Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Second Sunday of Easter - 04/23/17 Sermon - “Have you ever been like Thomas?"

Sunday 04/23/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Have you ever been like Thomas?”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 16

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Gospel Lesson: John 20:19-31

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Welcome again my friends, my sisters and brothers, on this our Second Sunday of this the Season of Easter, or this Season of Resurrection. We will remain in this Season of Easter, until Pentecost Sunday, on Sunday June 4^th. We will also continue to have white paraments until then, as in this Season of Easter, the color of white represents purity, grace, and holiness.

With these things said, I have a question for us all this morning. Have any of us here this morning, at any time in our lives, ever experienced doubt? Have you ever had your doubts about anything? Perhaps you were about to go into a job interview, and you had doubt? Perhaps you or a loved one had health problems, and you had doubt? Perhaps you were hoping that a person would finally say yes to going to the prom with you, but you had doubt? Perhaps you wondered if you had studied enough for that test in school, and you had doubt? Perhaps you got the courage up to do something new, but you had doubts about it? Perhaps you had written a great speech, but then got nervous right before it, causing doubt? I could go on and on with countless examples of doubt.

It would seem that at different times and in different circumstances, that we all have had doubts, worries, or maybe even anxiety, depending on the life circumstances. For some us our times of doubt or struggle have been particularly hard. It also often doesn’t help us when we struggle or doubt, when someone tells us to “just get over it”. For example, if you were having the worst day of your life, how would it feel like if someone came in to where you were, and then read Philippians 4:6 to you? Well, what does Philippians 4:6 say? It says, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6, NRSV).

How many of you, if you were having the worst day of your life, and if someone had just read this scripture to you, and then told you to just do what the scripture said, would want to pummel that person into submission?

Yet, the Bible says all through the text though, to trust God, to not worry, to not have doubt, to not have stress, and to not have anxiety. So brothers and sisters, what are we doing wrong? Have any of us this past week had any anger, worry, stress, anxiety, depression, and or doubt? How can this be possible if we are to believe in and follow Jesus Christ? I mean we are just supposed to have peace through Jesus Christ right? If we repent of our sins, and if accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are supposed to have great joy, love, hope, and peace. How then could we ever again have doubt, or any other negative emotions? I thought we Christians were perfect, right?

The reality my brothers and sisters is this, when we come to Christ, we are given peace, hope, love, calm, and mercy. Yet those mountain top experiences of faith, of coming to Christ, then often result in us going back into the valleys of life. For those us who believe in Christ and follow Christ, we have faith, but sometimes our humanness gets the better of us. If something terrible suddenly happens in our lives, sometimes we struggle in that moment to find the peace of Christ. Perhaps our humanity is so grief stricken, that we feel pain, and maybe even doubt. We know that we are supposed to trust God, but sometimes despite our best efforts, we just fall short, don’t we? Yet I thought us Christians were perfect, right? In a way then, while we have our first conversion experiences when we come to Jesus Christ, I believe that we have many more mini-conversions in our faith walks. We are like spiritual onion therefore, as we shed layers of doubt and sin, as grow closer to Christ. Coming to Christ is the free gift of salvation, of eternal life, but becoming like Jesus, well that is the work of a lifetime.

Today we have the text from the gospel of John on “Doubting Thomas,” as is one the famous knick names for the Apostle Thomas. I bet he was thrilled with this knick name! The Apostle Thomas, who is one of the twelve of Jesus’ original disciples, doubts that Jesus is resurrected. Thomas was with Jesus for the full three years of his ministry, and because of this, Thomas saw all of the amazing things Jesus did, and heard what he taught. I would think that Thomas would have had a powerful conversion in accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Perhaps at this point though, he didn’t quite get it yet. I would think that after Jesus was resurrected though, that Thomas would certainly have had some faith, but yet he ran off during the crucifixion. So while Thomas probably had some faith, it wasn’t strong enough yet for him to declare it publicly without fear. Since this is true, today Thomas doubted Jesus’s resurrection. Did Thomas not believe in Jesus then? Had he not truly been converted yet? I cannot say this for sure, but it would seem that his faith was not nearly as strong as it would become.

The historical church tradition holds that Saint Thomas, not the vacation spot, went as far as India preaching the gospel. Church tradition also holds that Thomas was martyred there while preaching the gospel in India. Today, Saint Thomas, not the vacation spot, is the patron saint of both India and Sri Lanka. Pretty impressive resume for a man that abandoned Jesus at the crucifixion, and then denied his resurrection. Yet in our life struggles, haven’t we ever wrestled with and struggled with God at times, or had our own doubts sometimes?

So again, in the gospel of John reading for this day, the risen Christ appears to the disciples, as this was part of Jesus’ 40-days of post-mortem appearances, before he ascended to heaven. The problem with this appearance of Christ, is that Thomas was not present at this encounter (Jn. 20:19-24, NRSV). The other disciples tell Thomas what happened, but Thomas is doubtful, or skeptical that Jesus actually appeared to the other disciples (Jn. 20:25, NRSV). Thomas was so emphatic about this in fact, that 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” (Jn. 20:25, NRSV). Why wouldn’t Thomas just believe? We could then ask ourselves, why do we ever worry, have doubt, anxiety, and or stress?

