Port Perry Prince Albert Pastoral Charge
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31
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 people], Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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.”
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.” 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.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 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.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Reflection
This week has been traditionally been called low Sunday. It’s when congregations are permitted to kick back a bit, even tell a few jokes. We laugh in the face of evil and death, for after all, is this not what Easter does?
The great Presbyterian preacher George Buttrick said it best when speaking of Jesus’ resurrection: “Easter morning Jesus is crowned among confession and tears and great laughter.”
This is all well and good. Especially if you are in a laughing mood!
And the plan is to share a few laughs next week when we are back in the pulpit and we celebrate Holy Humour Sunday.
But what if you don’t feel like laughing today or in this season? What if you are not so sure about this Easter stuff and whether you buy it or not? What if the thought of someone actually physically rising from the dead makes your eyes roll? Or what if you want your life to reflect Easter joy and it just doesn’t?
Well, in walks Thomas.
This week’s gospel goes out of the way to point out to us that Thomas, the disciple Thomas, was a twin. Every time the disciple Thomas is mentioned, a small note in parentheses follows “Thomas, called the twin.” I wonder why did the writers throw in this detail?
It could be possible that his twin was one of the more well‑known people in that early community, and that’s why his being a twin is mentioned. But we don’t know who this other twin was; and so speculation abounds. We know it wasn’t Peter and Andrew, or James and John, because they’re listed as brothers and not as triplets. Thomas could have been Matthew’s twin, or maybe, more intriguingly, how about Jesus’ twin or Mary Magdalene’s twin? Or perhaps it was Judas Iscariot, and that’s why the twin’s name isn’t mentioned. But that’s all speculation; we really do not know.
None of this explains the real reason why the gospel writer made a point of mentioning that Thomas was a twin. Perhaps there is another reason that is more profound.
To the question: who is Thomas’ twin? The answer between the lines is perhaps, it is us! Thomas is our answer to post Easter morning doubt and eye rolling.
We are Thomas’ twin, for all of us, like Thomas, are a mixture of doubt and certainty, pessimism and trust, unbelief and belief.
Early in the gospel of John, Thomas the twin is the one who urges the other disciples to follow Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus is taking a large risk in raising Lazarus. Such a great sign will have to be confronted by the authorities and so Thomas boldly declares: “Let us all go along with the teacher, so that we may, if need be, die with him!” Faithful Thomas. Yet later in John we find Thomas doubting the appearance of the risen Christ. Again, he boldly declares: “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Seeing is believing you know! Thomas is caught between belief and unbelief.
We are Thomas’ twin. Even on this Sunday when we laugh in the face of evil and death, there still just might be a place inside your head that says: “Is this for real?” All of us are a mixture of belief and unbelief. One moment we know what we believe‑‑it is so clear that God exists, that God triumphs over evil, that life triumphs over death. When we watch little children happily at play. When the spring time air smells o so fresh. When we get good news from the doctor. When we see people reaching out to others‑‑in beautiful acts of kindness and generosity. Then we believe. We proclaim: “Yes, God is alive!” And then, in the next moment, we find ourselves asking‑‑if there is a God, then why such suffering, why such grief? Did you know that even before the pandemic, 35,000 children die a day due to lack of food, clean water and proper medical care? Why are their teens with guns and knives in our schools? Or tragedy comes home‑‑and a loved one dies or life has become a series of broken dreams. It is in times such as these that we may find ourselves doubting, wondering who is in charge of this world???
Like Thomas, we are caught between belief and unbelief.
Some find this a difficult place to be. They want to know for sure. Folks deal with this difficult place in a couple of ways. Some, in their pursuit to know for sure swear that they have no doubts at all. They proclaim that they are not caught between belief and unbelief at all, that they believe (that there is a God, that Jesus is risen, that all of this is for a purpose, that the Bible is true) and there is no doubt in their mind. We have all met folks like this. Some of them are an inspiration to us. A strength to us in our own questioning. Some folks are so sure they can be almost dangerous. It has been said: “Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.”
Others, in their pursuit to know for sure, simply give up. You can’t know these things‑‑and who cares anyways. I might as well just fend for myself and let the chips fall where they may.
Still others use their doubts and their uncertainties to nurture their belief. Doubt, which can seem like an unwelcome visitor at the time, in the end turns out for them to be a companion in faith. Doubt causes them to clarify what is essential in their faith. It makes them go deeper, beyond platitudes and inherited belief.
Their doubt is like ants in the pants or like having fleas!
