Göttinger Predigten
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2. Sunday of Easter, 04/11/2010
Sermon on John 20:19-31, by Erma S. Wolf
19(A) On the evening(B) of that day, the first day of the week,(C) the doors being locked where the disciples were(D) for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, (E) "Peace be with you." 20When he had said this,(F) he showed them his hands and his side. Then(G) the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As(H) the Father has sent me,(I) even so I am sending you." 22And when he had said this, he(J) breathed on them and said to them, (K) "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23(L) If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."24Now(M) Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin,[a] was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them,(N) "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."26Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.(O) Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he said to Thomas, (P) "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28Thomas answered him,(Q) "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me?(R) Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."30(S) Now Jesus did many other signs(T) in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31(U) but these are written so that you may(V) believe that Jesus is the Christ,(W) the Son of God, and that by believing(X) you may have life(Y) in his name.
"Faith for a Time of Skepticism."
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The story of Thomas is very familiar to us, repeated as it is every year on the second Sunday of Easter. Thomas may in fact be one of the most familiar disciples for us, after Peter. The Gospel of St. John has Thomas showing up in several places, bringing a clarifying observation or asking a key question. As soon as Thomas utters one of these statements, it becomes obvious that he speaks for those who dare not say aloud what they are thinking. Thomas is a spokesperson of sorts, sometimes for the other disciples, and sometimes for those for whom this gospel is written. And so, it may be that this Sunday in particular, Thomas speaks for us, those who were not in the upper room, those who have not seen, who do not expect to see, but who nonetheless are among those who hear the report of the witnesses and are asked to believe their testimony. Jesus is risen! But that small voice in the back of our minds continues to ask, "But how can I be sure?"
Thomas misses being present for the first appearance that Jesus makes to his disciples. Having missed experiencing what the others were privileged to see, he finds it impossible to believe the story told to him. Thomas is the "show me" disciple. However, Thomas is not ridiculed by the Church's tradition; instead, he is shown to be a favored one. Throughout the Gospel of St. John, Jesus brings sight to those who are caught in blindness, whether it is a case of literal physical blindness or instead blindness caused by the darkness of sin and disbelief. Whether it is with Nicodemus, or the man born blind, or Martha and Mary, Jesus is patient with those who are struggling to believe. And so it is with how Thomas is treated. Jesus comes back for Thomas, appearing to him along with the rest, and Thomas gives a cry of faith that is overwhelming: My Lord and my God!
This story could very well end here. But instead Jesus makes the connection between those who were in the first generation with the disciples, the eyewitnesses to the events of his life and ministry, and all those who were to come after. "Do you believe because you have seen? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." (John 20:29) And then the narrator himself draws you and me into the story: all this has been written so that we who have not seen might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and so have life in his name.
Thomas stands in for all those who want to believe, and who follow faithfully even though they don't always understand. It is Thomas, after all, who on the night of Jesus' betrayal asks the question, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way?" (John 14:5ff) Jesus answers him then by saying, "I am the way and the truth and the life"; but he then goes on to assure Thomas that by seeing Jesus, Thomas has also seen and knows the Father. Now, in this last time that Thomas sees Jesus, that promise comes true for Thomas. He does see the Father, and his confession confirms that.
We live in a time when so much emphasis is placed on having proof, on possessing facts to back up where we place our faith. "Trust, but verify," is often quoted as being a good watchword. But how can we verify what the Scriptures say is truth? Indeed, the Scriptures are exhaustively studied and picked apart, almost to death. This is done not only by those outside the Church, but also by those of us within. We who love the Bible bring our questions and doubts along with us in the quest for faith. We don't expect Jesus to show up and prove himself to us. Nonetheless, we also look for signs. Some seek Noah's ark on the top of mountains in Turkey, while others look for traces of the Ark of the Covenant in Africa. Still others "embellish" supposed artifacts unearthed in archeological digs in the Holy Land, trying to shore up the Bible's claim to historical accuracy, whether it is in regards to the reign of King David or the existence of members of the family of Jesus. Still others cling to mysterious relics such as the Shroud of Turin, reminiscent of the demand of Thomas to actually touch the wounds in Jesus' hands and side. And these searches are not something that is limited to the modern era: the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine searched for the true wood of the cross, while in Luther's day the relics of saints were collected and treasured as some sort of proof that the stories about Jesus were really true.
But such things don't really bring assurance and peace to any of us. There will always be a sliver of doubt no matter what "proof" we may claim and cling to. In the end, it just comes down to faith. We either trust, or we don't. Jesus is faithful and true, or he isn't.
Near the end of the time of the writing of the New Testament, John again brings a message to those who are full of fears and doubts. By tradition John of Patmos was Jesus' disciple, in exile for his faithfulness and the only one of the twelve to die a natural death. Even if it is another who writes in his name, the writing known as Revelation draws on the tradition of the eyewitness veracity of those who composed the Gospel to speak to churches that are divided and under attack, both from without and within. He emphasizes the faithful witness of Jesus himself, "the firstborn of the dead," (Revelation 1:5) as well as those who were among the eyewitnesses to his crucifixion and resurrection. The wounds of Christ that remain on his glorified body even after his resurrection prove that Jesus is who the disciples say he is. It is those wounds that testify that the one who comes and speaks, both to Thomas and to John, is the one who was dead and now lives forever.
Go back to the source, to the basics, to the witnesses who were there and to their writings and the tradition that is faithful and true. Draw on the writings of Scripture that prophesied to what God would do in his servant; see in the life and death and new life of Jesus, the only Son, how those Scriptures would be fulfilled.
For us, in this beginning of the 21st century, it is all so long ago. We live in a skeptical age. Every day seems to bring a new proclamation regarding the uncertainty of these words of John, of Peter, of Thomas, of Jesus himself. Faith seems to be such a small thing, lost or nearly lost in the darkness that presses in on a Church under siege, a Church that is losing or has lost credibility among the wise cynics of this world. How can you believe such fairy tales, others say to us. How can we believe, we ask ourselves in the depths of our own hearts. Like Thomas, we want a sign, a vision, something we can touch. We want proof. We want to see.
At the beginning of this Gospel, John wrote, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it." (John 1:5) The light isn't our possession, nor is the faith that clings to the light. The light belongs to Christ, to that crucified one who lives and brings us back to the Father. He breathes his Holy Spirit onto us, and forgiveness and grace and faith come as a gift, to be held in trust and proclaimed and witnessed to before the world. Even, especially, when we don't see.
We have a responsibility to bear witness to what we know, to what we believe, and to what we hope. It is the words of those first followers of Jesus that we proclaim, their questions and words of doubt as well as their faith and deeds of power. God who is faithful and just forgives our sins, coming with just enough light to show us the way, the way to the kingdom, to the One who is the way, the truth and the life. There is finally just enough light to show us Jesus, still bearing the wounds we inflicted upon him. He will show us the way to go home, by faith, not by sight. And in his light there will be just enough blessing, and welcome, and peace.
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.