Stanislaw
1, King of Poland, is noted for saying, “To believe with certainty we must
begin with doubting.” Doubting is the
word for today as we look at Thomas in our gospel reading today. Interestingly the Greek word for doubt never
actually shows up in the text. Jesus’
words are more literally translated, “Do not be faithless but faithful.” It is our Bible translators who have chosen
to use the English word doubt.
It is strange to create a sermon
around a word that is actually not in the text, but its absence is
significant. The Greek word for doubt
does show up in the Bible when it comes to accepting the resurrection. We see it especially in Matthew 28:17. But nowhere does Jesus actually criticize
someone for having doubts. Indeed the
Bible suggests that faith and doubt go hand in hand. You’ve heard me say before that the opposite
of faith is not doubt. It is fear.
As I was working on the sermons for
our special Lenten worship services this year I became aware of just how
willing Lutheran theology is to give room for doubt. Like Stanislaw 1 said, “To believe with
certainty we must begin with doubting.”
I know of other church denominations
that push hard for their members to believe without doubts and without
questions. They are taught that if the
Bible says it, it must be so. And you
must believe it deeply and without serious questions. I often wonder how much doubt their members
really have and just aren’t willing to admit it? Do they really believe as blindly as they
appear to? I think such faith is
actually quite fragile, and probably not very effective. I understand why they are so afraid of
doubt. If you are saved by faith, and if
doubt is the opposite of faith, then to doubt is to risk damnation – a really
scary thought.
If you participated in the special
Lenten worship services you’ll remember how Lutherans have come to understand
having faith. While some churches teach
that indeed you do not have to earn salvation.
It is a gift from God. All you
have to do is accept it. It then becomes
a matter of your choice. You can accept
it or reject it. Lutheran thinking has
gone a step farther. Lutheran thinking
says that even your decision to accept God’s gift is actually also God at work
in you.
If you’re a philosopher you quickly
realize that this way of thinking means that you ultimately lose free
will. Indeed that is a problem, and it
is one addressed extensively by Martin Luther in his writings. And to put a biblical foundation to it, it is
also addressed extensively by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans.
Perhaps the challenge for right now
is to not let our minds go down that path.
If you want to know more read Luther’s writing called, “The Bondage of
the Will” or you can look up the sermon I created for it online called “Grace
or Freewill.”
Anyway, for today realize how
freeing and empowering it is to know that your faith lies securely in God’s
hands. Not only has God done the work to
save you God is also doing the work to have you accept it. Which means that you have safety to question,
to ponder, and to doubt. Remember again,
Jesus never criticized questions and doubts.
They are a part of having faith.
They are a part of developing a strong faith.
For the disciples of Jesus seeing
Jesus alive meant more than just their friend wasn’t dead anymore. If that’s all the resurrection is then it
isn’t a very impressive thing at all. If
fact it would be quite a miserable thing – stuck forever in life’s struggles
and burdens. But resurrection meant far
more. And because it meant far more
doubt plays a much more important role.
Imagine for a moment the future that
God has in store for you, a glorious resurrected future far better than you can
even imagine. It is a future where pain,
failure and fear do not exist. And from
that point of view look back on your earthly life and concerns. St. Paul says in Romans 8 that they are not
worth comparing. Who cares what your
house or car says about you? Who cares
about how much property you own? Who cares
whether you get the promotion or not?
Who cares if an heirloom or tradition continues or not? Who cares about an injury or a disease? Even death itself is nothing of
consequence. You begin to realize that
almost everything people consume their lives in worrying about is nothing but
the scurrying of ants in the universe.
That is the perspective the
resurrection gives us. That is why
Thomas struggles to have faith. It is
the revelation of a whole new reality for himself and the world. It takes a lot to accept it. It takes a lot of courage and confidence to
live this life as is most everything everyone else worries about isn’t
important at all.
The Jesuit Priest, Father Martin, recently
published an article in the Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-challenge-of-easter-1458916153)
about why Easter is so much more important, and potentially problematic, than
Christmas. Christmas is a nice baby
story. Even to an atheist the idea of
God coming to life as a human is sweet and quaint. But the idea of God being betrayed by one of
his closest followers, denied three times by his best friend, and executed by
crucifixion is another thing indeed.
That is a jarring and offensive thing to believe. Then to top it off with the resurrection and
you’ve just upended everything we build our lives around.
What does it all mean? Here are several true statements. By all human standards you and your life is
nothing but the scurrying of ants.
Despite movies like It’s a
Wonderful Life, for most of us we’ll never amount to anything. How many people can you name who lived more
than 150 years ago? Some, to be
sure. How many people can you name from
500 years ago? How about 1500 years
ago? Even the greatest of emperors has
their lives forgotten and their accomplishments crumble in short time. By all human standards you and your life and
all your accomplishments are nothing of significance.
If that’s what you are by human
standards then of what possible value could you begin to have by God’s
standards? God who creates out of
nothing, who is bigger than time, and for whom this whole universe is but a
speck can’t possibly care one bit.
And yet we know that isn’t
true. Not only did this great God come
to be with us, as we celebrate at Christmas.
Jesus in the resurrection still bears the marks of the crucifixion. That may seem like a trivial detail but it is
of great importance. The resurrection
does not erase the injury.
The disciple Thomas did us a great
favor when he demanded to see the marks of Jesus’ execution. The glorified resurrected body was not a
vision or a dream. It was not just a
feeling or hallucination for them. The
human-inflicted injuries are still there – permanently, forever. This was the real and full Jesus that they
knew beforehand. God forever knows fully
what it is to be you.
Jesus’ life and ministry was not
about giving you a model to live by or to teach you things. It was to save you… fully. It gives you value – more value than human
standards can. The wounds of Christ
prove that God sees your value.
Easter makes a big claim upon us –
to live today like the resurrection is real.
That claim is sure to cause doubts in our hearts. But with the security of our God’s grace we
dare to engage those doubts. For through
exploring doubts and all the uncertainty that they bring we can come to believe
with certainty. Amen
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