Did you know that at one time fleas were seen as a necessity? For your dog, that is. Just before the beginning of this century this was written of fleas: “A reasonable amount of fleas is good for a dog‑‑keeps him from brooding over being a dog.” An English scientist of the same era wrote: “Well‑washed and well combed domestic dogs grow dull; they miss the stimulus of fleas”
Our doubts are like those fleas! Our doubts provide the stimulus to keep faith from becoming too complacent or too certain. Doubts are the ants in the pants of our faith.
I think this was Thomas. Thomas had ants in his pants. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus came to show himself to the other disciples. And when he heard their story, he just didn't politely agree and then go home and think‑‑yeah right (By the way, this is what I would have likely done!!) No, he didn’t sit back and keep his mouth shout. He stands among his friends and he boldly admits his doubts and he struggles to understand.
And what was the response of Christ? To the one with ants in his pants? He came to Thomas. He reached out to Thomas in his unbelief. Jesus didn’t dismiss his doubts, he didn’t insult his doubting‑‑he said: “Okay Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.”
It was okay that Thomas had doubts. He came to believe despite his doubting. Notice that there is no indication that he ever did touch Jesus. The invitation was enough. Also note, that it was his doubting that led him to a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Christ. Doubt was a friend to Thomas.
So all is well and good with Thomas.
Well, not exactly.
We heard in our scripture reading today the details of Jesus coming to the disciples. Jesus breathes on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. People who argue about how to translate the words in the Bible, actually say that Jesus came to the disciples and breathed into them and they point out that the same word for breath that we see way back in the book of Genesis is being used here. In the second chapter of Genesis, God breathed into the first human the breath of life. This is what Jesus is doing here in the gospel of John. He is breathing new life into them. This is an awesome understanding of the power of the resurrection in our lives…it is like G-d breathing the very breath of life into us! Then follows the story of Thomas the twin. If we read between the lines here, we are being told that Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus first came to breathe new life into them. Thomas was absent. Now there could have been many reasons why he was absent. After all, his little band had just broken up, his leader was captured and horribly crucified. Everything that he believed in, everything that he had given himself to, had just collapsed. In the same situation, I too might have withdrawn from the others. But even though the gospel sympathizes with that, it at once makes a sharp commentary. The fact is, Thomas missed out. The fact is, not being part of his fellowship, his community, Thomas missed out. And this was Thomas’ mistake, not his doubt, but his absence.
He wasn’t there to cry and mourn with the other disciples. He wasn’t there to struggle with the other disciples‑‑and ask of them‑‑what does all this mean? He wasn’t there‑‑and so he missed the presence of the risen Christ bringing meaning and sense to their lives.
It is not the doubts that were Thomas’ problem‑‑but his absence.
This is a particularly relevant observation while we are worshipping from home. It is very intentional that we remind ourselves each week that we are worshipping together from home. It is the together piece that enriches us and enlivens us. How wonderful and enriching for all of us to be part of a faith community full of people with different perspectives and opinions; full of everyone’s questions, doubts and insights. There is no greater evidence to me that Christ is alive as when I consider our congregations on any given day. There are healers and peacemakers. There are people with enormous compassion, people passionate for justice. There are people who live to make a joyful noise with their voice or with their very lives, or both!
At the end of the day, you are the proof of the resurrection! The very breath of God fills our hearts and minds, our bodies and souls. God’s breath fills our community and your very lives. This faith of ours is gained, and shared and challenged and matured when we remember that we are in this together.
This was Thomas’ mistake. Even if he was understandably depressed and withdrawn and shattered, he needed his fellowship, his community ‑ he could have never have found his way by himself. All of us doubt, but to cope with doubt, we need each other. That’s the secret, one another.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Blessed are those who stay connected in community and struggle and question and learn and hope and prayer‑‑for they will come to believe.
Having doubts? Completely understandable. Like Thomas, everyone experiences the absent Christ. For Thomas, at that moment in his life, Christ was no where to be found. And there is nothing wrong with that. It is a reality of all relationships. There’s hardly a husband or wife who has not doubted the other at one time. There’s hardly the most fervent friendship that hasn’t had its weak moments. And there’s hardly a believer who hasn’t known Christ absent from his or her life.
But, like Thomas, it is good to be connected in community and within that community we too can cry out like Thomas, “my Lord and my God!” even when that’s more of a question than it is a statement.
Next week we will share a joke or two and laugh all we want. And surely, that is a right and proper response to the glory of the resurrection! A right and proper response, however, can also be honest doubt, questions, and seeking. As Thomas’ twin we are embraced this day by Christ. The welcoming and gracious hands of our Lord tells us it is okay to bring your doubts, your questions, your struggles. And also let us not forget to stick together, prayer for one another and continue to nurture one another in the faith. Amen.
