HELLO!

The biblical story of Thomas is found only in the Gospel of John. By the time the writer of John's Gospel records this story, it is from a distance of seventy years after Jesus' death--a time when Christians were experiencing tremendous persecution from the Romans. Certainly, those Christians were doubtful about the wisdom of having adopted this faith. The risks were great, and many of them were tempted to go into hiding for their own self-protection. They were all huddled in the upper room, locked away behind securely closed doors. And there we encounter Thomas. You know the story: he had ventured out from the closed room one day and missed Jesus' appearance among the disciples. And when he returned to the room, he refused to believe what they had to say and their assertions that the risen Christ had been there. Thomas will not believe until he can see and touch for himself. Notice how Jesus responds to Thomas' demand for proof. He doesn't rebuke him. Indeed, Jesus gives him what he needs for faith--he lets him see and touch. But then Jesus goes on to say, "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have come to believe." This is intended for us, we who cannot see, cannot prove, and yet are invited to the blessings of faith in Jesus Christ, nonetheless.

Perhaps we need to ask ourselves, what do we need to believe? How is it possible for us to believe, if we don't get what the disciples and Thomas got? You might ask yourself, what is the basis of your belief? I would say, we don't have that kind of proof for any of the things that are important to us. How can we conclusively prove love or friendship or hope? We can't. But we know they exist. And day by day, we need to hold out our hands and trust. This story of Thomas reminds us to stay near to our friends in faith. Thomas had lost his trust. He was granted all he needed for belief when he came back and stood among his fellow disciples.

Together, in community, they received the good news that love cannot be defeated, that love never ends. When all seems to be lost, love remains. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love always wins. And the anxiety and fear of the disciples were suddenly transformed into rejoicing, as a path forward began to emerge. They suddenly felt empowered and sent into the world to share hope with all who are despairing, speaking the truth to the powers of darkness, standing up for mercy, defending the defenseless, and to breaking down every wall that divides and every barrier that excludes.

I believe one of the biggest problems with the church today is not doubt, but a belief love can win, justice can come, Easter can happen. Faith has been reduced to a private, personal transaction between the individual and God. The love-wining, community-organizing, culture-challenging, justice-doing movement of Jesus with the power transform the world…has been reduced to an individual’s personal ticket to leave this world and its troubles behind. The church is far from perfect. There’s apathy, resentment, and failure. There’s manipulation, and selfishness. This is the way it has always been, even with the first group of disciples. However, when we come together in the name of Christ, something miraculous happens we call Easter. Despite all our imperfections, the risen Christ shows up. And we are given what we need to believe, to hope, to move forward, to be justice-doers. In community, we are transformed in love, so we can transform the world with love.

Peace, Kevin