It’s Not About Thomas

The Second Sunday of Easter always brings us good ol’ Doubting Thomas. But is that really what’s important here?

John 20:19-31

¹⁹When 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.” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” ²⁴But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” 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.”

²⁶A 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.” ²⁷Then 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.” ²⁸Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

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Dear people of God, grace to you and peace this day from God through Christ, who comes to us where we are.  Amen.

I feel sure that many of us have heard this text and have been certain that it’s all about Thomas.

After all, he’s become a behavioral icon unto himself: Doubting Thomas.

It’s now something of an insult, meaning someone who is stubborn enough to refuse to “believe it until they see it.”

I will refrain from commenting on how that intersects with the era of “fake news” because I’m wondering if perhaps the story isn’t really about Thomas at all.

John’s gospel is never without exquisite detail.  It doesn’t line up chronologically with the other three gospels, and I think as a result we get a closer read of what his followers experienced in his presence.

This particular story lays out details that we will miss if we focus only on Thomas:

*It was still the day of resurrection – now night.  It’s still Easter.  You could say there are still eggs to be found.

*The disciples were still locked up where they had met earlier.  They figured they were on Jerusalem’s Ten Most Wanted list and had no intention of going anywhere.

*Jesus bestows peace on his disciples who had abandoned him, then bestows the Holy Spirit.  This takes forgiveness to an entirely new level.

*He gives them the power to forgive sins and sends them out as he was sent.  This is Step One of the church’s birth into God’s future.

*After seeing Jesus, the disciples can finally echo Mary Magdalene’s “We have seen the Lord!” and join her as apostles.

If we make it about Thomas, then we make it about a transactional Jesus instead of a transformational Jesus.  Whether we say “Thomas shouldn’t have doubted” or conversely, “Thomas gets a bad rap, it’s good to ask questions” – we end up paying more attention to whether Thomas has followed some set of rules instead of what Jesus is doing in this story.

If we only pay attention to Thomas, then the final paragraph of John’s gospel becomes nothing more than a bunch of pretty words: But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

THESE signs are written so that you may believe and have life.

Thomas’ doubting is included because it’s been OUR story at one time or another.

We’ve agonized through those dark nights of the soul.  Our entire last year has been one of asking why; of questioning if God is for real and if so, then WHY is this happening?

But John’s gospel includes that story of doubt alongside stories of Christ’s presence and blessing.  It’s a story line that reflects our own lives, that journey from joy to grief and back again, with a few side detours into valleys and up mountains.

But there’s a point that this gospel makes that can get lost – but is really the heart of the entire story, starting at Chapter 1.

What did Jesus do after he graced them with peace? 

He showed them his hands and side.

In other words, it was by his wounds that they knew it was Jesus.

Not by his accomplishments.  Not by his preaching or teaching.  By his wounds.

Imagine, if you can, what it must have been like to be in that room that evening.  The one whom you denied is now risen from the dead, standing in front of you, and offers you only love and peace even as his body retains the marks from the execution he suffered.

Jesus’ body has not been miraculously erased of what it has borne.

As painful and unpleasant as it might be, the truth is that Jesus received the same treatment as other marginalized and powerless people throughout all of human history.

But he makes no effort to hide those wounds, even after being raised from the dead.  For if he were to hide them, he would be surrendering to the forces that inflicted them.

By retaining the marks of his wounds, he comes as one who is in solidarity with all who are suffering; all who are beaten down; all who are kicked into the gutter; all those who cry for justice; all those whom society walks past while averting their eyes.

By retaining the marks of his wounds, he also comes as one who walks beside those with power, with privilege, with authority – and reminds them by those wounds that things need to change, and they have a role to play in making that change.

One thing should be increasingly clear to us: following Jesus is not a guarantee of health, wealth, and endless happiness.  There’s no warranty or assurance that you’ll be the most popular kid on the block.

But there is a longing in the deepest places of our hearts for what is right.

So many times in this time of pandemic I have heard from complete strangers about the need to make things right – and their desire to be a part of making it so.

They want to be a part of making a difference in the world.

I think of all of us who have, across the decades, marched or organized for any number of causes.  We knew there was risk involved.  Sometimes, we knew we’d be risking arrest.  We may even have realized we could get physically injured.  My mentor pastor marched with Dr. King from Selma to Montgomery, and he has spoken about the training they received about what was likely to happen, and how they would respond.

Jesus meets the disciples where they are, as he is.

And this is the other essential, heart-of-the-matter part of this story.

Jesus doesn’t wait until Thomas has cycled through his doubt phase.  Thomas doesn’t have to meet some kind of mark; Jesus meets him where he is, in his doubt.

Jesus doesn’t wait for the disciples to get over their fear and step outside the door; he stands among them in the room, and offers them peace.

And I wonder if, as they looked upon his wounds and heard his words of forgiveness and encouragement, if they were transformed yet again.

Transformed to a deep understanding of how risky it really is to follow Jesus.

But also transformed to a deep understanding that it’s absolutely worth every risk, every danger, every threat that might cross their path.

And ultimately transformed to the deep understanding that this total commitment is the abundant life to which God calls us and Jesus invites us.

In the fall of 2015, I and 4 of my seminary classmates were able to attend the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City.  The Parliament is an interfaith effort that convenes the world’s religions at periodic intervals around the world.  Given the close location and the affordable price, the five of us jumped at the chance.

Among keynote speakers such as Jane Goodall, Kareena Gore, and the Dalai Lama, we heard the Rev. Allan Boesak of South Africa, who had just published the book Kairos, Crisis, and Global Apartheid: The Challenge to Prophetic Resistance.  The book examines the Kairos document that emerged from the anti-apartheid struggle – of which Dr. Boesak was an integral part – and calls us to recognize new moments of crisis, discernment and kairos, and respond with prophetic resistance to global injustice.

Dr. Boesak spoke passionately about the crisis of climate change, and how its effects are suffered most extremely and disproportionately by communities of color and communities that are marginalized.  He outlined how resisting this injustice will not be well taken by those who profit from its existence – but that following a God who stands with the lowly and the least means that we are called to that resistance.  He also reminded us – from his personal experience as the first black South African clergyman to join the anti-apartheid movement – that this calling is not without cost.

He said: “I believe that when we are standing face to face with our God, that God will ask us, ‘where are your wounds?  If you have no wounds, then tell me: was there nothing worth fighting for?’”

Rev. Boesak’s words spoke deep and lasting truth about what it means to follow Jesus.  Sometimes, it is dangerous.  And sometimes, it is joy beyond compare.  But it is always about the struggle for justice.

What all the disciples discovered in that week, starting on the day of resurrection, that what following Jesus means is that we are never alone.

Jesus meets us where we are, as he is, and showers us with peace and the Holy Spirit.

And then, he sends us out – into whatever will be.  And he journeys there with us.

May we live fully into that journey.

Amen.