Acts 2: 42-47 - “The Body of Christ Reaches Out in Love”

The title of this sermon is “The Body of Christ Reaches Out in Love”, which is very true. The text before us this morning speaks of the believers selling their possessions and distributing the proceeds, and of the apostles preforming many signs and wonders. But perhaps a better a title for the sermon would be “Enabling the Body of Christ to Reach Out in Love”. What exactly made it so the believers could reach out? What made them so different?

At confirmation class this week the students were asked what makes Christians different? The pastor posing the question explained that he has friends who aren’t Christians that are great people who do good things. What makes believers different from non-believers? 

First and foremost, followers of Christ are different because they devote themselves to the teachings of Jesus Christ. We do this different ways. For most people, the extent of family development and Christian Education is limited to the worship hour on Sunday morning. This is understandable. We are busy people in a chaotic world with over-crowded schedules. But for the early apostles, what was preached publicly was different then what was taught. Preaching was meant to give people the basics of Christian teaching and living, the teaching was studying together more deeply the word of God. Its in this teaching and studying time that the disciples were constantly reminded who they were as Christ followers and held each other accountable to the standards of Christian living. 

This week we started a new study in the parish on intentional faith development - how do we grow in faith. The author of the study, Bishop Schnase, makes the point that our faith is not static, or unchanging. Rather its something that we continually grow into and live out of. The earliest disciples understood this. Apart from continually learning, one could not grow in faith. Its through study that we can become more faithful followers of Christ, because we know what Christ requires of us and we are surrounded by others who hold us accountable. 

Second, the followers fellowship together. At this time in the life of the church, the Holy Spirit is drawing together people from every nation and tongue, people who prior to their conversion would not have fellowshiped together. What made their fellowship even more remarkable was that it was not simply brotherly and sisterly love, rather it was a fellowship that was marked by wonders and signs, which included the selling of possessions in order to meet the needs of others. The fellowship didn’t exist solely for itself, it existed to reach out in love. It existed for something beyond itself. This wasn’t a community that held possessions with the idea of this is “mine” or this is “yours” and this is “ours”. Rather all was truly God’s and was to be used for the mission of Jesus Christ to give God the glory.

Third, they broke bread together. The breaking of bread can mean two different things. It could be sharing in meals together, around the table, or it could be the celebrating of the Eucharist. Or perhaps Luke, the author of Acts, means it to be both. Gathering around the dinner table is an intimate time, and often leads to people being excluded. The table is a place to talk about the events of the day, to share our deepest hearts, and to feast on what has been provided. In the ancient world, table fellowship was reserved for family and dear friends, and clear lines were drawn between those who were invited to the table and those who were not. Think back to the gospels and how many times Jesus created controversy around who he chose to dine with. For Jesus there was a place at the table for everyone, and the early church upheld this teaching. Here all were counted as close friends, and social barriers were broken. All ate of the same food, showing their unity. And when they partook they did so with glad and generous hearts, praising God for what had been provided. 

About two years ago, my home church in Clearfield decided to take a leap of faith and serve a free weekly meal to any who showed up. They opened up their doors, put on their aprons, and started to cook a simple meal each Monday. Then they would gather around the table with all who showed up and have fellowship. Their wasn’t a distinction between who was a church member and who wasn’t. Or between who cooked the meal and those who ate. For all shared together. There is something beautiful and Christ like about this type of table fellowship that is unique to the church. 

Lastly, the people of Christ were marked by their prayers. The believers taught each other how to pray, and did so without ceasing. They prayed for people they did not know. They prayed for each other. And they prayed with each other. 

Perhaps one of the most powerful marks of the community of Christ is this ability to pray for and with each other. To authentically lift each other before the throne of grace and be vulnerable enough to share the joys and concerns of our hearts. To pray for those whom we may not even know, but to do so as a mark of our deep care for them. 

When I was working as an intern, one of my favorite times during the week was Tuesday afternoons, when I would go to pray with another person. Each week I would meet with this amazing woman of God for an hour. We would share our hearts with one another and lift each other up in prayer. It was a powerful time that cannot be contained in words. We were able to remind each other about how God has answered prayers in the past and hold each other accountable in our struggles. The Holy Spirit was noticeable in each of our prayer times and God was praised.

