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"He is Risen! Now What?"
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Now what? The crowds are gone. The lilies have migrated
to homes and other parts of the building. The choir is
taking a well deserved rest. The disciples are locked
up in a room trembling in fear. And good ol’ Thomas
does us all a favor and starts asking some questions.
In fact I think we might not do so badly if we made
Thomas our patron saint. He had the guts to ask hard
questions and not be satisfied until he got some answers.
I wonder how many of you have serious questions about the
Christian faith. Whenever I teach Bible study, but especially
the Explorations class, where we cover the basics of
Christianity with those who are looking for a place to
call home spiritually, I am fond of saying, repeatedly,
there are no dumb questions. There are no dumb questions.
I can tell by the look on your face you have a question,
what is it?
I wonder how many of you are afraid to ask questions
because someone might think poorly of you. I wonder
how many of you are afraid to ask questions because
if you got an answer you might have to change the way
you think and, even harder, change the way you live. I
wonder how many of you have stopped asking questions
because all you’ve ever gotten is patronizing answers
and the strong impression that good Christians don’t
ask questions.
As we step into our gospel lesson for this morning there
are three things I want you to take home with you: first
Jesus did not give up on Thomas because of his questioning
nature; secondly the Bible, the Christian faith, God, can
handle intense scrutiny; and finally when it is all said
and done it will still require faith.
Jesus did not give up on Thomas because of his questioning
nature. One of the things I enjoy doing as you read the
Bible’s account of various events is to wander around inside
the story a little bit and use your imagination to see what
else might have been going on.
Did you ever wonder where Thomas was on that first day
of the week, when the disciples were together, with the
doors locked for fear of the Jews? I suppose his car
might have broken down, or maybe there was a big sale
on electronics at Best Buy. You don’t suppose he had a
tee time at the Jerusalem Golf and Country Club? Thomas’
absence has led more than one pastor to say, half seriously,
half jokingly, “You see what happens when you skip church?
Jesus shows up and you missed him.”
Who knows, maybe Thomas was grieving so deeply he just
didn’t feel like being around the others. Maybe his
inquiring mind was out doing some detective work.
Maybe he had some connections inside the Roman or Jewish
leadership and he was investigating the word on the street.
Maybe he was even despairing and ready to just give up on
the whole idea that Jesus was the Messiah.
On the other side of the coin how do you think the other
followers of Jesus responded to and interacted with Thomas
during the week that passes in our text? Do you suppose
some of them teased him? Maybe the moniker “doubting Thomas”
started with them. It sure has stuck down through the ages,
even though church tradition says that Thomas never looked
back again, that he became a leader in the early church,
perhaps the first missionary to India and was so convinced
of Jesus’ resurrection that he was martyred for his faith –
so convinced that it cost him his life.
I can picture Peter, you know the one who swore he’d die
before he denied Jesus, the one who drew his sword and
lopped off the high priests ear in the Garden of Gethsemane,
I can picture Peter shoving Thomas up against the wall and
threatening him with bodily harm for his refusal to believe
that they had all seen and touched Jesus, that he was risen
indeed!
It is not a bad idea to stop right there and think about how
the church and believers like you and me respond to people
who have doubts and questions about the Christian faith. I
am afraid that sometimes, and pastors may be the worst
offenders, we bully people emotionally into silence. Maybe
because we don’t know the answers or we don’t want to be
bothered, we send the message that it’s unacceptable to have
doubts and ask questions.
Keep in mind, there is a difference between doubt and
closed-mindedness. Some people reject Christianity without
ever examining it. They just decide, for whatever reason,
that it isn’t true and they never take a closer look. If
you try to talk to them they don’t listen. There attitude
is “Don’t bother me with the facts, my mind is already
made up.”
Thomas wasn’t close-minded. It’s hard to imagine Thomas
sticking around for a week if he had already made up his
mind. He just wanted to see what the other’s had seen. He
wanted to see Jesus’ hands and side.
So here’s the first point again. Jesus didn’t abandon
Thomas because of his doubts. He didn’t say, “O.K. Thomas
you had your chance. If you’re going to be that stubborn,
I’m done with you. Hit the road Jack and don’t you come
back no more.”
If you have doubts, don’t use them as an excuse to
avoid looking for the evidence. If you have family
and friends who have questions, don’t be afraid to
start digging for answers. Come to Bible study and
speak up. Come to my next Explorations class the
first week in May and see if there might be some
very satisfying answers.
