This past Sunday the gospel text replayed again the story of Thomas (the Twin) and the doubter. John relates the story of the one disciple who was not present with the others on the first Easter Eve (and who has been known ever since as Doubting Thomas). Kind of a hard rap for missing a meeting. Yet, for all the bad press Thomas has received down the ages, I suspect the honest report is that a little bit of Thomas lives on in all of us.
Certainly, we have those moments of clarity and conviction. However, we also experience any number of occasions where wonderment (at best) and doubt (at worst) fill our being. We, after all, are only human, and such questions that arise within us are natural.
One of the points of last week's sermon was the commonalities shared by the resurrection encounters. They really are quite interesting. The connections include:
1. The resurrection experiences all possess this reality of mistaken identity. People--from Mary Magdalene to the disciples in the upper room to the two on the way to Emmaus--encounter the risen Jesus, but they do not recognize him.
2. When the people who have these experiences of mistaken identity remain with, continue to talk to, and abide with this individual whom they do not initially recognize, they eventually come to see that their friend is with them.
I suspect there is a kernel of truth there for us as well. So much of the life of faith is lived continuing the conversation and remaining with the One whom we long to know and, periodically, stumbling into an awareness that the risen Lord is present to and for us, continues to journey with us, and, speaks a similar word to us that he spoke to his friends centuries ago, "Peace be with you."
Again, there are moments where this experience is much more accessible than at other times. And I am loathe to say that some cookie cutter formula will give you instant or greater awareness of this reality. As there are so many ways to be in the world, there are as many ways to experience this reality. So, it is elusive and serendipitous. Indeed, more often than not it is Jesus who comes to those early followers, and it is Jesus who comes to us again and again. Because of this, we hold very little power to have on-demand experiences.
The other piece that I find so comforting about the Thomas narrative is the communal nature of faith. Thomas and the other disciples see
Jesus, and they have this powerful encounter. However, most everyone after that--Christians for 2 millennia--have not
seen Jesus, but they have come to believe because they heard this story. Therefore, faith (which means more trust
than some intellectual assent to ideas or doctrine) requires more than one person.
I, literally, cannot believe on my own. I need someone else to tell me the story. And I am privileged to tell the story to others. Indeed, in the life of faith, the moments when I find it difficult
to believe,
the community exists to believe on my behalf. And when another may find it hard
to believe, I can believe on his or her behalf until the time that Jesus makes himself known more fully.
Of course, the Church has a social reality to its being, and we are communal by nature, so it is good that we gather together. However, I love the degree to which we are, truly, dependent upon each other.
How do we come to believe?
Well, let me tell you a story. . .
Blessings,
Mark
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