Sermon Title: "The Transformation of Thomas"
Date:   May 1, 2011
Minister:  The Rev. Susan Bjork

Lesson:  John 20:19-29

Gracious God, may your Holy Spirit renew us once more in this time of worship as we continue to celebrate your life-giving, resurrecting love.  May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight.  Amen.

His name was Thomas; he was one of Jesus’ disciples; and he wasn’t there the first time Jesus showed up.

It had been a horrendous few days for all of them.  Thomas and the rest watched while everything fell apart around them…Peter’s denial, Judas’ betrayal, Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, and then death.  The hopeful vision of God’s Realm they once held dearly was ripped apart at the seams as they watched their teacher and leader die.

What were they to do now that everything had fallen to pieces?

Thomas was somewhere else that Sunday afternoon when Mary showed up and told them about the miracle she had witnessed in the garden.  “He’s alive!” she told them.

Could it be true?...they wondered.  Or did Mary’s grief shock her so deeply that she only saw what she wanted to see…mistaking a gardener for the one she longed to see alive again?

Most of them had been in hiding since Friday, locked away in a house together, fearful that Jesus’ fate might be their own if they were to put one toe out of line or run into the wrong people.

But, as they learned, doubt, and fear, and locked doors can’t keep God out.

“Peace be with you.”  Jesus said.

And peace is probably exactly what that frightened, grieving, motley crew of disciples needed…but the sheer awe and shock of beholding the Risen Christ took hold of them first.

So, in a gracious gesture, Jesus willingly showed him his hands and side as if to say, “Yes, it’s really me.”

And shock turned to astonishing and overwhelming joy.

And again, he said, “Peace be with you.”

And this time, he went on to commission them in word and in breath, saying “As the Father has sent me, so I send you…receive the Holy Spirit.”

You see, in John’s telling of the story, Easter and Pentecost are really one event, rather than two separate events.  As Jesus appears to a group of his disciples for the first time on that Easter night, he also gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit and sends them forth to do God’s work in the world.

But Thomas missed all of this.

I don’t know where he was or what he was doing…no one does.  But Thomas missed this miraculous Easter event; he missed seeing the Risen Christ for himself; he missed seeing Jesus’ hands and side with his own eyes; he missed the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The others tell Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.”  But he reacts with a certain level of skepticism and basically says “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

We, the church, have given him the nickname “Doubting Thomas” in the last few centuries, but I think Thomas has gotten a bit of a bad rap.

First of all, Thomas was no more doubtful or fearful than any of the other disciples after their lives had been shattered by grief and loss.  After all, it was the others who locked themselves away in fear to wait out any immediate danger.  It was the others whose actions lead me to believe that they too were skeptical and doubtful about Mary’s testimony that she had seen the Risen Christ in the garden.

So, sure, Thomas has his doubts, but he also voices what all of the disciples were longing for…to experience the Risen Christ first hand and touch the resurrecting, renewing grace of God for himself.

Don’t we all want that?

Well, a week later, Thomas got his chance.

“Peace be with you.” Jesus said again.  And then he invited Thomas to touch him, to touch his hands and side where nail and spear had once been.

“Do not doubt.” Jesus said.  “Believe.”

And in this encounter with Christ, in an act of God’s grace, Thomas’ doubt and fear are transformed into awe and a confession of faith, “my Lord and my God!” he said.

Thomas’ eyes are opened anew for the first time since Jesus’ death and Jesus asks him, “Have you believed because you have seen me?”

Well, yes.  Of course the answer is yes…but not only for Thomas, for everyone in that room. 

For all of the disciples, the pain and suffering of Good Friday was too real…the weight of the cross, the cold, hard metal nails, the flesh and blood of a body broken, the dark, dank tomb.  Painful though it was, Good Friday was something they could understand; Good Friday held human suffering they had seen before.

Easter, on the other hand, was something all together new.  Resurrection, new life, renewed hope and strength, the real and enduring presence of God’s own Spirit…these are all things that defy the logic of a Good Friday world.

All of the disciples, Thomas included, believed that Christ had risen because they experienced resurrection for themselves.  And their doubts and fears were transformed through God’s grace into renewed strength, hope, and a call to mission and ministry in the world.

In my reading of this story, I don’t see its primary message as a condemnation of doubt, but rather as an affirmation of grace and assurance of hope directed not only to Thomas and the rest of the disciples, but to a much broader audience.

And here’s why:  This story doesn’t end with Thomas and the rest of the disciples in that room.  Instead, Jesus concludes his speech not with condemnation, or even with his question to Thomas, but with a beatitude, a blessing.  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

And this blessing is not necessarily directed toward anyone in that room because they have all seen the Risen Christ for themselves.

Instead this blessing is part of the disciples’ challenge and charge to mission and ministry in the world beyond that room. 

Instead, this blessing is directed to those who would follow in the original disciples’ footsteps for generations, for centuries, to those who would come to know the Risen Christ through their witness, through their living testament to the renewing grace of God, through hearing and reading their stories.  That includes us.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Blessed are those who were not around to experience the first Easter and yet have come to have faith in the renewing, resurrecting grace of God.

Blessed are those who have not physically touched Jesus and yet have responded to Christ’s call to relationship with God and neighbor.

Blessed are those who believe that love is stronger than death; that the peace of Christ is stronger than any peace Rome feigns to offer.

Blessed are those who dare to believe in Easter’s hope, and joy, and love, even when the world seems to be filled with Good Friday’s pain.

Blessed are those who recognize the face of the Risen Christ and the grace of God in the kindness and help of a friend or stranger.

Blessed are those who strive to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God” in a world that would rather not be transformed by Jesus’ upside down vision of God’s Kingdom.

Blessed are those who hear the stories of Jesus and his first disciples and recognize that discipleship has no expiration date, that it’s not too late, and that Jesus still calls us to be disciples in this very moment in time.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

You see, doubt and fear are part of the human experience.  We all know this.  Jesus knew this too.  He expressed his own doubts and fear in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He felt forsaken by God on the cross.

True faith does not suppress all doubt and fear and pretend that everything is ok, even when it’s not.  True faith is not magic, making us think that all of our problems will go away if only we believe hard enough.  True faith is not a one-time choice to believe.

Rather, true faith is a daily walk with God.  True faith recognizes that even in the face of the doubts and fears that the Good Fridays of our lives throw at us, we still have the opportunity to recognize the hope and joy of Easter and we may very well experience the resurrection for ourselves.

Sure, we may not see the Risen Christ in the same way that Thomas and the others saw him, but the transformation Thomas experienced is available to all people, then and now, by the grace and love of a God who is alive and well and still calling us into discipleship, mission, and ministry in our own time. 

Transformation may come in the form of renewed hope that dares to wash away despair.  Transformation may come as a long process of physical or spiritual healing from illness, injury, grief, or addiction.  Transformation may come as forgiveness for yourself or someone else.  Transformation may come as new inspiration or creative vision.  Transformation may come as a sense of peace with the way things are, even if things aren’t perfect.  Transformation may very well happen as our imperfect human hearts grow and expand as God’s grace takes hold and opens us to a new direction in life.

All we have to do is try to stay open enough to recognize the Risen Christ who shows up at the most unexpected of times, even when the doors are locked and we try to no avail to hide away in fear and doubt.  Amen.