Calming the Thomas Within Us
Pastor Mathew Magera – 4/23/17 – Sermon 226
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from
God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Just like Jesus came and
appeared to Thomas, just like Jesus did not hinder to restore one of his
closest twelve to belief by casting away his doubt, just like Jesus did this
for Thomas, he does it for us. Jesus is here and he wants you. There is likely
a little bit of Thomas within each of us. There is likely a piece of us that
doubts, that remains skeptical. We're guilty of that. We're guilty of doubting
the very key to life after death, the very foundation for eternal life, the
very core of salvation by grace through faith. This doubt has led Christians to
renounce their Lord and walk away from faith. This doubt has led believers just
like you and me to reject faith. It's not easy. But Jesus appears to us just as
graciously as he appeared to Thomas.
Thomas had the opportunity
to encounter the risen Christ and that encounter allowed him to believe. Thomas
was only comforted by personally encountering Jesus. The same is true for us.
Our encounter with the risen Christ creates belief. The difference is that our
encounter is not the same as Thomas’. You’re wondering, how do we encounter the
risen Christ? Jesus just doesn’t appear in the same way he did many years ago. When
and where do we get to see him?
The answer to these
questions becomes clearer the more we really look into the aftermath of the
resurrection event. There is hope for that Thomas within us that doubts and we
have the opportunity to encounter Jesus so that belief may be created within us
as well. To show you this opportunity, I want to go on a quick journey to some
different times and places that will help you to know that Jesus is alive and
how that knowledge can help you to perceive the risen Christ and believe.
1). The Empty
Tomb
The first place on our tour
is the empty tomb. Remember that the empty tomb in and of itself is not proof
of the resurrection. The empty tomb is just empty. Our focus should not be on
the tomb being empty but on what is no longer there. Now, if you recall the
story, Jesus was placed in this particular tomb, it had not been used before,
and it was bought by one of Jesus' secret followers, Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus
was buried there for three days until early on Sunday morning some women begin
claiming that the tomb was empty. This is NOT the way to start a following.
Claiming that the tomb is empty is something that can easily be verified in a
public manner and also falsified if a body could be tracked. Not only that but
starting that following, claiming this empty tomb, in the very city in which
the tomb is located would be hands down a terrible move as somebody, just one
person, would have likely taken notice somehow.
The people in charge here,
the Roman officials, the Jewish leaders and teachers, were so incredibly
against Jesus that they already had a feeling someone might try to steal the
body and claim a resurrection which is why the Gospel of Matthew specifically
inserts narrative about a guard being placed outside the tomb. This false
resurrection could easily have been squashed by the production of a body laid
elsewhere and immediately proving these preachers wrong. This is exactly what
they tried to do. They tried to produce a body. They looked everywhere but
could not find one. The only reason these women and other followers would have
made an outrageous claim that the tomb was empty would be if it actually was
empty and that nobody saw his body being stolen and hidden. While the empty
tomb itself is not proof of the resurrection, the very unstable claim that the
tomb was empty would only have succeeded this long if the resurrection actually
took place. To this day, no body was never found.
2). The
Appearances of Jesus
Moving on from the tomb, we
find a number of people who say Jesus appeared to them. Several people claimed
and believed they actually encountered and interacted with Jesus after the
resurrection. Paul made this claim in his first letter to the Corinthians
stating that he appeared to Peter, to the rest of the 12, to more than 500 at
one time, to James, then to each apostle and then to Paul himself. In this
claim, Paul even says that some of these people are still alive. The only
reason Paul would say something like this is to say that if they don't believe
Paul they can ask a number of people and they will share how they saw Jesus
also.
Since we're already talking
about Paul, we might as well consider his own conversion story. Saul was an
important person in the history of Judaism. He came from a prominent family who
lived in a prominent city. He was well learned, having studied from some of the
most regarded teachers in the history of Judaism. He was a pretty normal guy as
a religious leader, much like we might be. He had everything a guy at that time
and place could have wanted. He was the person you wanted to be. And then there
is that side of him that enjoyed overseeing the occasional killing of those
Jesus-following people. Nobody in his position just walks away from this. But,
Saul did. He joined his enemies. He tossed aside his reputation. He cast away
his wealth and position and in the world's eye, got not much of anything in
return. He traveled thousands of miles, was subjected to various beatings,
stonings, shipwrecks, starvation, dehydration and even imprisonment, all so
that he could go against everything he had stood for and grew up to be and tell
people that Jesus was the Son of God and the Savior of the world.
Do you think he did this
just because he was bored of his privileged lifestyle? Saul did this because he
met the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus. On his way to kill
Christians, he was the one that needed to be put to death so that a new
creation could be nurtured within him. Saul, who then became Paul, shared this
message liberally and told as many people that would listen until that day when
he was beheaded as a martyr.
