A sermon delivered by the Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley on April 7, 2024, the Second Sunday of Easter, Year B

Former foreign secretary of Great Britain, Lord Halifax, once shared a railway compartment with two prim-looking older women. A few moments before reaching his destination the train passed through a tunnel. In the utter darkness, Halifax noisily kissed the back of his hand several times. When the train drew into the station, he rose, lifted his hat, and in a gentlemanly way told the women, “May I thank whichever one of you two ladies I am indebted to for the charming incident in the tunnel.”  He exited the train and left the two ladies glaring at each other wondering what had happened.^[1]  

Have you ever felt on the outs of something?  It seems like everyone knows what’s going on and is clued in except you. Well, just imagine how Thomas felt being the only one of the Twelve disciples who did not see Jesus on the first Easter.  For some reason, he was not with the others when Jesus came to the Upper Room that first Easter evening. Turn in your Bible to John 20.19. 

Our text this morning picks up right where we left off last week.  Listen for the Word of the Lord!

John 20:19-31

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” ²⁴ Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ 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 it.”

²⁶ 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!” ²⁷ 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.” ²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” ³⁰ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name (NRSV).

Thomas. Poor Thomas.  He’s been ragged on for being the group’s nay-sayer for over 2,000 years.  He’s been given the nickname “Doubting Thomas.”  He’s been held up as the Christian Poster Child for being slow of heart.  This morning, I want us to look at Thomas and gain a deeper appreciation for him and make note that he has something to teach us about our faith.  

Let’s begin with what we know about Thomas. One way to do that is to see how much “airplay” he gets in the scriptures.  He’s mentioned some 11 times, six of which are in John’s gospel.  The first time we meet Thomas is in John 11.16.  Jesus is traveling about, and he is sent word that Lazarus, his dear friend, is terminally ill.  He is talking with his disciples about going to Bethany to heal him and the disciples are arguing with Jesus not to go because they are fearful something might happen to him if he goes back to Jerusalem. During their discussion Jesus…

Told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.  For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.  But let us go to him.”  Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Thomas turns and tells his colleagues, “I’m in!  Let’s go and die so that we might have deep, abiding belief!”  Thomas, it would appear, has the other disciples’ ears. 

The next time we meet Thomas is in John 14.5. This scripture is in the midst of what’s known as John’s farewell discourses extending from chapters 13 through 17. Chapter 14 begins with Jesus talking about the disciples’ beliefs. He says, “Believe in God, believe also in me.” We read in verse three:

And I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you will also be.  And you know the way to the place where I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

It would seem that Thomas is putting to words the question all of us at one time ask, “How can we know the way?”  You know, we teach our kids, “There’s no such thing as a dumb question.”  Well, Thomas adheres to that.  He wants to know.  He wants to poke, probe, handle, turn, and understand everything he can about his faith.  The way to do that is to ask questions. 

The final place we meet Thomas is in John 21.  Seven of the eleven disciples are out fishing.  John lists Peter and then Thomas as second in the Story.  Typically, ancient writers would order names in stories according to the importance that person played in the overall story and community.  In John’s eyes as the author of the gospel, Thomas is seen as vital to the community.  His critical faith has room in the household of Christ-followership and Christianity.

What else do we know about Thomas? We know that his name, “Thomas”, in Aramaic means “Twin.” In Greek, Thomas is Didymus. It’s written like this, “The Twin, also called, The Twin.” The constant reminder of what Thomas’ name means in John’s gospel shouldn’t go unnoticed.  We are reminded over and over again that Thomas is a twin.

It makes me ask what does John want us to see reflected in Thomas?  As I have studied the text, my beloved, I believe he wants us to see ourselves.  Thomas the twin is the reflection, a mirror, of you and me.  We are important to the story.  We are the ones asking the tough questions.  We are the ones who may not always get it but are in the trenches trying to understand.  Thomas, my beloved, is our twin.  He reflects you and Me in three different ways.

