(This sermon requires previous set-up for the opening. The writer suggests a male member of the congregation is prepared ahead of time to call the pastor on his cell phone. They should follow the script below.)
This morning will be a little different. I am expecting a call from a well-known person. I am taking the call during the service and will put it on speaker phone so everyone can hear. You’ll recognize who it is and I am sure it will impress you that I get calls from this high-level person.
(Phone rings. Speaker answers).
Speaker: Hello, I am very excited to get this call.
Caller: I doubt it.
Speaker: No, no, truly. It doesn’t happen every day around here. You are very welcome in our church.
Caller: I doubt it.
Speaker: You are a big part of this morning’s message.
Caller: I doubt it.
Speaker: I’ve worked hours and hours on this message.
Caller: I doubt it.
Speaker: Okay then, let me get to a few questions that I am sure our congregation is dying to have you answer.
Caller: I doubt it.
Speaker: On the resurrection topic, since we recently celebrated Easter, were you as excited as the other disciples when you heard that Christ had arose?
Caller: I doubt it.
Speaker: When John and Peter said they saw Jesus were you surprised?
Caller: I doubt it.
Speaker: We are running out of time. I only have so many minutes left on my phone. Let me jump to my last question. What was it like to place your fingers in the holes in his hands?
Caller: I did not doubt it!
(Speaker hangs up)
In our gospel reading this morning, we are going to hear about the disciple Thomas, who we nicknamed Doubting Thomas throughout the centuries because of his lack of trust in the veracity of his fellow disciples when they said they saw Jesus. Was that a fair assessment of who Thomas was? Or does his doubt strike a chord inside your heart? Inside of us all is a healthy cynicism that critically looks at stories, news, gossip, grocery store tabloids with a raised eyebrow. Inside each of us is a Doubting Thomas. This may have been why this account was placed into our Bible. It is so we can critically deal with something completely outside the realm of normal life.
We don’t doubt Christ’s crucifixion. We don’t doubt that Jesus walked the earth. Those are certainly within the realm of normal life, at least for that time frame. You don’t doubt that he was a great teacher or a charismatic leader. These are easy to accept because they lie inside the normal, average, everyday portions of life. But the things that fall outside of that normal life leave you with a few questions, a few doubts. Over the last year, we’ve been hearing the term “fake news.” We are learning to doubt our news media on the truthfulness of a story and the bias behind it. We are growing into cynics, into Doubting Thomas-like characters.
Yet, this really isn’t fair to Thomas. Though we know little about him, that little tells us a lot about his character. He was nicknamed “the twin” but the scripture never says who his twin brother was. We also know he was brave and loyal to Jesus. In John 11:16, “So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” A person does not commit themselves to that sort of future unless they are loyal and truly brave. He obviously believed in his master and also believed that Jesus was the Messiah.
What caused this brave and loyal follower to doubt the statements by his fellow apostles that Jesus was risen from the dead and that they had seen him? Psychologists who have studied doubt tell us that there are various reasons. It could be an emotional reaction to a disappointing event. It is like that old saying goes, “Burn me once — shame on you. Burn me twice - shame on me.” For Thomas it could have been his intense reaction to the loss of Jesus. He was willing to die for him and then Jesus died. His faith may have been rocked and Thomas’ reaction could have come from that.
Also, depression makes it hard to deal with joyous good news. The scripture never says that Thomas fell into depression but something tells me that all of the disciples were rocked by the event at the cross.
There are lists for the cause of doubt but most, like medical, historical, or sinfulness, do not fit into what we know of Thomas. One writer suggested that Thomas was simply that downer type of personality in the group. You’ve been in meetings where the whole group is excited about an idea and one lonely soul speaks up and says, “It will never work.” That theory doesn’t ring true when you examine Thomas’ statement in John 11:16. It seems the opposite of that downer thinking. He insisted they all go with Jesus so that if he died, they all died. Not exactly an “up” statement that would lead a charge. Not exactly a statement that would be considered putting an end to a good idea. He was a brave and loyal follower of Christ. His doubting statement seems to come more from his great disappointment. His confession of, “My Lord and my God” reflects more of Thomas’ faithfulness than his doubt. I think Thomas is getting a bad rap but without his doubt, we would never know that our doubts are often part of the Christian journey. Jesus did not chastise Thomas for doubting.
When it comes to your doubts, and we all have them from time to time, it is good to know that Jesus doesn’t reject you. Amazingly, it is said that most atheists, people who don’t believe there is a God, are actually angry at God. It seems strange to be angry at someone you state doesn’t exist. Too often we find that people who have passed through a difficult time with the loss of a loved one, consider that God let them down and didn’t answer their prayers. If God doesn’t answer their prayers then he must not exist.
When you doubt, carry your questions to God. Ask him to show you another perspective. Doubt can at times be the great catalyst that moves us forward. Remember, God is not afraid of your questions.
In the weeks after Easter, after you have sought a deeper relationship with God for forty days, there may be a letdown or a satisfaction that you achieved a goal. That letdown leaves room for doubt. It leaves room for a desire to make a spiritual reversal. This is not the time to be a Doubting Thomas but the time to be the brave, faithful follower that Thomas truly was.
Amen.