The Body of Christ is able to reach out in love, is able to be noticeably different, because of these four marks: teaching, fellowship, breaking bread together, and praying. The four cannot be separated from one another, and we cannot simply neglect one and still be whole. In worship, we try our best to incorporate all four aspects, but within an hour it is hard to do so authentically. The early church understood that these four marks needed to be lived into continually throughout the week. But what does that look like today? For it is next to impossible for an entire church to gather together day after day to nurture these aspects of life.

For the early Methodist this is why classes, or small groups, were formed. Groups of 8-10 people who looked after each other. Prayed for each other, both when they were together and apart. And asked each other “how is it with your soul?” and expected a truthful answer. They shared food together. Learned together. Who are the people in your small group? Those whom you can grow in Christ’s love with? If you don’t have such a group of people, where can you look for one? Who are people you can invite into your faith journey in an intentional way and grow with every week?

Church is more then something that we attend once a week or a place that we go to. Church is being the body of Christ where we share in a common life together. It is a new type of family. A family that learns, prays, laughs, fellowships, eats, and grows together. This type of community is a gift - if only we would reach out and claim it. Amen.

Vacation and Sabbath

          I spent the first two and a half days of vacation this past week. Sleeping. A lot. I commented to a friend that I didn’t realize how tried I was until I actually stopped. As I unpacked my bags, I also found that I had packed very poorly (which isn’t like me at all). It also took me about that length of time to unwind from work - to stop thinking about the emails and voicemails piling up, and to simply be. 

We all have a different way that we vacation. For me, vacation needs to be primarily resting, though I do try to make some plans along the way. After spending time in bed, I did go to my favorite place, NYC, for time with family and friends. And while in the City I was blessed to spend a large portion of a day simply walking through Central Park, enjoying the ability to watch people, experience culture, and take in the beautiful outdoors. I know other people who like to see and do and experience as much as possible on vacation, but I like to simply be.

Perhaps my desire and need for a restful vacation can be found in my lack of rest throughout most days. I recently finished reading a wonderful book Sabbath in the Suburbs, in which the author MaryAnn McKibben Dana made the statement that our calendars are spiritual documents - they are statements of faith and speak of what we place importance on. And sadly, I have not been placing much importance on my time with God or self-care. I use iCal, which allows for color coded calendars all displayed together - yellow is Sabbath and personal time. Green is work, Pink is work meetings. Purple is prayer requests for others and upcoming visitations. Red is important. There is very little yellow in the sea of other colors and each day seems to be filled to capacity, which doesn’t even include the accompanying to-do list of items not on the calendar.

I don’t say this to evoke pity or to brag about being busy (when did being busy become an honor?). Rather to lament, publicly, about my inability to put God first, even as a pastor. Sabbath often gets pushed aside or forgotten. Or synonyms with “day off” which it is not. “Days off” are for errands. “Sabbath” is for simply being in the presence of God. On a recent “Sabbath” I went to a friends baby’s birthday party. It was a great day, but as I was driving home, feeling exhausted, I realized that it wasn’t Sabbath for me. I need to be restful in the presence of family and a few friends on Sabbath. Do the things I love and that reveal God to me. As nice as the party was, it was so many people and doing so many things to prepare, that it was simply a day off. A distinction that is often overlooked.

Sabbath is something different to each person who practices it because we all approach our relationship to the Holy differently. For me, the Sabbath needs to be a time of intentionally saying “yes” to God, and “yes” to my body’s needs. Its my time to let go and simply be. But when I reject it, or cannot practice it, when I try to control my life through the calendar all the time, I get so worn down that I don’t even realize it until I hit the point of exhaustion. I want to try to be more intentional about having a weekly Sabbath every week, and working toward having an additional day off so those activities and needs don’t crowd the Sabbath. I need time to play and have fun and simply be. Because 4 weeks of vacation will not sustain me the rest of the year. A time to be reminded that there will always be more things to do, more work to be done, but that this is our gift from God to simply be in the presence of the Divine and appreciate the Holy. For if we do not practice it even once a week, how can we live a life focused on God?