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31
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 people], Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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.”
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.” 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.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 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.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Reflection
This week has been traditionally been called low Sunday. It’s when congregations are permitted to kick back a bit, even tell a few jokes. We laugh in the face of evil and death, for after all, is this not what Easter does?
The great Presbyterian preacher George Buttrick said it best when speaking of Jesus’ resurrection: “Easter morning Jesus is crowned among confession and tears and great laughter.”
This is all well and good. Especially if you are in a laughing mood!
And the plan is to share a few laughs next week when we are back in the pulpit and we celebrate Holy Humour Sunday.
But what if you don’t feel like laughing today or in this season? What if you are not so sure about this Easter stuff and whether you buy it or not? What if the thought of someone actually physically rising from the dead makes your eyes roll? Or what if you want your life to reflect Easter joy and it just doesn’t?
Well, in walks Thomas.
This week’s gospel goes out of the way to point out to us that Thomas, the disciple Thomas, was a twin. Every time the disciple Thomas is mentioned, a small note in parentheses follows “Thomas, called the twin.” I wonder why did the writers throw in this detail?
It could be possible that his twin was one of the more well‑known people in that early community, and that’s why his being a twin is mentioned. But we don’t know who this other twin was; and so speculation abounds. We know it wasn’t Peter and Andrew, or James and John, because they’re listed as brothers and not as triplets. Thomas could have been Matthew’s twin, or maybe, more intriguingly, how about Jesus’ twin or Mary Magdalene’s twin? Or perhaps it was Judas Iscariot, and that’s why the twin’s name isn’t mentioned. But that’s all speculation; we really do not know.
None of this explains the real reason why the gospel writer made a point of mentioning that Thomas was a twin. Perhaps there is another reason that is more profound.
To the question: who is Thomas’ twin? The answer between the lines is perhaps, it is us! Thomas is our answer to post Easter morning doubt and eye rolling.
We are Thomas’ twin, for all of us, like Thomas, are a mixture of doubt and certainty, pessimism and trust, unbelief and belief.
Early in the gospel of John, Thomas the twin is the one who urges the other disciples to follow Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus is taking a large risk in raising Lazarus. Such a great sign will have to be confronted by the authorities and so Thomas boldly declares: “Let us all go along with the teacher, so that we may, if need be, die with him!” Faithful Thomas. Yet later in John we find Thomas doubting the appearance of the risen Christ. Again, he boldly declares: “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Seeing is believing you know! Thomas is caught between belief and unbelief.
We are Thomas’ twin. Even on this Sunday when we laugh in the face of evil and death, there still just might be a place inside your head that says: “Is this for real?” All of us are a mixture of belief and unbelief. One moment we know what we believe‑‑it is so clear that God exists, that God triumphs over evil, that life triumphs over death. When we watch little children happily at play. When the spring time air smells o so fresh. When we get good news from the doctor. When we see people reaching out to others‑‑in beautiful acts of kindness and generosity. Then we believe. We proclaim: “Yes, God is alive!” And then, in the next moment, we find ourselves asking‑‑if there is a God, then why such suffering, why such grief? Did you know that even before the pandemic, 35,000 children die a day due to lack of food, clean water and proper medical care? Why are their teens with guns and knives in our schools? Or tragedy comes home‑‑and a loved one dies or life has become a series of broken dreams. It is in times such as these that we may find ourselves doubting, wondering who is in charge of this world???
Like Thomas, we are caught between belief and unbelief.
Some find this a difficult place to be. They want to know for sure. Folks deal with this difficult place in a couple of ways. Some, in their pursuit to know for sure swear that they have no doubts at all. They proclaim that they are not caught between belief and unbelief at all, that they believe (that there is a God, that Jesus is risen, that all of this is for a purpose, that the Bible is true) and there is no doubt in their mind. We have all met folks like this. Some of them are an inspiration to us. A strength to us in our own questioning. Some folks are so sure they can be almost dangerous. It has been said: “Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.”
Others, in their pursuit to know for sure, simply give up. You can’t know these things‑‑and who cares anyways. I might as well just fend for myself and let the chips fall where they may.
Still others use their doubts and their uncertainties to nurture their belief. Doubt, which can seem like an unwelcome visitor at the time, in the end turns out for them to be a companion in faith. Doubt causes them to clarify what is essential in their faith. It makes them go deeper, beyond platitudes and inherited belief.
Their doubt is like ants in the pants or like having fleas!
