On this first week of Easter, our gospel lesson John 20: 19-31 brings us along on our first visit from the resurrected Jesus, who comes to where the disciples were staying. This is the famous encounter where Thomas is labeled "doubting Thomas." He asks for proof, to touch and see his wounds, in order to believe that it is indeed Jesus standing there.
I'd like to reconsider the fairness of calling Thomas a "doubter"...
The number of times the words "seeing" and "touching"(roughly 8 times) occur in this passage lead me to expect that John the evangelist considers this text to be about "empirical verification." And this is not a phrase that is limited to theological work (a Google search gave me about 2 million usages). I wonder why these terms have become so prominent...
We live in a scientific age. More than ever, we are trained to verify by trusting our experience. Sight and touch are two powerful ways that evidence is given to us to be tested; they help us verify what we are told and what we think.
There is no reason to attack Thomas, and his desire to use his senses in order to verify what he is told, especially because Jesus invites his examination: "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Touch and see. Jesus also grants the others in John 20 the same opportunity; practically everyone in this scene has already seen the resurrected Jesus. So why should we be so hard on Thomas for wanting the same opportunity to see Jesus that everyone else had?
But this defense of Thomas does not completely get him off the hook. The real problem with Thomas is not that he desired evidence, but that he did not trust his friends. Throughout the gospel of John, love and trust within the faithful community are the significant expression of the work of Christ in their midst. That is Jesus' goal: to foster a community of love of trust. And Thomas does not do that. His friends, whom he had lived life with for roughly 2 years, tell him "we have seen the Lord," and he does not trust or believe them.
We are called to be that community, too, to trust and believe each other. This does not happen without hard work; it is not automatic. But we can live inside our faithful community with open minds and hearts, ready to trust and believe each other. Too often, I think, we are too suspicious of each other.
Some of us have had our hearts broken, have been betrayed, mistreated, taken advantage of, and trampled on. Even in the church, even by people we share pews with and serve alongside of. The church is not perfect. People are not perfect. But we are stronger together. We can do the work of God, loving God by loving our neighbor, only if we are willing to trust and believe each other.
In my own life, I work best when I am trusted and empowered, and I think that is pretty common. Give someone the freedom to do their best at what they find meaningful, and you'll find someone who exceeds your expectations. Trusting and believing people does that: it empowers them to do their best. Trust says to someone "I expect a lot from you."
So let's not be so hard on Thomas. We have all been there, seeking proof to try and believe what we are told. Jesus invites that. But let's not make that a reason to doubt those in the community of faith. Trust can go a long way, and it did for Thomas. You see, he ended up dying for the faith he had in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord and Savior. God rewrote his story, too, from "doubt" to sacrificial faith. May God continue to rewrite your story, too.
Prayer*:
Thou who art over us,
Thou who art one of us,
Thou who art:
Give me a pure heart, that I may see thee;
a humble heart, that I may hear thee;
a heart of love, that I may serve thee;
a heart of faith, that I may abide in thee. Amen.
In Christ,
Jack
*Prayer from the United Methodist Hymnal, 392.
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