Peter and the Starcatcher

While on vacation in NYC this past week, we went to go see Peter and the Starcatcher - the prequel to Peter Pan. It took a bit of time to get into, but overall it was fantastic. With minimal props and actors playing multiple characters, it was captivating. 

What struck my attention the most were two things. First, the focus on leadership. The one who truly was discarded from society, became a leader because he had nothing left to fear. Another, one who learned leadership skills, didn’t truly become a leader until she had to start to make decisions - to defy the authority and watch injustice rule or to combat injustice, no matter what the cost? To chose to save someone or to follow orders and sacrifice him for treasure? Perhaps my favorite quote (paraphrased) is that leaders cannot save only those who are like them. This rings true, especially as a pastor, yet all to often we do only reach out to those who are like us. This is not true leadership.

The other thing that stood out to me was the power in naming. For the larger portion of the play, Peter, an orphan, is simply called boy. He has no memories, no hopes for the future. But when he acquired this name things changed, he started to dream again, to create memories, both joyful and painful. Names are powerful, for they hold both our past and our future. Its one of the reasons I dislike name-tags so strongly: I don’t want you to call me by my name until you truly get to know me in some way. 

Leadership and naming go hand in hand. Leaders have the ability to name the future. To get to know people’s past in order to cast a new vision. Yet often we drop the ball. We get caught up in tasks outside of the people we lead, or we lead by other’s expectations instead of our call. Who will rise up to be the true leaders among us? Leaders who get to know our names and stories.

Soul Friends

          A friend shared this article with me recently from Pathos: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/fareforward/2013/04/why-dont-we-talk-about-friendship-more/

While he just shared the article this past week, the topic is something that has been on my mind for quite a while - friendship.

In college I remember reading C.S. Lewis’s The Four Loves, in which Lewis expounded upon how each type of love is different from the others: erotic, friendship, human affection, and God’s love. Prior to reading this book, I had always told my close friends that I loved them, which caused some issues along the way because our culture does not readily identify deep friendships as a type of love. In the English language we are already at a disadvantage because love is a nebulas term - we love erotically, we love our family, but we also say that we love things and places, when we truly mean that we appreciate or like them. So it wasn’t hard to understand how telling some of my friends that I loved them, confused their significant others (especially my male friends with girl friends) - it was assumed that I meant that I loved them erotically, when really I was just trying to express the care of our friendship.

Culture does not help this platonic love debunking - especially when it comes to the movies. I enjoy romantic comedies as much as the next person, but recently while watching When Harry Met Sally, I became distressed that these type of movies often depict opposite sex friendships as simply the means to romantic love. One Day, Made of Honor, Post Grad, Carolina, Just Go with It, the list goes on and on. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a single movie where one or both of the main characters didn’t fall for the other. 

One of the key lines in When Harry Met Sally, paraphrased, is that men and women simply cannot be friends. Perhaps this is true if we only see friendship as a means to an end. But apart from that I disagree. I have close male friends. Friends that are so close that we are like family. Friends that are married, friends that are dating, and friends that are single. And I could never for the life of me understand why those friends who were dating had girlfriends that I saw me as a threat -I get it now, and I blame our misunderstanding of the love of friendship. 

In Spiritual Direction there is a term Anam Cara, which means soul friend. A soul friend is different then our concept of a soul mate. Its the person whom you can truly be yourself around. One who helps us better realize who we are in the eyes of God. There is an unconditional love that comes with being soul friends, as well as a sense of care and guiding. Many people don’t have soul friends, and that deeply saddens me, because they truly are a gift from God.

In American society we also struggle because in our individual mentalities we seem to vary in how we define friends and friendships. I have friends who claim to make new friends wherever they go, whereas I would call that acquaintances. I am just as guilty - we don’t like to tell someone they are an acquaintance, it seems rude, so we call them a friend. But even in such a scenario we need to realize that there are different types of friendships. The friendships that last a while why we are in a given situation. Friendships we can return to, even if we have not spoken in months and years. And soul friends. Those treasured few who you can truly bear your soul to all the time. Those who pray for you and stay in touch with you over extended periods. Those who are your chosen family. 

I encourage you to read the article above and consider who are your friends. Do you have such deep friendships in your life that they embody platonic love? Do you have soul friends - those whom you bear yourself totally to? How do you define love and friendship? All questions to consider in this ever changing world, when maybe what we truly need is a friend.

