Defending Doubting Thomas
Service of Worship
Eastern Parkway United Methodist
Church
April 11, 2021
Rev. Natalie Bowerman, Pastor
Let us
pray:
Holy God, we confess our doubts.
When our childhood understandings fall away,
we feel naked.
When our long-held beliefs seem to crumble,
we feel lost.
When our convictions are questioned,
we feel ashamed.
Guide us into right paths, O God.
Guide our feet into the way of peace.
guide our hands to care for others.
guide our hearts to love our neighbors.
Call us back to You, O Christ, and renew our faith.
When the ground is unsteady,
loving God, put us back on right paths
by doing justice, loving kindness,
and walking humbly with You. Amen.
Assurance
The Lord is
our chosen portion and our cup.
God binds us in, counsels our minds and instructs our hearts.
God helps us to stand firm for justice, mercy, and peace.
When we fall, God lifts us up, forgives us,
and remembers our sins no more. Amen.
John 20:
19-31
Jesus
Appears to the Disciples
19 When it was evening on that day, the
first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met
were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
“Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them
his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the
Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As
the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had
said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Jesus and
Thomas
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin[a]), one of the twelve, was not with them when
Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have
seen the Lord.” But he 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 in his side, I
will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were again
in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus
came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then
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.” 28 Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 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.”
The
Purpose of This Book
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But
these are written so that you may come to believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah,[c] the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name.
A Message
“Defending
Doubting Thomas”
Natalie
Today I represent
the prosecution in the case of People who Believe in the Resurrection vs.
Thomas. I’m here to prove he’s guilty of the crime of doubt. You all are the
jury, and you get to decide whether you think the defendant is guilty or
innocent. Over here is the defendant. Will you please state your name for the
court?
Sean
Thomas
Natalie
Do you go by
any nicknames or aliases, Thomas?
Sean
Sometimes
people call me “didymus” or “the twin”.
Natalie
That’s it?
You don’t have any other nicknames?
Sean
Uh…no
Natalie
Are you
sure? You don’t have any other nicknames that directly implicate you in this
crime?
Sean
No, I don’t
think I do.
Natalie
Then how do
you explain Exhibit A: 2,000 years of people of faith, and the Bible itself,
calling you Doubting Thomas?
Sean
Ok, look, I
can’t help what other people say about me. I’m sure you haven’t liked all the
names people have called you. I’m not guilty of doubt. 2,000 years of
Christians are guilty of being judgmental.
Natalie
We’ll see
about that. What would you say your occupation is, Thomas?
Sean
I’m a
disciple of Jesus the Christ.
Natalie
Would you
say you are good at your job?
Sean
I would. Jesus
and I have been through a lot together, and I’ve stood by him no matter what. In
fact, I’ve stayed faithful to Jesus at times that the other eleven weren’t so
sure. When Jesus went to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, I was the one
who encouraged everyone else to go. When Jesus told us that “in his Father’s
house there are many rooms”, I was the one who wanted to know how to get to
that house. But does anyone call me “Inquisitive Thomas”? Or “Brave Thomas”? Or
“Encouraging Thomas”? No. I get stuck with “Doubting Thomas”.
Natalie
And you
would call that an unfair accusation?
Sean
Yes, I sure
would. Nathaneal wasn’t sure he even wanted to be a disciple because he said “Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?” Does anyone call him “Hometown Dissin’
Nate”? When Jesus fed the 5,000 Phillip discouraged him because he said all
that bread would cost a lot of money. Does anyone call him “Penny Pinchin’ Phil”?
Peter messes up a lot and he gets “The Rock Upon Which Christ Builds the
Church.” Even Judas didn’t get any nicknames that stuck! But I ask for a little
proof of the greatest miracle to ever happen and I get branded as “Doubting
Thomas” for all of time. I’m certainly not saying I’m perfect. I didn’t always
understand what Jesus was up to. And I’m ashamed to admit that, like the rest
of the disciples, when Jesus was on the cross I fled. That was very wrong. I’m
sorry for that. But I came back, and I’ve tried as hard as I can to do right by
Jesus and my faith in him ever since.