Jesus then appears again to the disciples a week later, and again says to them, “peace be with you” (Jn. 20:26, NRSV). At this point Jesus then says 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. Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:27-28, NRSV). Thomas now believes bloody in Christ.

The gospel then says, “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” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

The gospel reading then ends with, “Now Jesus did many other sings in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and through believing you may life in his name” (Jn. 20:30-31, NRSV).

So my sisters and brothers, while having doubt is often not good, how many of us have had hard days or times when our faith has struggled? Let’s be honest, we all have struggled at some point or another. Sometimes when the expected or unexpected events of life happen, they can challenge our faith, cause us to struggle, or even to doubt. What is powerful for me though, is that in this reading from John’s gospel for this morning, Jesus Christ goes to Thomas in his doubt. This is the idea that when we suffer, that when we struggle, that Christ reaches out to us. Instead of punishing us, Christ desires to be present in our struggle, and in our doubt. He is a personal savior, who wants to be with us, reassuring us when we suffer.

Sometimes in our lives, for some us, our circumstances have been so hard, that maybe we have removed ourselves from the church altogether. I believe though that the church is a gift that Jesus Christ gave us, so that we might bring people to the grace of Jesus Christ, to transform the world, and to love and care for each other. When we go through mountain top and valley experiences then, as the church we are called to walk together.

I believe then, that in our own ways, or in those life moments, or on those days, or in those times, we have all been a “doubting Thomas”. It’s not that we didn’t believe in Christ, it was just right then, our humanness shuddered our eyes and our hearts from the abundant grace of God through Jesus Christ.

I used to think that Thomas was bad for the events of this day, but then I realized that I was just like him. I want to tell you a little bit more about my call to ministry story, when I was a “Doubting Paul”.

In 2006, I began the ministry process in the United Methodist Church, as Melissa and I were members of the Christ United Methodist Church of Moravia/Locke. At this point, I had been a Christian for many years, I loved Jesus Christ, and I felt like that I had been called to be a preacher and a liver of the gospel.

While I lay lead and did some other leadership activities from 2006-2010, I could never get up the courage to just fully go into ministry. I started the ministry candidacy process, but I never pursued it fully at that point.

In 2010, I finally got the courage up to attend seminary, as I had another powerful encounter one night with the Holy Spirit. You see, I believed, I was following, but my doubt was holding me back.

The main problem was from 2006-2010 I struggled with unworthiness and doubt. I believed in Jesus Christ, I believed then and still do now that he was and is my Lord and Savior, yet my unworthiness and my doubt held me back. Another way to say it, is that from 2006-2010, I felt that I wasn’t good enough to be a minister. The chief problem was that I was by nature a sinner, and I was broken, and because of this, I didn’t think that I was good enough to preach to and lead a congregation like this. Who was I to be the pastor of a church?

Well what I learned in my four years of seminary and now nearly five years of pastoring, is this, because I am broken, because I am sinner, and because I know it, I know more than ever that I desperately need the saving grace of Jesus Christ every day. Through this, God has lead me, I have not lead God, and even though I doubted, and even though I have had days since where I doubt, Jesus continues to make himself known to me. Through the healing power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, God built me up, gave great mentors and great leaders to guide me, so that the doubts of being a pastor, turned into peace, love, courage, and hope. It was because I had doubt, because I was broken, and because I needed grace that I believe that I when asked God’s for grace, that God gave it to me.

My brothers and sisters, Jesus came to save us all, but he also specifically came to save sinners. I am here today, because Jesus Christ made himself know to me, a sinner, again, and again, and again.

In the Jesus Culture song “One thing remains,” some of the lyrics say: “Higher than the mountains that I face, stronger than the power of the grave, constant in the trial and the change. This one thing remains, this one thing remains, your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me. Your love never fails, it never gives up. It never runs out on me, your love never fails, it never gives up. It never runs out on me. Your love”. (https://www.google.com/#safe=active&q=your+love+never+fails+lyrics+it+never+gives+up).

To sum all of this up, to me, this gospel reading for this morning about “Doubting Thomas,” tells me that Jesus Christ will never give up on us. Even if we have days or times in our lives that we can’t seem to see him, he pursues us. Sometimes we come to church and our cup of faith in running low, but maybe someone’s cup is overflowing, and they can share. Brother and sisters, this is why Jesus Christ gave us the gift of the church, so that we can together go through the highs, the lows, and yes through the doubts.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39, NRSV). Through this power, this truth, with the love of Jesus Christ, the power of Holy Spirit, we can walk together, on the mountain top, through the valley, and even through doubt. We can do all of this, because Christ is with us. All praise be to the risen Christ. Amen.