It Takes Courage to Touch the Wounds

Scripture Lessons: Revelation 1: 4-8 and John 20: 19-31 Sermon Title: It Takes Courage to Touch the Wounds Preached on April 24, 2022 Some people call today, the Sunday after Easter, Associate Pastor Sunday because so many pastors who preached on Easter take this Sunday off and go on vacation. I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to be here to defend the disciple Thomas. Thomas is the most misunderstood disciple. It’s just not fair how people talk about him. Think about how no one calls Peter “denying Peter,” though he denied Jesus three times after promising that he wouldn’t. No one even calls Judas “betraying Judas.” It’s only Thomas who gets the nickname. He’s Doubting Thomas, for when the disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas said, “I doubt it.” What do you think about doubt? A wise teacher once told me that the opposite of faith isn’t doubt. No, the opposite of faith is certainty. Think about that for a minute. The opposite of faith is certainty. Why would anyone say that? It’s because when we’re certain, we’re no longer open to new information. When we doubt, we stand ready to believe. If we doubt, we may be on the road to the truth. Indeed, it was this way with Thomas. Thomas was something like Copernicus. Copernicus doubted what everyone at the time was saying about the laws of planetary motion by claiming that the earth revolves around the sun. Do you remember that from history class? Likewise, Christopher Columbus doubted what everyone in his day was saying. Back then, folks believed that sailing west would result in falling off the face of the earth. Columbus doubted what everyone else was certain of and landed on America. What happened with Thomas is that he doubted the disciples; yet look at his declaration of faith at the end of our Gospel lesson: “My Lord and my God,” he said. Did anyone else say it so strongly? No. The others were behind a locked door the first time Jesus came, and even though He told them to go out into the world to forgive people of their sins, where were they the second time Jesus came? They were still behind that locked door. On the other hand, Thomas was out the first time Jesus came. He was out and about so soon after the crucifixion, while all those disciples saw what happened to Jesus and were afraid that the same might happen to them. What was Thomas doing out when everyone else was behind the locked door? We can’t know for sure, but let me tell you a little more about Thomas. He’s my favorite, so I’ve tried to learn a little bit about him. In chapter 11 of the Gospel of John, Jesus and the disciples heard that their friend Lazarus had died. Now Jesus knows that this is not a big deal. He’s planning to go there and raise Lazarus from the dead, but the disciples are afraid because the last time they were in Lazarus’ hometown they almost got killed: “Rabbi, they were just now trying to stone you there, and you want to go there again?” they asked Him as He was thinking about heading back to Bethany. Jesus wants to go and raise Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus’ sisters have sent for Jesus to come. However, the disciples are afraid to go back there. All the disciples are afraid save one: Thomas. This is what Thomas said to those disciples who were afraid of being stoned, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” That’s who Thomas was. He was courageous. “Let us also go, that we may die with him,” he said. Thomas wasn’t afraid of dying. Seeing Jesus crucified may have made him think, “I’ll follow Him even to His death if that’s what He wants from me.” I can imagine him in the streets of Jerusalem taking it all in. Imagine walking with Thomas and seeing Jerusalem so soon after the crucifixion. Was there another up on the cross already? Had word reached the priests that He had risen? What was the world like in those days after the resurrection? I don’t imagine it was springtime or that peace had finally come to the land. Instead, I imagine that those who had chanted, “Crucify Him,” were just as blood thirsty, and that those who divided His clothes were parading them around. Repentance had yet to come to the land, and most of the disciples were behind a locked door, afraid to go out. Where then is faith in this Gospel lesson for today? Where is faith? If you think the other disciples are faithful, I ask you to look at their actions, for they’re all behind a locked door, even after seeing the risen Lord. They remind me of a group of grown children talking about their mother, so terrified of how she’s doing that they’re not ready to face the truth. You can see them. “She seems great, doesn’t she?” one says. All nod their heads, relieved she’s recovered from the stroke. Maybe she doesn’t need as much help as they all had feared she would, only then comes the voice of Thomas: “I found her keys in the refrigerator.” “She also put salt in the tea.” “She put sugar in the grits, and remember what she used to say about people who do that?” “I just don’t feel good about leaving her here all alone.” “I know it’s what she wants.” “I know she seems OK today, but I think it’s just an act.” “This act she’s putting on, I doubt it.” It takes courage to doubt like that. Sometimes it’s good to doubt, and sometimes the faith of those around us looks more like denial. Behind locked doors, the disciples said they had seen the Lord. “Well, if you saw the Lord, why aren’t you out doing what He told you to do?” Thomas might have asked. Sometimes we talk so bad about Thomas, but think with me about him. I told you he’s my favorite, and I meant it. An old preacher used to say that some Christians are so heavenly-minded that they’re no earthly good. Have you heard that one? I can imagine Thomas saying that about his friends: “Well, if you believe He’s risen, why aren’t you out in the world doing something?” It’s because there’s a faith that’s just lip service to the Gospel. It’s a faith where you say you believe it, but you don’t really live it. Thomas is full of doubt, and yet he’s out there in the world. These disciples have seen the Lord, but they’re still behind a locked door. Is it better to say you believe but stay behind locked doors, or is it better to doubt and be out in the world? I don’t know, but the best thing is the kind of doubt that’s open to a deeper faith, and so I admire Thomas when he said, “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.” A week later, Jesus came and stood among the disciples and said, “Peace be with you.” Thomas was there. Jesus didn’t ask Thomas to leave, nor did he give him a lecture on how he should have believed what the other disciples told him. Instead, 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. What happened next? Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” He wasn’t so certain that the door to faith was locked. Instead, his doubt led him to a faith greater than that of the other disciples, for this declaration he made, “My Lord and my God,” is among the strongest made in any passage of Scripture. His doubt led him to greater faith. That happens sometimes. To get there, though, we must unlock the doors and see the wounds. Sometimes, when I take the exit for West Paces Ferry off I-75, I won’t do either. When I pull off I-75, there’s almost always someone there asking for money. Sometimes I lock my door and turn my head. Have you ever done that? That’s sometimes what we do, and we want to protect our children from such things, but the Sherwood family went to New York City over Spring Break, and there you can’t help but see how some of our brothers and sisters live. Betsy asked her young daughter how she liked the trip, and little Katherine said, “I can’t understand how they would let so many people be homeless.” Did you hear that? That sounds like the faith of Thomas to me. She’s saying, “I can’t understand, but I want to know.” “It’s hard to see, but I won’t just turn my head or lock the door.” There they are suffering. Their wounds are obvious. I’m willing to reach out my hand to touch them, only what would happen if I did? That’s where faith becomes an absolute necessity, for in seeing the world as it is, in seeing the homelessness, the suffering, the sadness, and all the brokenness, sometimes we are like those disciples who say we believe but hide behind locked doors. We just can’t take it. Other times, we are those kind and loving servants who do so much good but have no belief, doubting everything they hear. Meanwhile, Thomas sees the wounds, touches them even, and comes to know the power of God. He has seen the shadow but knows that the light is brighter than all the world’s darkness. He doubted the account of his friends but came to a faith far stronger than theirs. He has seen the wounds, touched them even, but knows that still Christ rises from the dead. My friends, today let us be like Thomas. Let us doubt a little bit that we might come to greater faith. Let us go out into the world, seeing the wounds, and seeing them, rather than locking ourselves behind closed doors, let us boldly proclaim that Christ is risen from the dead. He is risen. He is risen indeed. Amen.