“A DOUBT AND A POUT THAT ENDED WITH A SHOUT”

JOHN 20:19-29

19  When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

20  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

21  Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

22  When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

23  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

24  But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

25  So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

26  A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

27  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."

28  Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

29  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."

30  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

31  But these 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.

Life is full of mysteries, full of questions that can’t be answered. Why do bad things happen to good people?  How did God create the heavens and the earth out of nothing?   Exactly what happens to us after we die?

If you’re a parent you know that children are very good when it comes to asking these profound and thought provoking questions.  I had one of those conversations last spring with TJ Putney.  As most of you know TJ is our Christian Education director’s oldest son.  The conversation took place one day while we were on our way to McDonald’s.  At the time I was just getting over a bout of poison ivy.  Well, the rash on my hand got the gears in his 4 year old brain turning.  “Did God make everything?” TJ asked.  “Yes,” I said. “God made everything.”  That of course led to a second question.  “Did God make poison ivy?”  “Yes,” I said, “God also made poison ivy.”  At that point I realized where TJ was going with his questions and I knew I was in trouble.  “Why?” TJ asked.  My mind began to race for an answer.  Why did God make poison ivy?  Why would God make something that can make us so miserable?  “Well,” I said, “maybe God made poison ivy to let us know that there are some things we just shouldn’t touch.”  “Oh,” TJ said with a sense of understanding.  Meanwhile I breathed a sigh of relief.  “Well,” I said to myself, “you certainly dodged that bullet.”

Life is full of mysteries.  One of the mysteries that the disciples had to wrestle with of course was the mystery of the resurrection.  Was it really Jesus?  How could it be?  What did it mean?

Thomas was the one who had a really hard time accepting the possibility that Jesus was alive.  That’s because he wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples. Instead of taking their word for it though he refused to believe.

By the way, it’s possible that his reaction had more to do with pouting than doubting.  Thomas may have felt left out because he wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to the other disciples.  It certainly seems that way when you listen to his petulant demand for proof.  “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands,” he said, “and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Now some people praise Thomas for his inquisitive and questioning mind.  I’ve even heard some preachers praise Thomas in their sermons for his intellectual courage.  According to them Thomas should be praised for being honest when it came to his doubts. For some reason there is this tendency to make Thomas into a saint for refusing to blindly accept the news that the other disciples shared with him.  If you look at what’s going on here though you see that this approach to the story is all wrong.  It’s about as wrong as you can get when it comes to interpreting this story.

Now it’s true that Jesus did show up a week later and gave Thomas the proof that he demanded.  Look at what happened though after Thomas put his hand in the wounds. We know that after he did that Thomas fell to his knees and cried out,  “My Lord and my God.”  That exclamation of faith though didn’t earn Thomas a pat on the back.  Jesus didn’t say to him, “Well done good and faithful servant.”  No.  Instead of doing that Jesus scolded his doubting disciple.

“Have you believed because you have seen me?” Jesus said. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

That’s what faith is all about.  It means that when life doesn’t make any sense you trust that God’s love is at work behind the scenes. When you feel like you’re at the end of your rope, it means that you trust that God knows what’s best.  It means you believe that the Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about when he said, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him…”  (Romans 8:28)

So, instead of demanding an explanation, you sit down and you pray.  You place the dilemma or the doubt or the decision in God’s hands.  You place the question or the quandary in God’s hands.  “Lord,” you say, “I’m not sure why this is happening. I’m not sure what I should be doing here.  All I know is that I believe in You and I know that You won’t let me down.  So, help me to be patient while You work things out.  And most of all Lord, help me to see the path that You want me to follow.”

I don’t know about you, but I often feel a sense of relief when I do that.  I feel a sense of relief when I turn things over to God like that.  Maybe that’s because I get tired sometimes of trying to figure it all out.  I get tired of feeling like I’ve got to do it all and be on top of everything. 

How about you?  You ever feel that way yourself?

Yes, it feels good to turn things over to God like that. At the same time let’s be honest with each other.  It isn’t always easy as the saying goes to, “Let go and let God.”

Maybe that’s because we’re so used to being in control and when you turn things over to God it means you’re not going to be in control. I also think it’s because we’re also not very good when it comes to being patient.  We find it hard to sit back and wait while God works things out.  I also think it’s because there’s a little bit of a doubting Thomas in all of us.  It’s hard sometimes to trust.

That’s why you have to smile at the reaction a young man had while learning how to be a paratrooper. Now the thought of jumping out of an airplane was a little disconcerting to the young man. So he made sure that he listened to his instructions very carefully.  Those instructions seemed simple enough. “First,” the instructor said, “jump when you’re told to jump.  Second, count to ten and pull the cord.  Third, in the very unlikely event that the chute doesn’t open, pull the second cord.  Finally, when you land a truck will be there to take you back to the base.”  Well, the big day finally arrived.  When the time came the young man jumped when he was told to jump.  He counted to ten and pulled the cord, but the chute didn’t open.  After the initial shock wore off he pulled the second cord.  Again, nothing happened.  “Oh, that’s just great,” the young man said to himself, “and I suppose that when I get down there the truck won’t be there either.”

Yes, I think it’s safe to say that there’s a little bit of Thomas in all of us.  So, when things aren’t going very well you have to decide.  Are you going to follow the path of doubt or the path of faith?  Are you going to go it alone or are you going to trust that God is there to help?  Are you going to be like Thomas or are you going to be like the little girl who demonstrated a deep faith one evening when she said her prayers just before climbing into bed. “Dear God,” she said, “please take care of mommy and daddy, my sister and brother, my doggie and me.  Oh and please take care of Yourself God.  Because if anything happens to you we’re all gonna be in a big mess.”

Sometimes life doesn’t make any sense at all. Sometimes things happen that leave you feeling frazzled and fearful. Sometimes things happen that leave you feeling anxious and angry.   When that happens remember to look up.  It’s always a good idea to look up when things are looking down.  That’s because it really is true. God really does work for good in all things with those who love him.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

October 3, 2004