3). The Fate
of the Apostles
Considering Paul’s death,
many other followers of Jesus didn’t have pleasant death experiences. This is
so interesting because of how different they had become. Do you remember how
comedic the disciples were when Jesus was alive, how many times they got things
wrong? Then, all of a sudden, after the resurrection, things took a 180 degree
turn for them. For the better. The tried to be brave. They tried to follow
Jesus as best they could but failed again and again. Fear was their weakness
and it demolished them. Just think of why they locked themselves in the upper
room in the first place. On the one hand, they were scared of the Jews coming
to find them and kill them for being his followers and on the other hand they were
scared that if Jesus had been resurrected from the dead, he would likely have
something to say to his closest friends who ended up deserting him when he
might have needed them the most.
So, now, after the
resurrection, once they seem him, this fear is gone. It seems too good to be
true that they suddenly fear nothing. Yet, take a look at their fates. With the
exception of John, each of them suffered. Matthew and Thomas were speared to
death. James was executed by sword. Andrew, James the Less, Thaddeus and Simon
the Zealot were crucified. Peter was crucified upside down. Philip was tortured
and crucified upside down. Nathanial was skinned alive and crucified upside
down. Would they have willingly done what they did if they knew this is how
their lives would end? They never backed down. They never gave up.
4). This Very
Moment
Now, fast forward beyond the
original apostles to this very moment. Christianity exploded at the very point
it should have died, right along with the death of Jesus, its fragments have
made their way into each of us. What does any of this have to do with our
encounter with the risen Christ? None of these stories on their own can calm
the Thomas within us. We will always want more evidence. We will always want
more proof. Just hearing the stories over and over again won’t create belief.
Until Thomas had his encounter, he would not believe. We need to know that
there is something more than hearing about people whose lives were changed by
Jesus. We need to know that whether people said they saw Jesus or whether they
never physically saw him at all, true faith comes only from that encounter with
Jesus, when all of that fear and doubt fades away. I feel a lot of us can’t say
that we have ever had such an experience where we could willingly turn instantly
away from many things and be like those who gave their lives for Jesus. We look
at these stories and we feel so ashamed and guilty that we could never love
Jesus so much that we would stand firm in that faith in the face of persecution
or execution. No, the empty tomb, not even the resurrection appearances, the
conversions, the martyrs can create that belief within us. That Thomas will
always be there doubting and in fear.
The difference between
Thomas’ encounter with Jesus and ours is that ours is not instantaneous. In
fact, sometimes we don’t even know it has begun. The truth is, sometimes we
don’t know we are in Jesus’ presence. But there are ways that we can open our
eyes to see him there working at us, changing us, renewing us, leading us, and
creating belief within us.
* * *
We need to see that our
worship is opportunity for that encounter. Being here in this place together is
our opportunity to encounter with the risen Christ, the very fact that we are
here, that we heard the call, testifies to the truth and provides us that opportunity.
The culmination of all that I have mentioned about the resurrection and all
that takes place after it builds to this very moment in 2017. Everything from
the tomb to Thomas to the other disciples to Paul means something and calls us
here somehow and in some way. It is the risen Christ calling to us. This is how
Jesus shows us the proof that our inner Thomas wants. He shows it to us by
gathering us together as Christians have gathered together since the disciples
were gathered in that upper room and worshiped him. Even locked doors could not
keep him out. The fact that Christianity has survived this long comforts that
Thomas within us. Just the fact that someone else is here next to you or in
front of you or behind you comforts that Thomas within us. The songs we sing,
the words we say, the Bible we read is gateway to our encounter.
This is what our encounter
is for, to encourage and to uplift. To call and to send out. That is why we
worship. This is why we remember our baptism. This is why we receive Holy
Communion. Jesus is reaching out to us. Are we willing to see him? To perceive
him? We won’t believe unless Jesus shows himself to us. And he does. He’s
showing himself each time we gather. Do you see him? Do you feel him? If you
are here just so you can say you went to church on Sunday morning, then I don’t
think you are looking for that encounter. We don’t worship to fulfill a
requirement, we worship to see and to feel Jesus here among us, to build upon
that encounter with him that is growing each time.
So, let us embrace this time
we have together as an opportunity for Jesus himself to enter in and to show
himself to us so that we might also believe. It’s not a one-time thing as we
constantly need to be reminded of the truth of his resurrection. Fortunately,
since the beginning of Christianity, believers have gathered together
frequently to encounter the risen Christ. So, let us encounter him now, in the
reading and preaching of his Word, in the music, in the prayers, in the
sacraments, in the fellowship with one another and let us be renewed and sent
out by that very encounter. Jesus is here and he is wants you. He is here to take
your doubt away and provide hope and direction so that belief may be grown in
you. To God be the glory, now and always. Amen.