I say that with great boldness because the Christian
faith, the story of the Bible, the account of God’s
plan for our salvation can withstand intense scrutiny.
That’s my second point. God can handle your doubts and
questions.
A business might claim that their financial status is
solid, but the question is, what is the basis of their
claim? If they say, “We still have lots of checks in our
checkbook, so we must have plenty of money,” you know
you’re in trouble. If they say, “Our records show we have
“x” number of dollars, even though the bank says we have
less than that, we figure we’re right more often than the
bank,” then you know you’ve got a problem. But, if they
say, “We have three full-time accountants on staff who
track every penny, plus each year we’re audited by an
independent firm and they give us a top rating,” then
you know you’ve got something.
Some teachings out there about God and the way he works
are about as flimsy as the guy who thinks he still has
money because he still has checks. Christianity isn’t
that way. Christianity has stood the intense examination
of centuries. Jesus’ claims can endure because they are
true. He told his disciples that “not even the gates of
hell can overcome” the message of salvation.
Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind mountaineer who successfully
scaled Mount Everest in May 2001, writes in Outside magazine:
"A few days after I arrived in the Khumbu Valley for the
Mount Everest climb, a rumor began circulating. Because I
wasn't flopping on my face every few minutes, the people
thought I was lying about my blindness. Women would approach
me in the alleys of the market and wave their hands in front
of my face. I'd feel the wind and flinch, which only confirmed
their suspicions.
"Finally, I resorted to drastic measures. I asked Kami Tenzing,
our climbing leader, into the kitchen tent. 'Kami,' I said, 'I
want to give you a message to take back to the others.' I pulled
down my left lower eyelid, leaned my head forward, and my prosthetic
eye plopped into my palm. 'I can take the other out if you want,' I
said. 'No!' he said firmly. 'Not necessary.'"
Folks, try to understand the importance and the value of Thomas.
Jesus, not only didn’t give up on him, Jesus took him aside and
said, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand
and put it into my side. Thomas, do you have any more questions?”
Whatever your doubts, whatever your questions, Thomas is the
proof that Jesus can withstand your investigation.
Finally, though, when it is all said and done, when all the
evidence has been examined it still requires faith to accept
and believe the truth. Jesus said to Thomas, “Stop doubting
and believe.” Thomas still could have walked away or six months
or a year later said, “You know, I think that whole thing was
just a dream, maybe some bad food from the night before.”
The same is true for us. After we have studied and examined
the Scripture, and archaeology, and history, and witness of
countless believers who have gone before us it is still a
matter of believing it to be true.
Now here is the best news I could ever hope to give you. Believing,
accepting the Bible’s account of God’s work of salvation, is a gift
given to you through the power and presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit is attached to and imbedded in the very
investigation you are called to make. In other words, as you
start digging around in the Bible, as you start asking your
questions and looking for answers, you are exposing yourself
to the Holy Spirit whose one goal is give you the gift of faith.
As you consider what the Bible says about why the world is the way
that it is – why we can have a whole week long debate about the
stupidity of a radio talk show host – why the evils of terrorism
are raging seemingly out of control – why the world seems to be
literally coming apart at the seems – why your life is not all
that you hoped and dreamed it would be – as you ask those questions
and a thousand more the Holy Spirit will give you a remarkably
clear and unsettling answer: Sin is at work in every crack and
crevice of this world rotting it from the inside out until it
will finally be destroyed.
As you dig around, investigate, ask questions about whether there
is any hope, any solutions, any reason to go on living, the Holy
Spirit will shine a laser beam on the cross and say, “You see that
man dying there, that man is God. Since the foundations of the world
were shaken by sin God waited for just the right moment in human
history and then took on human flesh in the person of Jesus of
Nazareth. He entered the wreck of time and he deposited the
miracle of new life.
“By his perfect life Jesus’ blood became the antidote for the disease
of sin that is destroying us and the world. His death shed his blood,
poured it out on the cross, to touch the lives of every human being
ever born from Adam and Eve to the last child yet to be born. His
resurrection breathes new life into our dying world and your dying
body. Whoever believes in him will not perish but has everlasting life.”
Ask your questions. Come to a Bible study. Come to my next Explorations
class. Don’t give up until your satisfied. Let the Holy Spirit speak.
Don’t be afraid. Peace be with you. Blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed. Stop doubting and believe.
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Really? Now what?
Amen.
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