"Faithless or Faithful?" - John 20:19-31 - April 3, 2005

Last Easter Sunday it was cold, damp and gray. The temperature was in the 40’s. It certainly didn’t fit the mood of resurrection. The local meteorologist announced that things would soon improve. By midweek, he said we could expect temperatures in the 70’s and plenty of sunshine.

I’m sure you heard it too. You may have read it in the newspaper or heard it on the weather channel. It sounded great, but it was hard to imagine such a change when you were still wearing your winter coat. I recall discussing the weather report with one person who quickly rebuffed me. "No way, I’ll believe it when it happens," they proclaimed. Right, and if someone told me I would be mowing grass in two weeks I wouldn’t believe that either.

We live in our own reality and unless we can experience something first hand, it doesn’t exist. Some call folks like these skeptics, doubters or even pessimists. In our story, Thomas is the one who doubted. The disciples told him that they had "seen the Lord." But Thomas doesn’t buy it. Since he couldn’t experience Jesus’ presence first hand he says he won’t believe.

On the other hand the disciples got the word from Mary Magdalene. She had a personal encounter with the risen Lord and at first she didn’t recognize him. She thought he was the gardener. It wasn’t until Jesus said her name that she realized who he was. Jesus then told her to tell the disciples. You would think that the disciples would be excited about the good news, that they would be moving about the countryside telling everyone that Jesus had risen. But, no, they were huddled together in a house with the doors locked because they were afraid.

In other words, the faith of all the characters in the story was challenged in some way. Mary had to see Jesus and hear his voice. The disciples were hiding, and Jesus had to appear to them to help and comfort them. Since Thomas wasn’t there he needed proof that the Lord has risen.

These folks lived with Jesus, walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, broke bread with Jesus, but they still had difficulty believing. It seems to me that those of us who are reading about this centuries later might have a few problems too. Perhaps that is exactly why Jesus said, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Just as the characters in the story came to believe in different ways, so do we. For some, believing is in their hearing. Just as Mary heard Jesus’ voice we have to hear the "word."

Baseball season opens this week. Perhaps some of you remember Tommy John, the leading pitcher in the National League in 1974. His team was on its way to the World Series, but during a game in September, Tommy ruptured a ligament in his elbow. When he asked his surgeon if he had any chance of pitching again, he was told, "The odds are one in a hundred."

Shortly after his operation and with his arm in a cast, Tommy and his family went to church. The sermon that morning was about Abraham and Sarah and their child that was born when they were well advanced in years. The minister looked right at Tommy as he said, "You know, with God, all things are possible."

That was all Tommy needed to hear. Praying for God’s strength, Tommy began the daily work of rehabilitation. His progress was slow in the beginning but eventually he could bend his little finger and touch his thumb. Finally, after eighteen months of this painful process, Tommy John walked back onto the pitcher’s mound and continued his pitching career.

Undoubtedly Tommy John credits his healing to his doctors and rehabilitation process, but he also connects it with his faith. The words he heard in the minister’s sermon made a difference.

Mary Magdalene was at an impasse until she heard Jesus say her name. Perhaps it was his voice. Perhaps it was her name recognition. Or perhaps she was tuned in to the voice of God and she finally made the connection. Mary didn’t stay and have a theological conversation with Jesus about how he had risen from the dead. She didn’t ask him questions. Rather, Jesus told her to tell the disciples and she went and told them she had seen the Lord. Mary believed, and Mary responded.

For others, believing happens because they have been comforted. Recently I received a call from a woman in the hospital who was facing surgery. She was apprehensive and needed assurance. I proceeded to give her that assurance and told her she could get through this. After that she relaxed and had more confidence about facing her surgery. Did I know for sure that her surgery would be successful? No. Did I believe that God would intervene on her behalf? I hoped so. Even with the uncertainties of her surgery I acted in faith.

We also come to believe by experiencing the presence of God first hand. I believe we are more like Thomas than we like to admit. Who of you does not have doubts about the resurrection? Like Thomas you too need some tangible evidence, some visual sign that the resurrection has taken place.

Each of us has our own experiences and they are valid. When I was in Germany last December I was struck by the awesome presence of many cathedrals. They stood majestically in the center of every town and city. They were filled with religious artifacts and paintings. Many of the cathedrals dated back as far as ten centuries. For me, the continued and vital presence of the Church is one tangible evidence of the presence of God. On the other hand, I see it everyday through the countless acts of forgiveness, love and compassion among God’s people.

Our faith is enhanced by a variety of ways. Some grow through knowledge. Some grow through personal experiences and others learn faith because they are loved. But how we become persons of faith is not important. It is not a competition. What really matters is that we respond. Obviously the disciples continued the ministry of Jesus or we wouldn’t be hearing this story today.

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe," Jesus said. A more accurate translation of those words is "Do not become faithless but faithful." In other words, live in faith and you will have faith. Be faithful and others will be affected by your faith.

To be a person of faith does not mean we have to prove that Jesus existed or explain how the resurrection occurred. It doesn’t mean we have to have some profound personal experience. It doesn’t mean we had to grow up in a Christian home. Faith, as Jesus said, is about being faithful. True believers respond through their actions toward others. The also respond by witnessing about their faith and ultimately their love of God.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio