What Do You Doubt? ~ John 20:19-31 ~ 2nd Sunday of Easter

For the past eight months, my wife Elizabeth has preached in over two dozen congregations throughout our area…

One of her favorites happens to be a farming community church—which is also the smallest and poorest of all the congregations she’s served.  On a typical Sunday, no more than a dozen people come to worship.  There’s no organist to lead in the music; nor are there any flowers or candles.  Some Sundays, there isn’t even a pastor to preach…  Financially, these are out of their reach.

Many of their people have shared with Elizabeth their doubts that their church has a future…

But one Sunday last December, when the small remnant talked amongst themselves, someone said “it would sure be nice if we could have a full church for Christmas Eve.”

And to that, someone else replied, “who says we can’t?”

So the small remnant of members began inviting family, friends, and neighbors—and sure enough, their church was full on Christmas Eve.

They joined together that night in celebration and rejoicing.  But that was not the only extraordinary thing God did there that night…  That night, God healed this dying church.  God gave them new life—and hope for the future.  They have yet to pack the church full like they did that night, but there are always new faces present at worship.  New ministries are coming to life, and the people are always excited to tell Elizabeth about all the great things God is doing in their church. 

Where there was doubt, God brought new life. 

We witness something very similar happening in Thomas in our Gospel story for today…

With Jesus crucified and buried in the tomb, Jesus’ disciples had been in the crisis of their lives.  Their Messiah was dead—and by all appearances, their faith in him had been in vain.  And being that they were the disciples of a man who was condemned to die as a blasphemer and enemy of the state, their lives were in danger.  That is why they were hiding out behind locked doors.

Then all of the sudden, the unexpected happens: Jesus appears among them, alive…  In that moment, their faith in Jesus is restored.  They now have hope for the future.

But Thomas misses the party.

He doesn’t believe the disciples when they tell him the big news.  He has to see it for himself; and only then will he believe.

By doing this, his reputation is sealed…  He will forever be forever known as Doubting Thomas.

And this is not a good reputation to have…  To be called ‘Doubting Thomas’ suggests that there’s something wrong with him; that he’s awful disciple. 

But is history really being fair to Thomas?  Is doubt the moral weakness it is so often made out to be?

Thomas’ doubting was not something he decided to do.  His doubts were based in reality.  Jesus, the Messiah, was dead and buried.  Messiahs don’t die—and the dead don’t come back to life.  This was just common sense.  This is why Thomas doubted.  And our experience of doubt is very much the same.

None of us wants to be in a position to doubt the existence of God or God’s abiding care in our lives.  But we all find ourselves there.  Things happen; we suffer crises and traumas so great as to call into question everything we’ve ever believed.  We remember all of our sins and our failings, and it’s hard for us to believe that God could ever love us.  And when our prayers don’t get answered, when circumstances get even worse than they already are, the doubts grow even stronger. 

The thing about doubt is that it will always be supported by the painful realities we find ourselves in. 

So doubt is not a moral failing.  It is a sickness that afflicts our faith.  And there is not one person here who does not doubt.  And in the same way that we can’t cure ourselves of sickness, we can’t cure ourselves of doubt.  Only Jesus can heal a broken faith.  And if we pay close attention to Jesus when he appears to Thomas, this is what we will see him do.

Jesus does not rebuke Thomas for his doubting.  He doesn’t call him weak; he doesn’t say that he’s failed…  He says “peace to you.”  He allows Thomas to put his hands into the scars in his hands and side, and he encourages Thomas to believe.

Jesus does not abandon Thomas in doubt and unbelief.  Jesus comes to Thomas in his time of doubt—and Thomas’ faith, which was dead—Jesus raises to life.

In spite of the less-than-stellar reputation history has given Thomas, Thomas really is an example for us to follow.  Thomas was honest about his doubts.  He didn’t try to hide his doubt so as to avoid looking weak around the other disciples; he didn’t try to believe something that he couldn’t.  Thomas named his doubts, before God, and before his fellow disciples. 

So what are your doubts?  What in your life is leading you to doubt God’s existence?  What is leading you to doubt God’s love?

Just like Thomas, we must name our doubts.  We must name all of the hurts and all of the uncertainties in life that steal away the light of Jesus Christ in our lives. 

Doing this is not an act of cowardice—it is an act of faith.  We are coming to Jesus for his healing. 

God does not want us to ignore our doubts—not does God want for us to try and believe something we cannot.  By naming our doubts before God, we are surrendering.  We are saying to Jesus, “I cannot believe in you with the way things are right now.  I need your help to believe.  I need you to give me the faith to trust in you.”

And there is one thing to which we can be certain—Jesus will not abandon us in our doubt, any more than he abandoned Thomas in his doubt. 

The Savior who gave his body and blood for you on the cross will never leave you so that your faith in him dies. Jesus will come and meet you in your place of doubt, to raise your faith to new life.  We don’t know when—or how—Jesus will work, but he will do great things for us—and he will give us eyes to see and a faith to believe that he is at work in our lives, for our blessing.

So as we go from this place today, our doubts will go with us—but so will Jesus.  And though we will always have doubts as long as we live, Christ will always be with us to assure us that we have not put our hope in a fantasy.      Whenever we feel like our faith is (dying) or dead, Jesus will be there to help us to hold on.