing promise!  But how can we live out that promise, and even more so his command to “not doubt but believe” when our lives are full of uncertainty?

Let’s look back at a part of the story that often gets ignored.  When Jesus appears to the group the first time (while Thomas is out braving the streets of Jerusalem), after he showed them the scars he tells the disciples “as the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  And here’s the really important part - he breathes on them and says “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

What do we know about the Holy Spirit?  I spent a long time writing and re-writing this next section, and then I decided that maybe reinventing the wheel was not in our best interest this morning.  In “A Brief Statement of Faith” - one of the many confessions of the Presbyterian Church, it is put this way:

The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the Church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church.
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in Church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.

There’s a lot of amazing stuff in that bit of text and if I talked about all the great things we would be here for a while, so let’s take a look at a few key items with the side suggestion that if you haven’t read the Brief Statement of Faith in a while (or ever) consider checking it out.

As an English teacher I love looking at the action in a selection of text, so let’s do just that; what does the Spirit “do”:  The Spirit justifies us, sets us free, binds us together, rules our faith, engages us, claims us, feeds us, and calls us.  Finally, the Spirit gives us courage.

When Christ told his disciples to receive the Holy Spirit he was doing so much more than giving a simple commission.  He was giving them the strength and courage they needed to overcome their fears and doubts.  The amazing thing is that same Spirit who gave those first lonely and scared disciples strength to spread the message of Christ is the same Spirit who breaks into our lives today.

My friends, we are called to be a people of confidence.  Like Thomas, we may have our doubts, but the good news is that Jesus will never get tired of calming our fears.  We may not deserve it, or understand it, or even like it some times, but his grace is without limit.  We have a never ending wellspring of strength and courage just waiting for us to take a drink, and when we do just imagine what we can accomplish.