Homily – Sunday the 7^th of April 2024

Reading: John 20:19-31

Have we spent time thinking about dealing With Our Doubts?

Is doubting a part of our character?

Is it wrong to have doubts?

Albert Einstein once said- the greater the doubt, the greater the awakening.

Paul Tillich once said- Doubt is not the opposite of faith, it is one basic element and ingredient of faith.

Khalil Gibran said- Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.

“Doubt is never a weakness but a gift. It is doubt that drives us to seek answers, to explore the unknown and to discover the truth hidden within the shadows.”

When Michelangelo carved out David one of the master classes of sculpture his response is said to be- I only had to figure out the answer to my doubt which part of the stone must be chiselled away, and which part should be retained.

Are we people who doubt the resurrection of Jesus, the second coming of Jesus, the redemption that Jesus offers, the divinity of Jesus, the judgement that is awaiting creation. The Gospel lesson teaches us- It is OK to have doubts and in God’s appointed time God will help us find enlightenment in areas of faith. Even Thomas did. Sarah doubted, Elijah doubted, Zechariah doubted, even the disciples doubted in the storm. If they could why not we?

Doubts are part of our very existence, and it takes various forms. For some it is existential, for others it is vocational or relational. For some doubt is around their own self, their abilities, the financial stability, well-being, health, faith, affiliations, or technology. Some doubt the goodness of the future. It is an epistemic virtue calling for intellectual honesty and integrity.

Let us take a close look at the gospel lesson that we read today. The gruesome reality of the cross is over, rumours were around that the women who went to the tomb did not find the body there. However, John puts it this way- When 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 the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

Symbolically the sun was setting, the doors were locked, everyone were gripped with fear- It is into that context that Jesus came in and assured Peace. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The sadness of the disciples and their doubts were making way for joy, faith and a new found purpose and mission. They were blessed with the power of the Holy Spirit for the new mission. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

It is after this that we read- But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciples shared with him their experience- So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.”

Now Listen Carefully the Response of Thomas- 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.”

Is he doubting? Or is he being honest?

He is refusing to make other people’s experience his experience.

He is refusing to be hypocritical

He is refusing to play act as if he has had an encounter with the risen Lord

He is honest to the core

He says 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

One of the greatest challenges Christian faith has always faced is the leaders who never had a genuine Christ experience but made claims of having had such a transforming touch of the Lord.

Mahatma Gandhi once said- Christians make extra-ordinary claims that are not reflected in their lives.

Thomas said- I will not believe unless I have that experience myself.

Now look at the story closely- A 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.”

Kairotic Moments of God Encounters

I want to draw your attention today to Kairotic moments in life. Unlike chronological moments Kairotic moments are God chosen moments that totally transforms our inner being

In Thomas case it was one week later after he said Unless I see and touch. In case of some of our lives it has been more than a week. Sometimes months, sometimes years. But in God’s kairotic time God reveals Godself in special ways. Look at what happened to Saul’s life. Inspite of and Despite who he was and what his intent was God chose the time and manner to reach out to him with that transforming intervention

So when we are overwhelmed with doubts- just remember we could be on the Monday or Tuesday of the one week of Thomas. Our moment of reckoning would come and it would be part of God’s choreography.

We are familiar with the German Proverb- God’s clock might seem slow but it always strikes at the right time.

For our doubts to make way to deep faith- it is only a matter of TIME

In that appointed time we will also come across this invitation- Do not Doubt. Only Believe.

Collective Experience of the Encounter

The reason Thomas missed out the first time was that He was not there in the collective but this time Thomas is there and while the door is still shut Jesus comes in and greets them Peace.

I was always impressed by the usage One Among the Twelve. We had seen this usage about Judas- one among the twelve who betrayed

When Peter denied what he has told was that – You are one among them and he said No I am not

Here John speaks of Thomas- as one among the twelve.

The collective is made of each. The collective experience and collective witness is that of the “all” when one is missing or goes awry it affects the whole.

In a small village church there was a pastor who was worried about people not turning up for the evening prayers. He re-arranged the lighting in the church with a series circuit and each bench having a bulb. The family who comes should fix the bulb in their pew and since the circuit was series it would light up only if all the bulbs were fixed to the holders. Without one, the series was incomplete and would not light up. Together or Not At All. That was his understanding of Lighting Up.

This identity of being One in the Collective is something we should be seriously considering because that identity brings to us some responsibilities also.

The Individual Experience of the Encounter

The beauty of the Christian faith is that each person will have to experience Christ in his or her own unique ways.

Look at this encounter again

Then 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.”

Thomas is invited to experience the wounds of Jesus. Put your fingers here. Jesus said stretching his hands. He asked him to reach out his hands and touch the wounds in his hands and in the side.

The invitation to experience the wounds of Jesus and the profundity of its meaning comes to each individual in God’s appointed ways

The Divine message is crystal clear. Do not doubt but believe.

Do not be faithless but be full of faith.

The Life Changing Experience of the Encounter

Thomas saw Jesus. Thomas saw the wounds. We are not told whether he touched the wounds of Jesus or not, but his response has been one of most poetic responses of people who met with Jesus. Thomas said- My Lord and My God.

Primarily it is giving the ownership of his life to Jesus saying you are My Lord. But also remember the word kurie or Lord was a title that was an exclusive privilege of the Ceaser. Thomas is here saying- From this moment on- my life belongs to you.

By saying My God he acknowledges the Divinity of Jesus. There are several people who would agree that Jesus was a good human being. But the mystical truth of Jesus being Divine and is proclaimed by Thomas when he shouts out My God.

There are several people around us who do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord of their lives neither as God of their lives. And the message herein is simple- In His Time, In His Time, He makes all things beautiful in His Time.

The Blessedness of Implicit Believing

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

It is a fact that not everyone who has great faith in Jesus have had a personal and intimate out of the box experience that Thomas had in this particular instance. Several people have had it and that is wonderful. But here Jesus makes special mention of the faith of those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. They have not had any extra ordinary encounters but in the simplicity of faith they opted Not to Doubt But Believe.

Jesus explicitly comments the blessedness of such simple faith.

What then is the Lesson for Us Today!!!

Jesus does not give up on anybody- The fact that Thomas was absent or that he refused to believe did not deter Jesus from reaching out to him afresh.

Jesus offers answers to the questions we raise and the doubts we pose. Unless I see and touch the wounds I will not believe, he said and Jesus came by showing his wounds and inviting him to touch and see. Our rooms might be closed. We might be in anxiety, fear and doubt. Remember still Jesus comes by and says- Peace be unto you.

Jesus invites us saying- Do not doubt. Only Believe and our response could be- My Lord and My God

Vinod Victor

April 7, 2024