The Body of Christ Through the Ages - Acts 11: 19-30

Have you ever had a time in your life that you didn’t feel like God could redeem or use? Have you ever been so fearful that you closed yourself off from the world? The early church understands. Stephen had been martyred - killed after giving a profound speech about the ministry of Christ. As a result, the people scattered out of fear that they would meet the same fate. And they would not speak to anyone other then those who would like them. Remember that up to this point the early church was part of the Jewish culture and movement, so when the scriptures tell us that people were too afraid to speak to anyone who was not like them, they were really afraid to talk to anyone who was not a Jew and part of this sect called the church.

Yet their were some brave people amongst them who proclaimed the word of Jesus Christ! People who were willing to set aside their fears for something bigger then themselves. People who trusted that even in the face of something as horrible as persecution and death, God could use what others planned for ill. God could redeem even the most desperate of situations. So they shared their faith with others, and God blessed their efforts, and thousands of people came to believe in Christ Jesus. 

But the leadership of the church wanted to make sure that these new converts were not simply joining a fad religion. So Barnabas was sent to them to make sure they were believing in Christ and following his example to the best of their ability. When he found that these new believers were indeed faithful, he rejoiced with them! He praised them, but told them to continue to stay faithful in their work for the Lord and devotion. And more people kept coming to the Lord! 

These people who were coming to know the Lord were not like the disciples sharing with them. They were not Jews. They did not already know about Christ. They were people who were different, Gentiles. Because few church leaders knew how to minister to those who were different then them, Barnabas sough out Paul, the expert on ministering to the gentiles. When Paul returned to the area with Barnabas a shift happened. Believers started to be called “Christians” - Christ followers. They assumed their own identity under Christ, not simply as a sect of the Jewish religion. But because of this shift they no longer were given the perks of being a religion recognized by the state, as few as those perks may have been. They effectively opened themselves up to even more persecution.

Then the text before us this morning makes a shift; it goes from talking about how people came to know Christ to what they did once they were in relationship with him and other believers. When a prophet came to Antioch speaking of a famine that would hit Judea, the believers gathered together to send relief for those that they did not even know. They could have become concerned for their own safety - looking to stock up food for the coming famine. But instead they reached out to those in situations worse then themselves. They reached out with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ as a mark of their faith.

There has been a lot of talk over the years of returning to times when the church seemed vital. Returning to the ways of the early church. Or in America, returning to the 1950s when there was a boom in church attendance. But todays scripture reminds us that God can work through any day and age. We do not need to return to what was, we need to be faithful with what is right before us today. How can we reach people today for Jesus Christ in ways that transform their lives?

A few weeks ago I was at a retreat lead by a pastor who has an after school program in the building of the church he serves. During Holy Week the pastor and director of the after school program decided that they would offer ashes to the students on Ash Wednesday. The pastor didn’t expect anyone to respond. These students were simply using the church as a place to meet, they didn’t identify themselves as Christians. And they looked different then the pastor - most had hair dyed various colors and piercings. This was not the normal group of people the pastor ministered to on Sunday morning. Yet as he shared about our mortality and the gift of eternal life found in Jesus Christ, these students were so moved that they came forward and received ashes. The pastor was blown away. 

Friends, the Holy Spirit is moving among us today, just as it moved among the early church. But the Holy Spirit is also beckoning us to reach out to people in new place in new ways. To set aside our fear of being rejected when we witness, and instead to bravely share our faith, bravely share why Christ matters so deeply to us. We are not called to preserve the church so much as to be faithful to the leading of the Holy Spirit and trust that this is God’s mission and God will bring people to believe in Jesus in any day and age.

We need to be looking for every opportunity to share our faith. A speaker from Mississippi at the bishop’s day apart this year, spoke about how every year at annual conference in Mississippi there would be a handful of churches that were closing. The report about their closing would be like this: First Church has only four members. They cannot sustain the church. There are no other people in the community. Would you vote to close them. And the annual conference would take the vote and the churches would be closed. But usually within two years of the church closing, a new church would open up and have 100 people worshiping there every Sunday. It wasn’t that there weren’t people to join First Church, it was that they weren’t looking, weren’t reaching out. Brothers and sisters, only 18% of people in the US go to church even occasionally. 18%. That means the mission field is wide open to bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ. We have the same mission as the early church, our mission field just looks different.

