Meditations with Pastor Tom (4/17/20)
"But [Thomas] 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 to his side, I will not believe.'" ~ John 20:25
I once said in a sermon that I was aptly named Thomas because I am a skeptical character; some doubt has always been a part of my faith life. So, I know I would behave just as Thomas did in the scripture today. I would want to see the wounds in his body. I would want cold, hard evidence; crazy and wild talk would not satisfy me.
So, I feel bad for Thomas. He gets this crummy label, Doubting Thomas, because he doesn’t buy into this mad talk of resurrection right away. Thomas wants evidence. But, I would, too. Admit it, wouldn't you want a little proof? Does that make us so bad?
No, in fact, doubt is not such a bad thing after all. Notice that even Jesus does not scold Thomas for his doubt. There is no “Get behind me, Satan” proclamation here. So, Jesus understands our doubt. Jesus can work with our doubt. Thomas show us it's OK to want more evidence, to desire that rationality be respected in the faith life.
Nearly all of us have doubts at some time or another. It's a natural part of the faith life. If God didn't understand our doubt, we would ALL be doomed. Think about the stories in the New Testament - virgin birth, walking on water, feeding multitudes with just a little bread and fish, creating gallons and gallons of wine out of a little water, and bringing back dead people.
Certainly, God has to understand that people in our scientific age might struggle with stories like these. So, I don't want you to fret if you have doubts. It's OK; it's natural. In fact, doubt is actually part of a good faith life.
That's right. Doubt is actually a healthy part of a good faith life. It’s a sign that we are taking our relationship with God seriously enough to let ourselves be honest, and to let ourselves start a journey without knowing exactly where we are going. It can be what shakes us up. It can be what pushes us out of the doors of our once comfortable places and into a new and better world.
I know that doubt has done exactly that for me. As many of you know, I used to belong to a church with beliefs very different from the ones I hold today. Because I doubted so much of what they were teaching, my faith life took a very different turn and became much more fruitful and resulted in me standing in a pulpit. Doubt made all that happen.
I would even go so far as to say we need doubters. We need people who question what they are told. We need people who ask hard questions. You don't have to look very hard at all to find abuses in the church's long history , and abuses happen because there are not enough Thomases asking the hard questions and insisting on good evidence. We need Thomases - we have enough blind followers.
One last point, doubt is most likely unavoidable any way. Remember, if we were dealing with certainties, we wouldn't need faith at all. So, don't beat yourself up if you have doubts. Thomas never deserved his crappy nickname for demanding that evidence and reason not be abandoned. He was just fine all along. And so are we.
The Sermon this Sunday
What we should know in the garden of grief, fear, and uncertainty.