Loading...Many years ago, my mom’s then 60-year-old younger brother, Jack, was in the hospital. He was not doing well at all.
I called his hospital room and asked if I could come to visit him. I was told “no.” He did not want anyone to see him “like this.” I was heartbroken. Jack was my Godfather, and we had a unique bond. I wanted to see him, knowing that this would likely be the last time.
He died a few days later. I was incredibly sad that I did not get to go to the hospital to see him, but believed that when I went to the funeral, I would get to look at him and touch his hands one more time.
When we arrived at the church for the service, I looked into the sanctuary, expecting to see his body in a casket. There was no casket. Only a photograph to look at, next to a box with his remains.
I may not have ever been to a funeral where someone had been cremated before. I was shocked, and angry. I felt robbed of a moment I needed to truly know that my beloved Godfather was gone. I know now how selfish I was at that moment. But at the time, his cremation caused me incredible pain in my time of grief.
One of the things that made this hard for me was that, even though I knew he had died, I needed to see his body to KNOW he had died.
So, every year when we hear the story of Jesus appearing in the upper room, even when the door was locked, and it goes on to talk about how Thomas missed that first visit, I understand.
I get it. Every one of the disciples needed this physical meeting with the resurrected Jesus to be able to move forward in their ministries. They needed Jesus to give them confidence that what he told them to expect had come to pass. They needed Jesus to come to them so they could look upon him and hear his voice, to help them wash away some of their fear.
That Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared to the other disciples may have been intentional—it just might have taken two visits for all of the disciples to believe.
Last Sunday, we heard the resurrection story from Mark’s perspective. In it, we do not see Jesus. We only hear about Jesus. The man in the white robe, sitting at the right side of the tomb meets the women, Mary Magdelene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, and tells them to go back to the disciples to announce that Jesus is not here. That Jesus had been raised, just as he said he would.
The women leave the tomb, afraid, and we expect they do what they are directed to do and go and tell the disciples. You can bet the men did not believe the women. Why would they? They were not there to experience it.
According to Mark, none of them, not the women, not the disciples, saw Jesus that day. And yet, the man in white tells them to trust and to believe. Even without seeing.
Today, in our traditional reading from John on the second Sunday of Easter, we are reminded again that Jesus blesses those who believe in him, even if they have not seen him.
Thomas is our guide here. His story is ours. Sometimes it is simply hard to believe something, especially when everyone else in the room has had a different experience. Their ability to believe that Jesus was resurrected only came with their personal experience of SEEING him and hearing him.
Thomas may have been jealous of the others. He may have had that “Yeah, right!” response when they told the story. He likely had to overcome a sense of guilt for missing the big reveal.
And Jesus came back a week later, especially for Thomas, to ensure that he would understand what generations of us would need to understand: that we do not need to see Jesus in the flesh to believe that Jesus is God’s son.
This is the call to all Jesus Followers. That we can believe and trust in the stories of Jesus: of healing, teaching, feeding, welcoming, correcting, and all the miracles.
Does that make it easy? Of course not. Sometimes each one of us needs to have concrete evidence that Jesus lived and continues to live in and through us.
I think I’ve told you this before but let me tell you about this experience again. When I was in Israel, walking in Capernaum, being dunked in the Jordan River, exploring the streets and walls of Jerusalem, praying at the wailing wall, visiting Bethlehem, seeing the locations of the stories that fill our scripture—I had to suspend my belief—not in God, but in the stories, just a little bit, especially when our guide would tell us and churches were built to mark a specific event that decided that THIS exact location was the visitation of the Angel at the Annunciation, or THIS exact location was the place Jesus was born, or THIS exact location was the crucifixion, or THIS exact location was where Jesus rested in the tomb.
I had to learn that what I believe is that these events happened. What I didn’t need to believe is that anyone could possibly know exactly where they happened.
Even though it was nice to see the possible locations of these pivotal moments in the story of Jesus, what I needed to remember is THAT these things happened.
I didn’t need to see to believe.
My belief isn’t predicated on the preciseness of historical markers, it is in my desire to know what it means to follow the example of Jesus, because I believe that we are capable of living with the commandments to Love God, and to Love One Another as we Love ourselves.
Jesus lived and died and lives again through us. When we accept that we will sometimes doubt, sometimes be afraid, sometimes fumble through our faith, but continually strive to do the best we can by Loving God and serving God through the way we express Loving People, Serving People—we will show others that we can be known by our love.
I miss my uncle Jack, and now, his wife, my Godmother and aunt Pat. And I have a much better understanding of the choice people make to have their bodies cremated. These days I’m more surprised when they are not. But I’m glad I have this memory to remind me that sometimes, because I’m human, I need just a little more proof.
When (not if) those moments come, I am always given a sign to remind me that I do not need to see to believe.
Let us pray.
God of all, you sent your son to live among us, to teach us what you have always desired from your people. To love you with our whole heart. To live, knowing that you are God and that we can respond to you by loving you. But not just in loving you and trusting you and believing in you. Your desire for us is far greater. You have always wanted a beloved community where the people you create can live out our love for you by loving, respecting, engaging with, and honoring the belovedness in one another. For it is in loving others that we live in the knowledge of you. Thank you for Thomas, who teaches us that it is okay to ask questions, to doubt-if you will, to remember that it is your love we seek in our relationships with one another that is our proof that you are our God. In your loving name we pray. Amen.