We need to reach out to people who are different then us. Beyond our comfort zone. Our mission is not to make disciples of only those who are like us, but to make disciples of Jesus Christ to transform the world. How can we create new spaces for new people? How can we reach out to our community and beyond? How can we take our every day experiences - going to the grocery store, the bank, getting our hair cut - and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us for Jesus Christ? Let me be clear. This is not about getting new members. Or allegiance to our denomination. This is about reaching out for the sake of Jesus Christ. 

A final thought, Antioch where the believers were displaced to was the crossroads of culture and trade in the ancient world. It was a place ripe for the harvest. In a few weeks we are going to gather together at Mansfield United Methodist Church for an event called Meeting Christ at the Cross Roads. A time to celebrate the ministries of local churches in our area and look towards the future together about how to serve and bring people to Jesus Christ right here in Tioga County, today. How are we being called together to reach out in the name of Christ, nurture people in their faith, and serve in mission. How can we live into Acts 11 right here, right now? 

The work and mission of the church excites me. And there are people right in our backyards who have never heard why the church matters, why Jesus Christ is so important to us. Are we going to let the mission of God pass us by because of fear, or are we going to trust the Holy Spirit to work through and among us in this day and time? 

Amen. 

1 Cor 12: 12-27 - "You are the Body of Christ"

“We are the body of Christ! The hand clapping, toe tapping, heart pumping, mouth tasting, arm embracing, justice seeking, hymn singing, love making, bread baking, risk taking, body of Christ.” This statement is from my favorite call to worship. I like it because it explains that the body of Christ is something we experience and that we are truly a part of. That we are members of one body. But what exactly does it mean to be part of the body of Christ? What do we profess when we share in communion together? Do we really need each other?

A few weeks ago the confirmation class went on a retreat to Watson Homestead. While there we focused on what it means to be part of the body of Christ. Pastor Jon West from Mansfield UMC invited the students to listen to this passage with their eyes closed. To experience the text and then report what they had seen or heard. The responses were nothing short of amazing. Some students visualized a giant eye. Others saw many different people forming a body when you looked at them from above. Still others imagined different people holding hands and working together. We went on to tell the students that even though they each visualized this text differently, even though they each picked up on something different, even though they contributed something different to the conversation, they were all part of the body of Christ. 

The apostle Paul is writing to a church that is divided. Some people believe that they are better than others because of their status in society, wealth, or previous background. There was fighting at the communion table. People were disregarding the sins of a few and focusing on the sins of others. In other words, Corinth was turning into a dysfunctional church. They didn’t see the necessity of their brother and sister and it was causing distress. 

Paul wanted to remind the church that their were baptized by one Spirit and under the leadership of one Lord. The church is one of the only places I can think of where we are valued as both individuals and part of a group. God loves us individually as children, has crafted each of us even before we were born and knows us intamently, yet calls us to be part of something bigger than our individual selves in the work of the Kingdom of God. In fact, God invites us not only to be part of this particular body of Christ here in this community, but as part of the body of Christ in many churches in this county, and the body of Christ across the United States and around the world. In fact the body of Christ working to realize the Kingdom of God on earth is bigger than what we can possibly comprehend in our minds, yet we are called to be part of it! We are called to be part of Christ’s beautiful body.

Paul is facing an obvious problem, people don’t realize how big the body of Christ is. They are saying to one another that some are not important, that some aren’t needed. And that critique from other’s was leading people to not see their worth or value in the body of Christ. Because they did not have the same gifts to offer as others they felt as if they did not belong. 

While we may not communicate this message as blatantly today, people still get the message that they do not belong, that they have no value or are not worthy. By telling people you would rather do a task for the church on your own. That you don’t need their help or their gifts. By telling young people that they aren’t allowed to participate in worship in certain ways. The list goes on and on. The result is that slowly, over time, people stop offering to participate in the body. Stop coming. Start thinking that they don’t know enough or aren’t good enough to contribute to the Kingdom of God. And friends, that breaks my heart. 