First, he shows us that people come to faith in Jesus Christ in different ways.  If you’ll remember, Mary at the tomb believed when she heard Jesus speak her name.  Ten of the disciples believed when they saw the risen Lord.  For Thomas, our Twin, he wants to touch and feel the Risen Christ.  As we see in our story, Jesus honors each of these ways to belief – hearing, seeing, and touching.

People come to know the saving, healing, and restoring Easter power of Jesus in many ways.  For Thomas, it was to be able to touch the wounds. 

For the Apostle Paul, it was a dramatic conversion experience.

For the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts, it was hearing Philip tell the stories of Jesus. 

For Timothy, it was by having his mother and grandmother teach him the faith since his youth. 

For some of you, it may have been while lying on a hospital gurney awaiting a life-saving procedure and you came to see the face of God. 

For some of you, it may have been while you were hunkered down in a foxhole covering your head as enemy fire and tracers were ripping the vegetation up around you. 

For some of you, it may have been while you were at a camp or retreat, and you had time to quietly pray and reflect upon the life of Jesus. 

For some of you, it may have been after years of comparing the Christ-following faith to other faith traditions and realizing that after all those years of searching, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

For others, it may have been while you hammered nails for a Habitat House.

For some of you, it might be you feel the touch of Jesus while you’re gathered in a Bible study.

The point is this:  There is one way to God and that is through Jesus.  How we get to Jesus will be different from one person to the next and that’s okay.

How else does Thomas reflect us? Second, he shows us that it’s okay to ask questions in church.  It was all right with Jesus that Thomas kept asking questions.  We see, though, that Thomas asked those questions in the community of faith.  He and his questions were accepted there.  He was counted as one of the valued disciples even though he always asked the Rabbi the tough questions.  Jesus always left room for the searching disciple to hunt and seek answers in the gathered community.  How else would they learn?  How else might they be changed and empowered by the Spirit of Christ if they weren’t allowed to ask questions?  The Christian faith has withstood the battering of questions for over two millennia.  It beckons people to come and learn.

Third, Thomas reflects us in that he shows us that it’s okay to struggle and wrestle with our faith.   Thomas shows us that doubt and disbelief are not the same thing, and that indeed, a little doubt keeps the edges of our faith sharp as we seek to wrestle God in and through it.  Author Edward Westcott wrote in 1898 a wonderful aphorism. He wrote, “A reasonable amount of o’ fleas is good fer a dog – keeps him broodin’ over bein’ a dog.”^[2] Pastor/author/Vermonter the late Frederick Buechner similarly said, “Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.”^[3]

Doubt, my beloved, is not the same as disbelief.  Doubt is not the same as throwing the faith out.  Doubt means wrestling.  Doubt means engagement.  For all of you who have come to me and have said, “Preacher, my life is hard right now.  I have doubts,” I want you to hear that it’s okay!  God invites you to wrestle with the faith – you’re in good company!

Abraham and Sarah wrestled with doubt.

Moses amid the Exodus doubted his mission.  

Judge Gideon kept asking God for sign after sign to make sure God would be with him and the Hebrews in Battle.

King David throughout the psalms raised his hand to God and cried, “Where are you, God?  Have you forgotten your promises to me?”

Mary, Jesus’ very own mother, is to have stood outside where he was teaching and claimed that her son was out of his mind and crazy.  

My friends, Jesus invites you to enter the ring and wrestle with God.  You will be in great company!  God would rather you be in the ring wrestling with your doubts than walking away from the community of believers where the Spirit of God dwells.   Remember, our faith doesn’t grow unless it’s stretched and pulled. Over lunch, talk with those you’re with about those times you have doubted and how it has shaped your faith today. Let us pray…

© 2024 Patrick H. Wrisley. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, 8 West Notre Dame Street, Glens Falls, New York, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission.  All rights reserved.

[1] Bits & Pieces, May 27, 1993, p. 22.

[2] Edward Noyes Westcott, David Harum: A Story of an American Life, (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1898), 284, as taken from Len Sweet, Homiletics, “Fleas of Faith”, April 18, 1993.

[3] From Brian D. McLaren’s, Faith After Doubt. Why Your Beliefs Stopped Working and What to Do About It (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2021), 13.