In the famous story of Thomas and belief, we get to wrestle with our sense of witness. And how we come to believe.
For Sunday
Second Sunday of Easter
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Reading
From John 20:19-31
“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Reflection
I have always felt for Thomas. He missed out on the big show, then has to deal with his friends talking about how awesome it was to see Jesus again. We can all understand that feeling of missing out.
In the midst of this frustration and pain, Thomas makes a bold statement:
“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.”
What comes next? Jesus shows up and Thomas feels humiliated. Because of course he would after that!
I’m not sure that’s exactly how it plays out, but it sure feels like it is. Like Jesus is shaming Thomas for not trusting his friends. Or perhaps for wanting what they had. Neither is a particularly shame-worthy idea.
What I notice, however, is that Thomas asks to see and to touch Jesus. He doesn’t just need visual proof, but physical proof as well. This is central to his statement. I can imagine him saying to his buddies, Yeah, OK, you might have seen Jesus, but that doesn’t mean he was really there. I’m not buying it until I get real proof.
So what happens when Jesus shows up? Thomas doesn’t touch him! Where’s Mr. Tough Guy I-won’t-believe-unless-I-put-my-fingers-in-the-wounds Thomas now? Well, he believes, of course!
While I think it is very easy to shame Thomas as “doubting” or sympathizing greatly with his realistic approach to hearing about the resurrection, I suspect we are actually paying too much attention to personality and voice and not enough on what is actually said. For Thomas demands to see and touch, but in the moment, he doesn’t even need to touch.
Blessed are those who don’t even need to see.
So blessed are we in reading Scripture. For we neither see nor touch and yet we believe.
It is easy to get tied up in the logistics of faith. How do we do it? What words do we use? Who is allowed to do what? But it can be hard to live into a life of faith that relies solely on…well…faith. As in faith in each other. Faith in institutions. Faith in traditions. Because we get let down. Things go wrong. And we’re often feeling left behind.
It was far easier to follow Jesus when he was right in front of them. Harder when he’s gone and they have to figure things out. We have it even harder. And yet we still may believe. Not because we’ve seen him or touched him but because we witnessed him through other people. And we are blessed through believing.