We are united by the broken body of Christ for something bigger than ourselves, but sometimes that means we need to get out of God’s way. It means we need to realize that we are of value and not second guess God’s call on our lives or the gifting we have been graced with. It means that we realize we cannot do everything alone, and that we need all, yes all, of the body of Christ working together or we will miss out on missional opportunities. 

I rejoice in the fact that we are all different and have different gifts. I believe God provides within our local body every person and thing we need to reach this county for Jesus Christ. I believe that in the Church Universal we have all the people and things we need to transform the world for Jesus Christ. I have often churches bemoan and say “if only”. “If only” we had more people, more resources, more money. But brothers and sisters, if we neglect this body, the body we have been gifted with, by saying that we are not yet good enough or have enough for the mission of Jesus Christ then we are not living up to the call of the Kingdom. And more will not come. 

People are perceptive. One of the statistics thrown around a lot about new people entering into a church community is that they will decide in the first five minutes if they are going to return at any point in time. Five minutes. Its because in those five minutes people can perceive if people love and respect one another. They can tell if people feel appreciated or dejected. Because nothing is heavier then a sense of hostility amongst church folks. Because that sense of being told “I don’t need you” hangs in the air long after an incident of rejection. Visitors can tell better than people who have been part of a local church for a long time if this community is a place where people find wholeness. If members are actually connected like muscle and bone. If people truly suffer and rejoice together. 

This past week I was at a meeting where we discussed how to write powerful children’s messages. We were tasked with composing a children’s sermon based off of our sermon text for this week, and the first thing that came to mind was the story of Stone Soup. Have you heard this story before? One day a stranger came into a village with only an empty pot. None of the villagers offered her any food. So she wondered down to the river and filled the pot with water and searched for a large stone that she put in it. Some of the villagers looked on in confusion and asked what she was doing. And she explained that she was making stone soup - the best soup - but it was just missing some flavoring. Is there anything they want to add. One by one the villagers started to add their favorite vegetables and seasonings to the pot, enhancing the flavor. At the end of the day the village shared in the perfect soup they had made together.

Friends, what made the soup perfect is that each added something to it to made its unique flavor. They didn’t think they had something to offer the stranger alone, but together they made something amazing. Brothers and sisters you have gifts to offer this church community, and this church has something to offer the Church Universal. Each person is necessary. Its why we want you here every week, adding your gift to the pot! We need you! You are vital to the body of Christ! You are part of the living, breathing, body of Christ! We need your uniqueness! Do you know what you bring to the body? Why you are so important? If not, I encourage you to spend time discovering your gift. If you do know your gift, add it to the pot, don’t hide it. We have what we need to transform the world, brothers and sisters, if only you offer yourself and your uniqueness, without reserve, to the risk taking body of Christ! May it be so! 

Help Our Unbelief - John 20: 19-31

I never really understood why Thomas got a bad reputation or why he was singled out for the nickname “doubter.” Ten of the disciples were locked inside of a house, hiding together out of fear what might happen to them at the hands of those who had killed their Lord. Yet, Thomas was brave enough to not be hiding with them. He was brave enough to venture beyond the locked door. Yet we never mention that each year when this passage is preached. Or what about the fact that everyone but Thomas had an encounter with the risen Christ that lead them to believe - Mary Magdeline did. The other ten disciples did. They believed after seeing and talking with Christ and receiving their orders in mission for the Kingdom of God. Thomas was simply left out and demanded what everyone else had received. Yet we do not talk about that either.

Each year a sermon is usually preached belittling Thomas for not believing what he did not see. As if Thomas sinned by wanting the same opportunity as everyone else. But Thomas’ biggest problem is not that he doubted Jesus because he did not see. Rather, what truly gets him labeled a doubter is that he does not believe ten men whom he lived with for three years, ministered with, ate with, and loved as close friends. He did not trust the people whom he was closest with to speak the truth in his life. Thomas will not believe that what they say is true unless he sees it for himself.

This was not a demand unheard of in the gospels up to this point. Time after time in the healing narratives, people believed after they witnessed Jesus healing someone. After he restored loved ones to wholeness. But Thomas wasn’t rejecting the news from someone who had only seen Jesus heal once or twice. He was rebuking close colleagues and friends, saying that their account was not good enough. Their eyes and fingers weren’t enough proof for him. He had to experience the risen Christ himself. 