Natalie
Let’s go to
the day in question: The very first Easter Sunday. Mary Magdalene testified
that she had seen Jesus resurrected, and the other ten remaining disciples told
you they had also seen Jesus. And yet not only did you not believe eleven eye
witnesses, but you also demanded they prove what they saw. What do you call
that if not doubt?
Sean
Did I really
do anything that was so bad? I’d been sitting in that room with the other ten
for three days, and Jesus decides to show up right when I take a bathroom
break. And everyone else touches the nail holes in his hands, and the gash in
his side. Do you really think the other ten believed without that proof? They
sure didn’t believe Mary, or else why were they all holed up in that room? Why
weren’t they out looking for Jesus? I asked for the exact proof they got, and
as soon as I had it I believed! Yet Jesus lectured me anyway. No fair, dude.
Natalie
Do you
really think Jesus said “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come
to believe” just to be unfair? Do you really think Jesus used that encounter as
a big teaching opportunity about doubt if you weren’t, you know, doubting?
Sean
Look, I get
it. I know that day didn’t make me look good. And I know that that one story is
all anyone remembers me for. Sometimes it just works out like that with people—we
make snap judgments, and we don’t get to know one another’s hearts. But that’s
why I don’t worship people—I worship Jesus. I know how most people have looked
at that moment when I asked for proof that Jesus was really alive—you’re
supposed to just believe things about Jesus without any proof at all. Bad
Thomas. But let me ask the prosecution a question—what is doubt?
Natalie
There’s actually
2 uses of the word “doubt”. One is as a noun. The dictionary defines the noun
as “a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction”. The second use is as a
verb. The dictionary defines the verb as “to be afraid”.
Sean
So, look,
maybe you’re right. Maybe I am guilty of doubting. But what I’ll ask our jury
out here to decide for themselves is this: Is doubt such a bad thing? Have you
guys been calling me “Doubting Thomas” for 2,000 years because you think I’m so
bad? Or have you called me that because I’m really just like you?
Natalie
Now Thomas,
I don’t know if I understand your point.
Sean
Sure you do.
And so does the jury. Maybe I doubted Jesus on an important day. But is there
really a person here who never has? I know it’s not what we want to tell people
about our faith, and it’s certainly not what we want to confess to in a church,
but do any of us really walk around with perfect, unwavering conviction? We all
have weaknesses. And Jesus doesn’t love us because we’re perfect. He loves us
because we are. Maybe I responded with fear and uncertainty when Jesus hoped
that I would believe the Good News right away. But what do you think is better—believing
the story of Jesus’ resurrection immediately and having a faith that’s shallow,
or taking your time to believe it when you’re ready, and having a faith with
depth?
Natalie
Are you
trying to say that doubt can be a good thing?
Sean
I am. Doubt
is just something that goes hand in hand with following Jesus. I’ve seen Jesus
do some pretty unbelievable things—turn water into wine, feed 5,000 people with
2 fish and five loaves of bread, walk on water, calm the storm, raise a dead
man, heal the blind. Sometimes I’ve questioned my own eyes. Sometimes he’s made
me feel afraid—if he can do all that, what else can he do? Am I really safe in
the company of a man who can suspend the laws of nature? But every time I’ve
decided to keep following him anyway, and every time my faith has gotten
stronger because of it. Sometimes I’ve asked myself some hard questions—how is
this all possible? How can anything Jesus teaches be true? But when I bring
those questions to Jesus, he helps me. And I think I’m showing him how much I trust
him if I’m willing to let him see the cracks in my faith. It’s not easy being a
disciple. Sometimes I wonder if a sane person would turn around and run in the
other direction. Is that doubt, too? Maybe. But, ultimately, what’s more
important about me, and about all of us in this room—that we doubt, or that we
keep trying to do better?
Natalie
We’ll have
to let the jury think about that.
Together
Amen.
I invite
you to receive the benediction:
The help of
the saving Christ,
the wisdom of the Living God,
and the support of the loving Spirit,
will be with you
every step of the way, now and always.
Amen!
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