"I Doubt It!" - John 20:l9-3l - April l9, l998

When I was a youth I used to play a card game called, "I Doubt It." The objective of the game was to get rid of all your cards. You played the cards in order and when you didn’t have the right card, you laid a card face down. Your opponent had to decide whether or not you were bluffing since you could also lay the correct card face down. If you were bluffing and got caught, you had to take all the cards. When you didn’t believe the other person you said, "I doubt it." But if you were truthful and your opponent doubted you he/she had to take all the remaining cards.

It was just a harmless card game but a game of "I doubt its." We all have doubts. That is because we live in a world that is dominated by science. We want facts. We want evidence. We want proof. It is a human characteristic to desire proof. We want empirical evidence we can see and touch. Thomas wanted proof. He wanted to "see the mark of the nails in Jesus’ hands and touch his side." He wanted his belief to be based on hard evidence, verifiable data that could be touched and seen.

Many doubt the resurrection story of Jesus because it does not compute. It can’t be proved scientifically therefore it can’t be so. This isn’t new. There have always been those who doubted the credibility of the resurrection. Even Paul had to face those doubts for the early church.

I don’t believe we can be too hard on Thomas. At least he had the courage to ask questions. It's not when people ask questions about matters of faith that should concern us. It's when they stop asking questions that could seriously jeopardize the credibility of our faith. Thomas didn't accept what the others believed carte blanche. He wanted something more. Thomas wanted to make the connection between the crucified Christ and the resurrected One. Thomas wanted continuity. Doubt is not unbelief or skepticism, it is a desire for concreteness. The greatest challenge people have for matters of faith is to make faith concrete. Without connections to the everyday life faith gets lost in abstractness. Unless the stories of our faith can be made relevant to our lives they are just nice stories or even myths.

How do we make faith concrete? The gospel tells the story of the disciples. When Jesus died they were hiding behind closed doors, afraid to be seen in public. After Jesus appears to them they are changed. They become the ones who continue to spread Jesus’ message. They do this with courage and profound faith. Their lives were dramatically affected by their encounter with the risen Christ. They were motivated by a God’s spirit to move beyond their fears and doubts. These same disciples who were hiding in fear are the very ones Jesus sends into he world to be bearers of peace.

Every time we encounter someone whose life has changed in profound way we encounter the living Christ, we experience his resurrection. We are witnesses to a power that has no scientific formula. You can’t give an equation to love and peace. They are conceived by faith and nothing else.

There is no greater way to witness the power of God than in the transformation of lives. No formula, no computer, no machine, can change the human heart. Most of the changes that occur in people are subtle, therefore we don’t always recognize God’s transforming power at work. But, now and then we encounter someone whose life has changed in a dramatic way.

I remember my early seminary days sitting around a table in the coffee shop. My colleagues were telling their stories, how something in their lives had changed as they decided to pursue a career in ministry. There were former school teachers, salespeople, Vietnam veterans, divorcees, even a few whose lives seemed to be going nowhere. The common thread among them was that each had experienced a transformation. They wanted a life that was more fulfilling, one that allowed them to use their gifts. What gave them the motivation to make a change in their career was the reality of God’s transforming power. In some way they had all been touched by the grace and love of God. It could not be explained but it was real.

It is difficult to see things that are beyond our reality. We live lives that are narrowly focused, conditioned by our environment, traditions and habits. The name Hans Lippershey is not a famous one but he made a tremendous contribution to the world of vision. In l600, he created the first telescope. He was a Dutch spectacle maker. One day two children came into his shop and were playing with some of the lenses scattered around. They put two together which greatly magnified a weathervane across the street. Lippershey capitalized on the discovery and made a profit selling his new lenses to the military. This all happened in Middleburg, Netherlands. Several others claimed to invent the telescope about the same time. Galileo is the most famous but even he credits Lippershey for its creation.

Most everyone doubted the creation at first. It was hard for them in that time to envision things could be magnified. It was beyond their reality. Even when our vision is enhanced by technology it is sometimes impaired by our lack of faith.

Most all of us have witnessed card tricks. They are entertaining and we are awed by the trickery the card trick artist is able to perform. The person who does card tricks is not doing anything magical nor is he/she defying science. Rather, they are deceiving us by focusing our attention away from what is really taking place.

There are many ways we are deceived. I am learning these days that unless you read the fine print on credit cards you may be greatly deceived. It doesn’t hurt to be a little skeptical and look for answers. Seeking and asking questions is normal for the development of our faith. Consider the questions in the story of Easter; "Who will roll away the stone? Who are you looking for? Who could possibly betray you? Where have they taken him?" The same folks who were asking these questions are the same ones who became giants of faith in the early church.

The primary reason this story of Thomas is here is to remind us that we don’t need to have empirical evidence to believe. "Blessed are those who don’t see, but believe," Jesus said. Blessed are those who accept the stories of faith, the witness of the first disciples. Blessed are those who strive for peace and love in spite of tremendous odds.

If you want concrete evidence you need only look around. The church is all around us. People worship, pray, and work together for the common good. It is more than just a gathering of friendly people. It is a place where the spirit of God breathes compassion and strength into our lives. The church continues to transform lives even when other institutions fail. For Good Friday our local newspaper was looking for a stained glass window depicting the crucifixion of Jesus. St. Paul’s was fortunate to have one and so the photographer came and took the picture of the window. It was printed in the paper along with an article written by area ministers. They gave their understanding of what the crucifixion means to a modern world. I believe the article would have had more impact had they included the stained glass window immediately along side the crucifixion which is the resurrection. Then they would have the rest of the story.

Many have doubts, but the windows of the church will continue to tell the whole story for generations to come. Church art, music and architecture provide concrete understandings for people of faith. So do the traditions, liturgy and sacraments notwithstanding. There are those who deny the existence of the church and many who ignore it. The presence of the church however, has a far more reaching affect than we realize.

About thirteen years ago I was taking a survey in the neighborhood where the church I served was located. It was part of my project for my Doctor of Ministry program. One of the questions asked if the church had made a difference in the people’s lives, even if they never attended. One person responded by saying that just the fact that the church was there on the corner reminded him of the presence of God. "By the way," he said, "I notice it is growing." I wondered how he could possibly know that since he had never darkened the doors. He replied, "Because I see more cars in the parking lot than in the past."

I believe that the church has an impact on people we don’t even know. There may likely be more believers "out there" than we realize. We can’t forget the fact that Jesus forgave his disciples for their unbelief. And when he was encountered by Thomas he accepted his demands and satisfied his conditions. Now they were commissioned by him to forgive others. In the midst of their fear he appeared. In the midst of Thomas’ doubts he gave reassurance. Having doubts and fears does not exclude us from God’s love. God is present in our fears and God does not reject us when we doubt. And finally, the best news of all; we don’t have to be in the inner circle to believe.

When we believe we don't have to bluff our way through life like in the game of "I doubt it." Neither do we have to rely on the luck of the cards to experience God's grace. When we believe without seeing we are holding a trump card for which nothing else can defeat.

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