April 3
2016 Reading: Acts 5: 27-32 and John 20:
19-31
Everyone regardless of how well you know your bible would be able to
answer this question in some way or other.
So let’s have a little fun this morning.
I will mention a biblical name and I want you in your mind to think of
the first thing that you associate with the name. Eve: Someone to tell us out loud what thought
came into their mind with that name.
What about Moses: Now Abraham: Job:
Jesus: Judas Peter:
When I asked the question in
Church this morning for people to voice what came into their minds, different
people had different things come to mind for each of the bible names I
mentioned.
Did you notice how different each person associates each name. These bible characters all have many faces
didn’t they. You cannot really just identify
them with just one characteristic. The last name that I will mention is from our
reading today: Thomas, what comes to
mind here? Most likely when I mention
the word Thomas, there is little “doubt” {PUN not intended} about the word most
everyone would think of first, it would
be the word “doubt,” right? He was
so closely associated with this word, that we have coined a phrase to describe
him haven’t we: "The Doubting
Thomas." I’m sure if you look the word up in the dictionary his
picture will be next to it.
You may be interested to know that in the first three gospels we are told
absolutely nothing at all about Thomas, he is never mentioned. It is only
in John's Gospel that he emerges as a distinct personality, but even then there
are only 155 words written about him. There is not a lot about this disciple in
the Bible but I assure you there is more than one description for him. Let us
take a closer look.
When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. They assumed aggression, a fight to the death if necessary. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who had the courage to say in John 11: 15, “then let us go so that we may die with him.” It was a courageous statement! Yet we don't remember him for his courage do we but, God never forgets the special gifts given to each and every one of us. He see Thomas with all the gifts He has given him and God see you in this same way too.
When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. They assumed aggression, a fight to the death if necessary. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who had the courage to say in John 11: 15, “then let us go so that we may die with him.” It was a courageous statement! Yet we don't remember him for his courage do we but, God never forgets the special gifts given to each and every one of us. He see Thomas with all the gifts He has given him and God see you in this same way too.
Here is where we
should take a moment folks to ponder this question? How do
I see those around me, do I see their negative parts and emphasize them or do I
see the whole person, including all the goodness and gifts they have been
given. Even closer to home, how do I see
myself when you look in the mirror? Do I see that I am gifted, a unique child of
God, one of a kind with uniqueness and goodness or do I only see and emphasize my
flaws. We often also fail to point out
that in this story of Thomas’ doubt, it is the only place in the all of the
scriptures where the Divinity of Christ
is bluntly stated, no if ands or buts. I find it interesting that the very story
that gives Thomas his famous nickname, THE DOUBTER, it is the same story that
has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession
found in John 20: 28. , "My Lord, and my God" he says:
Not teacher. Not just Lord, not just Messiah, but he uses
the word God! In the eyes of Thomas,
Jesus the Christ is his God. Did you also notice that Jesus doesn't rebuke him here either. This is the
only place in all of scripture where Jesus is called God without qualification
of any kind. Do you know this: It had such an impacted on Thomas that he was
the first person to write about Jesus?
The men who put together the New Testament did not know the Gospel
according to Thomas existed. In fact it was
discovered during the time when the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in the West Bank in the late 1940’s and
therefore not included in the New Testament.
If I've got you curious, they are available on the internet and you can
read them for yourself.
Folks, this is the only written account where you will hear someone
state that he believed Jesus to be God.
His statement was uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply
recognizing a fact, like 2 + 2 = 4, you are my Lord, you are my God, he
announces. These are certainly not the
words of an imprisoned doubter, meaning someone who is held in bondage by his
or her doubt, never to break free. The
question here for us this morning is: “ARE YOU” held in bondage by your doubt I mean?
Unfortunately tradition has only remembered Thomas for this scene and its negative view of him. But I caution you here folks, for doubt should not be a prison from which you cannot emerge. In fact if we are honest about it, doubt and curiosity is what brought many of us to the doorstep of our faith journey. Doubting is normal unless it becomes an obsession, a way to remain without hope. If you commit to spending time with Christ, He will erase your doubt and help you begin the pathway to a rooted faith. Thomas finally sees, and for him, at least through his eyes, he now sees the truth. We on the other hand who have not seen but have believed, we are blessed.
Now I ask you to think about this for a moment folks: The idea that you have to see to believe wouldn’t go down well with Edison, Bell, or Beethoven. Edison didn’t have to first see the light bulb, he knew it was coming, Alexander did not see the first a phone, he to knew it was there waiting to be discovered. Nor did Beethoven the musical score before it came into existence. NO NO, they believe it was all there before seeing or hearing and we often take it for granted that these things just showed up one day. If you believe in Jesus’ resurrection you will not have to see him physically either, he is already in your heart, you just have to acknowledge Him. Keep working on it and He will just one day show up in your life. And when He does, you will manifest Him in your life and in your behavior. Others will see Him too in the reflection of your compassion, your good deeds, your forgiveness, and your love as you share how His act of radical love has changed you. That’s how it works, you believe and He just shows up. He works with you, in you, for you and for others. Isn’t that amazing! Isn’t that GREAT!!! And all we have to do is accept and believe and truly, you will never be the same again.
"Because He Lives"
Unfortunately tradition has only remembered Thomas for this scene and its negative view of him. But I caution you here folks, for doubt should not be a prison from which you cannot emerge. In fact if we are honest about it, doubt and curiosity is what brought many of us to the doorstep of our faith journey. Doubting is normal unless it becomes an obsession, a way to remain without hope. If you commit to spending time with Christ, He will erase your doubt and help you begin the pathway to a rooted faith. Thomas finally sees, and for him, at least through his eyes, he now sees the truth. We on the other hand who have not seen but have believed, we are blessed.
Now I ask you to think about this for a moment folks: The idea that you have to see to believe wouldn’t go down well with Edison, Bell, or Beethoven. Edison didn’t have to first see the light bulb, he knew it was coming, Alexander did not see the first a phone, he to knew it was there waiting to be discovered. Nor did Beethoven the musical score before it came into existence. NO NO, they believe it was all there before seeing or hearing and we often take it for granted that these things just showed up one day. If you believe in Jesus’ resurrection you will not have to see him physically either, he is already in your heart, you just have to acknowledge Him. Keep working on it and He will just one day show up in your life. And when He does, you will manifest Him in your life and in your behavior. Others will see Him too in the reflection of your compassion, your good deeds, your forgiveness, and your love as you share how His act of radical love has changed you. That’s how it works, you believe and He just shows up. He works with you, in you, for you and for others. Isn’t that amazing! Isn’t that GREAT!!! And all we have to do is accept and believe and truly, you will never be the same again.
"Because He Lives"
No comments:
Post a Comment