Room for Doubt

Text: John 20:19-31

I don’t think Thomas has ever gotten a fair shake when it comes to this story at the end of John’s gospel. For the past 2000 years he has been branded as the doubter, and is an object of ridicule when it comes to matters of faith. Well… 2000 years is a bit of an exaggeration, I think, but certainly within our respective lifetimes Thomas has gotten a bad rap. At any time that someone expresses a certain amount of scepticism around the church, they get labelled and dismissed as a “doubting Thomas.”

I don’t think it’s fair, really. This passage has been used as a theological hammer to stifle more in-depth thought when it comes to our faith… when in fact that is not what John, Jesus, or even Thomas would have wanted.

The challenge for us comes with a story that is very familiar… so familiar in fact that we think we’ve learned all that we need to learn from this passage. Yeah, yeah, yeah… whatever… doubt… bad… faith… good… sermon’s done, time for lunch!!

If only it were so easy. Familiar stories like this need to be read even more carefully, because we might miss something that is very important… precisely because we think we know what it means.

When I was in seminary, one of my professors taught us a great technique when studying certain points of the Bible, particularly very familiar passages. He suggested that we read the same passage over and over and over again, oddly enough so that it becomes unfamiliar. His logic was that when it becomes unfamiliar, that’s when we stand to learn the most from it. I have to admit I was pretty sceptical myself as to whether or not this technique actually worked, but sure enough, it did. I became a believer… Why? Because it broke me out of the “usual suspects” mode when studying passages in the Bible.

It works well for study, but I’ll be honest… it’s not a great preaching technique. If done well, it can work… but even then by the third time through people are beginning to nod off. So that’s not part of the plan. Maybe instead I should share some of the insights of some things that we might not realize about this story.

For example… in the story that we heard this morning, John 20:19-31:
ü It happens over the space of a week… or rather both encounters the disciples have with Jesus happen on the first day of the week… it happens twice, once without Thomas, and then again with him. What is the first day of the week? Sunday! What do we do on Sunday? Worship!
o This is more than simply a historical recounting, but there is this additional layer that John always includes in his stories.
o For John, there is a very important part to remember that worship is one of the places that we come together and encounter the living Christ in our midst.
o Jesus appears amongst them, even though the doors are locked. Jesus appears when the faithful gather… in worship.
ü Another part of this is Thomas’ scepticism, think about it.
o He doesn’t deny the possibility that Jesus has risen from the dead. In fact, he’s quite open to it. He hasn’t made up his mind that it is completely impossible.
o Honestly, I think he is probably much more open to the idea than either you or I might be if presented with the prospect. If I were in his shoes, I’m not so sure I’d even give the benefit of the doubt.

Thomas is portrayed in the gospel of John as one who asks questions… It’s not just in this passage alone… In earlier in the gospel, the questions he asks sets up the famous response from Jesus… “I am the way, the truth, the life.” Think about it, if Thomas never asked any questions how would we know any different? How would we learn something about God’s relation to us in Jesus? His questions lead towards revealing something more about who Jesus is, and expanding our understanding of God. Without his doubt and skepticism we would not have these opportunities to learn. We would be much worse off for it.

As much as Thomas is branded as a doubter, it’s not a fair label. Amongst the disciples he was probably one of the most loyal. In the first of the three places he is quoted in the Gospel of John, when they head towards the home of Lazarus, he expresses a willingness to go with Jesus, even if it means the powers-that-be might catch and kill them. If anything, Thomas was not afraid to die… after all, he wasn’t there on that first day of the week huddled in fear. Why? Because he wasn’t afraid to be out on the street… when everybody else was! Thomas was brave and loyal… but those are two qualities that are often completely overshadowed by this thing called doubt.

o For him, he wants to have a first-hand tangible experience.
o How many of us long for something similar?
o But is it necessary for us to have a tangible experience of Jesus? No.
o Jesus also says of those who believe without the same experience of Thomas are also blessed… which raises another point…
ü When Jesus says that those who believe who have not seen are also blessed, notice that Jesus does not, under any circumstances, say that those who believe without the tangible experience are more blessed than those who do…
o In fact, Jesus places them together on equal footing.
o One isn’t better than the other!

When the text gets unfamiliar, the one thing that leaps out at me is that Thomas is never once condemned for his scepticism. Chided, perhaps a little bit… but precisely because of that healthy dose of scepticism, when he does encounter the living Christ, his exclamation is the most profound of all. “My Lord, and my God!”

I’m not sure how many of you pay attention to British TV, but something happened last week that has garnered international attention. It wasn’t any particular scandal or conflict… it was an extraordinary experience of doubt transforming into wonder and amazement.

There’s this TV series called “Britain’s Got Talent” –maybe you’ve seen it. Call it a reality series, call it a talent show, call it whatever you will. But a week ago yesterday, a frumpy, unassuming 47-year old single unemployed woman from an Edinburgh suburb stepped out on stage. Prior to her going on stage, she interviewed about how she never had the chance to perform for a large audience before, and had never been given the chance. She looked very much out of place, under the blazing lights.

(Picture)

One of the three judges of this talent competition is Simon Cowell, known in North America for his work with American Idol. He is well known for being sceptical of people’s talent, and has no problems sharing that. You could tell by the expression on the judges faces that they did not think very much of this person who had come out on stage.

And then she opened her mouth and began to sing…

And this was Simon’s expression: (Picture)

(Better yet, watch the YouTube video here)


Needless to say the whole audience was stunned and amazed. They were all on their feet by the time she finished singing. She sang “I Dream a Dream” from the musical Les Miserables, and absolutely nailed it. One of the other judges said that it was “without a doubt the biggest surprise in the three years that he has been a judge.” The video was been released on youtube, and by this morning, in all of its different variations it looks that the seven-minute clip of that moment has been viewed more than forty-million times.

It is clear from watching the video that the whole audience had doubts. They were all sceptical of what this lady had to offer… Maybe from her appearance, maybe from her seemingly isolated background… but by the end of the song they were certainly convinced… and enthusiastically so.

Maybe it was the same for Thomas in that upper room on that day.

Somehow, I think we’ve got this mixed up idea that doubt is somehow the opposite of faith. Those in both fundamentalist and atheist camps make this case… but both sides are not promoting faith at all, they are promoting certainty. Yet in the presence of Jesus, Thomas learns that he is not turned away for being a bit sceptical in the face of the greatest miracle of all. There is, actually, room for doubt. Maybe what we learn from this is we should not be afraid of asking questions… We should not be afraid, because at the same time we express our doubts we may just encounter Jesus right in our own midst calling us to believe… and encounter something far beyond what we might expect!

Amen.

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