April 2023 Connection

Doubt-ish

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
                                                                                                                ~John 20:24-28 (CEB)
 
As you’re reading this, we’re likely toward the end of Lent, approaching Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter. Maybe you’ve picked up the newsletter a bit later in the month and have Easter Sunday in the rearview mirror, along with Michigan snowstorms (hopefully). Either way, this passage of scripture from John’s Gospel comes soon after Jesus’ resurrection, and so it’s fitting that you’re reading it.
 
So often, we title this passage “Doubting Thomas.” Chances are you’ve heard it called that before, but I’ll be honest, I’ve never liked that title for it. Truth be told, I’ve never liked using titles for scripture passages. They seem to set us up to see only one thing. For example, in the “Feeding of the 5,000,” our brains are trained to only see the feeding miracle. The title keeps us from seeing the miracle of 5000 men (plus women and children) gathering because they believe that Jesus can heal. It keeps us from seeing that all of this takes place in a fishing village, pointing out the disciples’ singular focus on what they have, while not noticing the potential in the community in which they find themselves. Considering that, the title could also be “The Disciples Can’t See the Forest for the Trees.”
 
Here, in John 20, the title forces us to see Thomas, one of the disciples, as “doubting.” And because of that, it’s hard to see anything else. So, let’s look at some other aspects of this story, ignoring Thomas’ doubt for a minute. Did you notice that Thomas wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came? Where was he? The answer is that we don’t know, but perhaps Thomas didn’t have the benefit of having seen the empty tomb as Peter, Mary and the “beloved disciple” had. Perhaps Thomas had continued on in ministry, returning only when he heard of Jesus’ resurrection – returning to see if it was real.
 
Or, do we notice that Jesus, now resurrected, still has the wounds in his hands, feet and side? So often, we think of Jesus resurrection as a healing from his earthly death, but here that’s challenged. Jesus was alive, to be sure, but he still had evidence of the death he experienced. Could it be that resurrection in and through Christ doesn’t take away wounds, but rather that it restores life in spite of this world’s wounds? Maybe, then, Thomas’ reaction was not so much “doubt” as it was surprise. Perhaps the disciples assumed all along that resurrection would mean that the cross would be erased, only to discover that it simply rendered the cross ineffective. Was Thomas simply responding to this new realization? (Keep in mind, It’s in John 16:33 that we hear these words: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”). If that’s the case, couldn’t we title this passage, “Thomas Discovers Resurrection’s Power”?
 
Now, okay… Jesus does say “Stop doubting and believe.” I will admit, it seems like this would completely dismantle my defense of Thomas. Maybe Thomas was doubting a bit. Maybe it’s not the worst title in the world. But until we got past the title, we wouldn’t have looked more closely at Jesus’ wounds – only Thomas’ doubt. Now that we see the wounds, and now that we’ve explored what that might teach us about resurrected, perhaps the “doubt” Jesus is referring to is not Thomas’ doubt that Jesus really was resurrection, but rather the disciples’ (Thomas included) doubt that resurrection could only be real if it erased the trouble and wounds we experience in this world.
 
There Jesus stood – wounds, trouble and all – not in the tomb, but resurrected. Jesus reminds Thomas…Jesus reminds the disciples…Jesus reminds us, the reader, that though we’ll carry our own cross in our discipleship (Matthew 16:24), ultimately the wounds of this world don’t have the final word. Resurrection does.
 
May we no longer doubt, but believe.
Pastor Brian
 
Download Connection