Easter 2:  30/3/08: Revd. Julia Boothby
John 20 v 19-31

'Following Thomas'

Today is a very special day as we celebrate with the families of Lara and Charlie as they come for baptism. It is also a very special season for us in Church as we continue to celebrate the wonderful news of the resurrection of Christ Jesus. If you were here last week then you will know that as part of our Easter celebrations we, as the family of God renewed our baptism vows, vows that the parents and godparents of Lara and Charlie will be making on their behalf today. In this way we are united as Christ’s family here on earth and in our journey of faith together.

And it is that word faith that I want to think about for a moment today following on from that reading we heard from the Gospel of John about the appearance of Jesus to the disciples after his resurrection, and in particular Thomas, often known as doubting Thomas because of the incident that we have recorded here.

Let’s try for a moment and put ourselves in his shoes. After Jesus had been arrested and crucified, we read of the disciples locked in their house, afraid. They, who had been with Jesus, must have felt themselves trapped in sorrow and grief, in fear and shame. They had deserted their friend Jesus in his greatest hour of need. All that they had hoped for in him as the Messiah had come to nothing. It must have seemed as though all that time they has spent with him, the miracles that they had seen, were just a dream. And now here they were, just a group of men frightened for their own lives, confused, bereaved and alone.

And into this room behind locked doors comes Jesus. What must that have been like for them? Into a locked darkened room suddenly comes light and life. Their Lord stands among them and clearly knows how they are feeling, for his very first words are “Peace be with you” and, so that there can be no doubt, he shows them his hands and his side, the marks of the nails and the sword. How awesome, how amazing.

But Thomas is not there. I have often wondered where he was. Had he, braving the fear he must have felt, gone out to buy bread and food for them all. Had he gone out to see what was been said in the streets, or had he even gone out to make preparations for some kind of future work. We don’t know, but he wasn’t there. Imagine how he must have felt when he came back. Left out, excluded from those who had seen Jesus among them, isolated from the very group of people that he had most in common with. But now, he alone must carry his doubts and his fears.

It must have been a very unhappy week for Thomas as he no doubt listened to the other disciples time and again relieving that moment when Jesus had come and stood among them. How left out and alone he must have felt. No wonder he says, "unless I see him with my own eyes, touch with my own hands the marks of the nails, then I will not believe."
 
And I wonder if that strikes a chord with any of us? Are there times when you come to Church and as you hear the words, sing the hymns, take the bread and the wine, when you are having similar thoughts....thinking...if only I could see you Jesus, if only I could touch you, then I would be sure. If only there was some miraculous sign, some concrete evidence then my beliefs would be so much stronger?

I think those sort of doubts are something that we all have at one time or another. And I do not believe that they are wrong. Doubt is not the opposite of faith, unbelief is. I personally have found that it is through times of doubt that my faith has been strengthened, that my relationship with God has been deepened. I believe that just like Thomas we need not be afraid to voice our doubts to God and ask for him to help us in them. And as we do so then I think that God opens the eyes of our hearts to see him in new ways.

Thomas wanted to see Jesus, he wanted to feel and touch the wounds. His desire was granted. Jesus came back a week later and stood again in the locked room and said “Peace be with you.” And then he said to Thomas, "here...look and see, reach out and touch my hands and side".  But Thomas did not need to. The presence of Jesus was enough, and he cries out
“My Lord and my God.”

To see the Lord in the days following his resurrection was something that was the privilege of those early disciples. It is not something that we can experience in the same way as them but we can see Jesus. For Jesus has sent his Holy Spirit to reveal him to us in many ways if we will only open our eyes and look. Our resurrected Lord is always here, longing to reach out to us and to touch our eyes, to enable us to see Him. And that can be in so many different ways. We can see him in the beauty of creation, in the song of a bird, in a sunset, in the voice of a friend, in the face of a child.

Today as we come to baptism so God waits to reveal himself to us as he blesses these children, as he offers them his love, his hope and to their parents and godparents his strength and wisdom to bring these children up to know him. God waits to show himself to us, but we must be willing to have our eyes opened, to follow him and keep his commandments, and to walk on in faith even when we cannot see and doubts assail us.

Jesus said to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”  That, if you think about it is all of us. We are those who have not seen, as those first disciples did, their resurrected Lord and yet we have believed, for God has opened our eyes to his presence by faith. And so like Thomas we can fall down and worship and cry out with our hearts and minds “My Lord and My God.”