Did you know that at one time fleas were seen as a necessity? For your dog, that is. Just before the beginning of this century this was written of fleas: “A reasonable amount of fleas is good for a dog‑‑keeps him from brooding over being a dog.” An English scientist of the same era wrote: “Well‑washed and well combed domestic dogs grow dull; they miss the stimulus of fleas”
Our doubts are like those fleas! Our doubts provide the stimulus to keep faith from becoming too complacent or too certain. Doubts are the ants in the pants of our faith.
I think this was Thomas. Thomas had ants in his pants. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus came to show himself to the other disciples. And when he heard their story, he just didn't politely agree and then go home and think‑‑yeah right (By the way, this is what I would have likely done!!) No, he didn’t sit back and keep his mouth shout. He stands among his friends and he boldly admits his doubts and he struggles to understand.
And what was the response of Christ? To the one with ants in his pants? He came to Thomas. He reached out to Thomas in his unbelief. Jesus didn’t dismiss his doubts, he didn’t insult his doubting‑‑he said: “Okay Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.”
It was okay that Thomas had doubts. He came to believe despite his doubting. Notice that there is no indication that he ever did touch Jesus. The invitation was enough. Also note, that it was his doubting that led him to a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Christ. Doubt was a friend to Thomas.
So all is well and good with Thomas.
Well, not exactly.
We heard in our scripture reading today the details of Jesus coming to the disciples. Jesus breathes on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. People who argue about how to translate the words in the Bible, actually say that Jesus came to the disciples and breathed into them and they point out that the same word for breath that we see way back in the book of Genesis is being used here. In the second chapter of Genesis, God breathed into the first human the breath of life. This is what Jesus is doing here in the gospel of John. He is breathing new life into them. This is an awesome understanding of the power of the resurrection in our lives…it is like G-d breathing the very breath of life into us! Then follows the story of Thomas the twin. If we read between the lines here, we are being told that Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus first came to breathe new life into them. Thomas was absent. Now there could have been many reasons why he was absent. After all, his little band had just broken up, his leader was captured and horribly crucified. Everything that he believed in, everything that he had given himself to, had just collapsed. In the same situation, I too might have withdrawn from the others. But even though the gospel sympathizes with that, it at once makes a sharp commentary. The fact is, Thomas missed out. The fact is, not being part of his fellowship, his community, Thomas missed out. And this was Thomas’ mistake, not his doubt, but his absence.
He wasn’t there to cry and mourn with the other disciples. He wasn’t there to struggle with the other disciples‑‑and ask of them‑‑what does all this mean? He wasn’t there‑‑and so he missed the presence of the risen Christ bringing meaning and sense to their lives.
It is not the doubts that were Thomas’ problem‑‑but his absence.
This is a particularly relevant observation while we are worshipping from home. It is very intentional that we remind ourselves each week that we are worshipping together from home. It is the together piece that enriches us and enlivens us. How wonderful and enriching for all of us to be part of a faith community full of people with different perspectives and opinions; full of everyone’s questions, doubts and insights. There is no greater evidence to me that Christ is alive as when I consider our congregations on any given day. There are healers and peacemakers. There are people with enormous compassion, people passionate for justice. There are people who live to make a joyful noise with their voice or with their very lives, or both!
At the end of the day, you are the proof of the resurrection! The very breath of God fills our hearts and minds, our bodies and souls. God’s breath fills our community and your very lives. This faith of ours is gained, and shared and challenged and matured when we remember that we are in this together.
This was Thomas’ mistake. Even if he was understandably depressed and withdrawn and shattered, he needed his fellowship, his community ‑ he could have never have found his way by himself. All of us doubt, but to cope with doubt, we need each other. That’s the secret, one another.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Blessed are those who stay connected in community and struggle and question and learn and hope and prayer‑‑for they will come to believe.
Having doubts? Completely understandable. Like Thomas, everyone experiences the absent Christ. For Thomas, at that moment in his life, Christ was no where to be found. And there is nothing wrong with that. It is a reality of all relationships. There’s hardly a husband or wife who has not doubted the other at one time. There’s hardly the most fervent friendship that hasn’t had its weak moments. And there’s hardly a believer who hasn’t known Christ absent from his or her life.
But, like Thomas, it is good to be connected in community and within that community we too can cry out like Thomas, “my Lord and my God!” even when that’s more of a question than it is a statement.
Next week we will share a joke or two and laugh all we want. And surely, that is a right and proper response to the glory of the resurrection! A right and proper response, however, can also be honest doubt, questions, and seeking. As Thomas’ twin we are embraced this day by Christ. The welcoming and gracious hands of our Lord tells us it is okay to bring your doubts, your questions, your struggles. And also let us not forget to stick together, prayer for one another and continue to nurture one another in the faith. Amen.
