John 20:19-29; April 7, 2024; Second Sunday of Easter
“‘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.’” – John 20:25
I will not believe. Unless I see.
I imagine this doctrine was why my school, Seton Hall, was predicted by all the talking heads to finish 9th (basically last) in the Big East this year. For until they saw, they wouldn’t believe.
Oh yes, before the Pirates ever stepped foot on the hardwood, my alma mater was completely written off. They were called bottom dwellers. They were called cheap losers for not participating in the new NIL system. And no one locally nor around the country respected or believed in them. No one at all.
Well, besides their coach, and besides themselves, and besides this guy right here (me!). And look at us now — we went from “finishing 9th” to on Thursday being crowned the 2024 NIT champions, baby! And now everyone believes, because now everyone has seen.
And man, there was so much celebrating that night, both in New Jersey and in Heaven above, that the ground beneath us began to shake the very next day after! …And boy, wasn’t that crazy, huh? As I asked on Facebook, did Seton Hall’s victory just cause an earthquake?
Now, perhaps like you, the first text that I got was in the form of a question, from a friend saying, “Yo…was that an earthquake?” And my first reaction, perhaps like yours, was like, “come on, man…in Pennsylvania?”
But then I went on Twitter and saw all of the feeds. And then I went on Facebook and saw all of the comments. And then I went on Instagram and saw all of the shaky footage. And immediately, after seeing the totality of the testimonies, I started to believe. That it was indeed an earthquake.
And so, I thought that just maybe seeing is believing.
“I will not believe unless I see,” Thomas says. “I will not believe.” And really, how can we blame him when that’s what we say ourselves? That, we will not believe until we see.
And I mean honestly, we live in a world today where it would be foolish to believe without seeing. For after all, we have biased news, we have fake news, and we have faker news. We even have half-truths being passed off as full-truths, and outright lies being sold as “alternative facts” (whatever that means).
And, we also now have something called “generative AI” which can doctor photos and experiences and God knows what else seemingly at will. Heck, I saw a picture the other day where a jaguar was drinking from a puddle on someone’s patio. But the only thing was, that jaguar was never there, for he lives somewhere halfway across the world! AI just photoshopped him in with the touch of a button. Or, maybe, by sentient thought… and just think about that for a second… yeesh.
And I imagine it’s only going to get stranger from here on out. For I could bet that we are at or very near the day where a whole presidential speech could be presumed to be occurring in real time, when in reality it is instead being generated by an algorithm or a nefarious opponent somewhere else. Scary stuff, isn’t it? Black Mirror-esque. Great show, by the way…
Just how then can we, or how will we, be able to trust in anything that we see or hear anymore, without experiencing it first-hand for ourselves? I don’t know…
And so, we struggle like Thomas, and are forced to question how and why. To think critically if not skeptically, and to even harbor doubt where and when necessary.
And yeah, it sucks that we can’t just take people or newspapers or media stations at their word anymore, and that we’ve all collectively lost our innocence and the benefit of the doubt. But like it or not, skepticism is here now, and I would say, has been for some time; and more, that it is an unfortunate necessity on our journey towards discovery and truth; for when we ask questions, when we examine and reflect on things, it is then that we learn about stuff that we previously didn’t, and can confirm and believe what it is that we’ve been hearing.
And so, believing, my friends, believing requires thinking. No, it can’t be ignorant, nor can it remain blind. Because then it risks not being belief at all, but rather something more like ambivalent adherence, or listless compliance, or worst of all, outright delusion.
And you see… Thomas, our friend Thomas… he didn’t want to just blindly comply to what others were saying, nor did he want to be deluded into something that perhaps wasn’t true. No, he wanted to believe, and for him, just as it is for us, he needed to see. In the same way that I needed to see for myself the overwhelming evidence before me that it was indeed an earthquake, so too did Thomas need to see for himself that his Lord and Savior was alive.
For just like us, Thomas’ earth was shook. For just like us, the Son, God’s Son, was blotted out and eclipsed. And just like us, what was thought to be true was yet not necessarily that which was considered fact, for whatever Pilate and the state declared as correct was the end-all be-all, even if it didn’t make sense at all or to all.
And so, to me, my friends, Thomas, that guy has gotten a bad rap in the church. Especially when we call him “Doubting Thomas” in a pejorative way. For just like us, the dude just wanted to believe. And more, he was absolutely desperate to do so!
But you see, unlike us, he didn’t have a mouse. And unlike us, he didn’t have Google. And unlike us, he didn’t have a lie detector, nor any Veritaserum potion either…
No, all Thomas had were his eyeballs and his fingers and he chose to use both of them to see and feel for himself as he literally stuck his hands right into Christ’s open wounds.
Now, some of you ask me how I can hang such a grotesque piece of art (which is on our bulletin cover today) right there in my office as the very first thing you see when you enter. Well, little do you know that for years I also hung that painting right above my dining room table (and yes, my wife is very forgiving). But more to the point, it’s because I want Thomas’ reality to be your reality. To be mine. Where together we are seeking after Christ with eyes wide open. Desperate and willing to do strange things like putting our fingers into the wounds of the world, so to come to know that its often in suffering and healing, dying and rising, that we find Christ most present and at work.
For while John’s Gospel indeed tells us that Jesus says, “blessed are those who believe without seeing” he also tells us that Jesus literally passes through locked doors just to be seen and felt by his friends. For even though they were scared, shrouded by uncertainty, fear, and doubt, Jesus unlocks all of that, so that Thomas and the rest of their grief could turn to hope, so that each could say, “My Lord, and my God!”
Moreover, as depicted in the scene, Jesus lifts up his tunic, his shirt, all that which covers and conceals. And by allowing Thomas to put his hands right into his wounds, he satisfies all of his questions and curiosity. And he does this, my friends, because Jesus gets us. Not quite like that slogan we’ve seen on TV put out by that dubious group, but more precisely because he really does get us. For Jesus in his own humanity, chose Thomas and understood Thomas, just as through his full humanity, Jesus chooses, understands, and gets us too.
And so, he knows that we live in a blurry world in need of light, clarity and vision. And so, instead of wanting blind obedience, for us to remain in the dark, he instead asks us to be people of enlightenment with brains to understand his parables and eyes to see outcasts and hands to work for those blurred on the margins.
My friends, Jesus wants creative people believing creatively about a God who is always creating! He wants us to be just like these kids (confirmation class) then, who in a way are just like Thomas, just trying to be their authentic selves in their walk of faith.
For God calls each of us to be seeking, each of us to be faithful, and each of us to have our deeds justified by wisdom and understanding. So that no matter if the world tries to convince us that we are bottom dwellers, losers, and only good for 9th or last place, we can yet believe that with God we are seen as coming in first.
For even when Earth shakes and the sun is blotted out, my friends, God is yet with us, believing in us, seeing us for who we are — fears, doubts, skepticism and all — and loving us all the same.
Thanks be to God.
Amen
