Children’s sermon

Alice in Wonderland

“Alice laughed. 'There's no use trying,' she said. 'One can't believe impossible things.'
I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’”

God is not calling us to check our brains at the door! Explain the Reformed tradition and how we are question-askers

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Rev. Cari Pattison

Woodstock Reformed Church

Sunday, April 16, 2023

“Believing is Seeing”

John 20:19-31

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of some of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

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Introduction

Poor Thomas gets a bad rap, doesn’t he?

You might recall that back in the story of the raising of Lazarus a few weeks ago, it’s Thomas who says that he’d go and die with Jesus! He’s ready to go all the way to the finish line!

Elsewhere Thomas also asks good questions- the ones that maybe everybody else is thinking but no one wants to say. Like “Lord we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

All he wants is what the other disciples have already gotten to see!

And maybe he’s not there, and doesn’t believe it at first, because he believes Mary Magdalene! Remember last week?

And who knows why he’s not there- maybe he’s out doing ministry like Jesus told them to- go and share my message with people.

But for all his efforts, for all his human-ness, this poor guy for all posterity, gets known only as “Doubting Thomas.”

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Foundational questions

We can relate to him, can’t we?

Haven’t you ever thought, I need to see it to believe it?

Haven’t you ever wished God would prove God’s self to you?

Have you ever prayed a prayer and thought, “If this is answered, I’ll believe.”

But what does this story have to teach us today? Why does it matter still, all these years later, and how does it help us?

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Context

Let’s look at the setting here-

It’s right after the resurrection, and evidently Jesus has been appearing to people.

So why are these disciples huddled together in a locked room, afraid?

Jewish leaders

How did Jesus get through the door? Was he now a ghost? The wounds prove his corporeality- he came back as a fully real flesh-and-blood body.

But why so graphic? Who would you ever let stick their hand in your wound? Sure recipe for infection, no?

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It’s About Bodies

Joy J. Moore- Christianity is not “anti- body.” “More about the soul, the afterlife, the spirit.” She says it shows how Jesus (God) affirms the flesh and blood of the body- “The God who labored over a lump of clay and donated dignity to dirt is still believing in this physical incarnation, even after this body has been lynched.” The value of the body and the story that it tells- scars and all- is what I see in this story.”

My own journey with this…

Jane Vonnegut Yarmolinsky:

“The whole concept of God taking on human shape, and all the liturgy and ritual around that, had simply never made any sense to me. That was because, I realized one wonderful day, it was so simple. For people with bodies, important things like love have to be embodied. That's all. God had to be embodied or else people with bodies would never in a trillion years understand about love.”

Never. Not in a trillion years.

But why the scars? Why the wounds?

Josh Bode- “He still has scars” - explore why would the risen Christ come back with scars and wounds?

Why the wounds? Barbara Brown Taylor’s theory on the front page

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And it’s About Belief

We all have doubts

Buechner quote

And many of you have told me you’re not sure you believe, or some of the scriptures are too hard for you to swallow- or even the idea of a loving present God can be a lot to grasp

And then that this God has a son? And he died and rose from the dead?

New members class:

Can I still be a Christian if I don’t believe all this?

Jesus says this to us- like breaking the 4th wall- blessed are those who believe without seeing

Because sometimes it’s only when you believe, that you start seeing…

Mary Oliver’s poem about angels – it’s only if you have them in your head that you’ll ever see one

The world I live in-

I have refused to live
locked in the orderly house of
     reasons and proofs.
The world I live in and believe in
is wider than that. And anyway,
     what’s wrong with Maybe?

You wouldn’t believe what once or
twice I have seen. I’ll just
     tell you this:
only if there are angels in your head will you
     ever, possibly, see one.

My example of Ollie

Belief Application

1. Start with what you do believe in

Mary Oliver: “Rumi said, There is no proof of the soul. But isn’t the return of spring and how it springs up in our hearts a pretty good hint?”

So many say they need to see evidence of God- but isn’t spring one of the greatest miracles of them all? How is there not a God, when you look down on these lime green trees about to leaf and early blooming white blossoms and crab apples and tulip trees and azalea and forsythia?

“The disciples were overjoyed to see him” - Tim Keller’s quote on joy

2. Tell God the things you don’t believe or have difficulty with- and look into that thing! Probably thousands of Christians have also wondered about that or struggled to believe that, and people have likely arrived at some compelling conclusions

Give my own examples…

Try a believing experiment- especially in those areas of life that feel most stuck, that feel most like places where God isn’t- and look for signs of Christ- look for signs of the life-breath of peace

Ask yourself, “If I believed God could actually show up here- in my family, my finances, my relationship, my fears, my regrets, my frustration with my spouse- what would that look like? What might I see here, if I really believed Jesus were present?”

3. Find faith mentors

People whose radiant joy and strength, give you a reason to believe. Ask how they deal with their doubts, especially on the topics you’re uncertain about. Spend time with them. Serve alongside them. See what their embodied faith looks like up close.

This is one of the reasons I’m a Christian- is that people in my life have pointed the way.

They have believed in me for the things in my future that were not yet see-able

My parents for one – let people know you believe in them!

4. Be a reason others can believe!

Brennan Manning

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

If your life were the only proof that Christianity is true, would it be evidence enough for people to believe?

Poetry; Coffee Hour; Habitat for Humanity; Kindness of Sandy

5. Practice belief like a muscle. Believe “as if”!

My time at the gym

Part of belief, is this universal longing for peace. Matthew Hussey-

And 3 times Jesus says “Peace” – Sarah Ruden’s Hebrew / Greek definition of this:

Shalom, balance, health, wholeness, well-being, non-violence

He puffed air into them- like a flute- and said, “Take the holy life-breath”

The “breathe in Jesus; breathe out peace” prayer

You might one day practice your way into belief- l

Carl Jung’s quote- “I don’t believe; I know.”

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Conclusion

After all this- Thomas is the very first of Jesus’ followers to say, “My Lord and my God!”

Peter may’ve said, “I believe you are the Messiah, son of the living God”

Mary may’ve said, “They have taken my Lord,” and “I have seen the Lord!”

But Thomas is the first to say, “You are my Lord, you are my God.”

Expressing doubt and questions, and looking for answers, can lead to a true experience of faith- a deeper stronger encounter with God

Story of Ruth at Princeton Medical Center

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Prayer

Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.