A few weeks ago in Wednesday Bible Study we had a discussion centered around speaking the truth about how God is working into the lives of people we know and care about. Identifying the ways that God has blessed them and telling them what you witness, what you have seen take place. Has anyone told you how God has blessed you? Have you ever told anyone how God has blessed them? The group members spoke time and time again about how they know God is working in other people’s lives, they just haven’t told them.

The Disciples told Thomas about what they had witnessed, and he did not believe them. I think many of us do not share what we witness in other’s lives because we are afraid we will suffer the same rebuke as the disciples, with people wanting to see for themselves. We live in a time when everything is suspect, and things are rarely believed without first hand experiences. And we easily doubt anything that makes us uncomfortable. Yet our faith asks us to trust the word of others. To trust what faithful people tell us about God working in and through us. 

The first person I remember telling me firmly that I was called by God to the work of the church was a pastor. I doubted his word because I did not want it to be true. The second was a group of people who saw me at an event for those exploring ministry. I chewed them out at a meeting critiquing the event and said that I would never be ordained. When we receive truth through the eyes and voices of the faithful, we reject it, like Thomas, if it isn’t what we want to hear. If we haven’t experienced the truth for ourselves.

But the rest of the Disciples were doubters just as much as Thomas, just in a different way. They didn’t trust what their Lord had told them throughout their time together. That Jesus would be persecuted, put to death, but that he would return after he had gone away. That his peace would come and dwell with them and the Spirit would be gifted to them. They might have heard Jesus say these things, many of which were said time and time again, yet they didn’t expect them to happen. They didn’t expect them to be true. They didn’t trust the one who speaks the ultimate truth, the Word made Flesh. 

Perhaps the true message of this gospel text cannot be summed up neatly in the nickname “doubting Thomas”, but rather the doubting disciples. And friends, are we not all part of the doubting group at one time or another? Don’t we doubt when we receive a word spoken over us that we do not want to hear. Or when we don’t quite believe that Jesus will respond to our prayers. Don’t we all doubt when we don’t know if our faith is quite worth sharing with others or anticipate a negative reaction? 

Perhaps the true lesson for us is that while we doubt, Jesus remains faithful. While we doubt, we are still given the Holy Spirit  and the Peace of Christ. Even when we test Christ, as Thomas did, saying if this happens then I will believe, Christ remains faithful. Even when we cannot feel Christ with us or see him with our eyes, it is still the breathe of God that breathed into dust and brought it to life, and it is still the breath of the risen Christ who bestows the Holy Spirit. Even when we disbelieve it is still the life breath of the Spirit moving in and through us. 

And it is that same breath when we emerge from our doubts that enables us  to cry out “My Lord and my God!”

And that’s the beauty of this story is - we can understand it. We can place ourselves in it. At the Lenten Bible study a conversation ensued about how people could disbelieve Christ when he walked among them in the flesh and they could directly see what he did. But if they doubted, can’t we admit that we do from time to time as well? And can’t it make us better understand and minister to a world that doubts as well? Does not the experience of doubting allow us to tell the story of how we emerged from our doubt and how we were finally able to believe Christ and to believe the words of the faithful followers who spoke truth into our lives? And do we truly walk by faith at all times, or are their instances, when just like Thomas, we want the signs that so many others have received? 

Friends,  even when we have unbelief, God provides for us and meets us in our moments of need, just as he did with Thomas. Do we not trust that God will reach out to us with the same love and provision? The risen Christ was kind enough to come to the disciples gathered in the rom after they disbelieved Mary’s word. And he was kind enough to return when Thomas needed more proof then the word of his friends. Even when all doubted, Jesus remained faithful. Yes blessed are those who do not need to see or hear directly from the Lord, but we all fall into both categories. Sometimes we want something more and sometimes we so willingly trust and follow Jesus, even when it seems unclear. But, brothers and sisters, today I tell us that the risen Lord is just as faithful to us as he was to the disciples, no matter if we easily believe or want something more. So I ask you, what do you need from him to be able to cry out “My Lord and my God”? Oh Lord, help us to believe. Amen.