So the other disciples told (Thomas who was not present at the first appearance of the risen Lord), “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Thomas is accused of being a doubter. Unfair? Probably, but this is the lasting image that many have of Thomas. He did not believe the other disciples when they said they had seen the Lord, and as such, he is accused of being a doubter – of lacking faith. Now if we doubt, and we voice that doubt, is it fair that others may accuse us of being “doubters”? I think it is unfair, because, from my perspective, questioning leads to more understanding, not less. I will admit, I have wondered why it seemed so difficult for Thomas to believe.  After all, he had the testimony of all the other disciples — wasn’t that good enough for him?  But over time the doubt and disbelief of Thomas made more and more sense to me, because his doubt became my doubt. 

Over time my questions have shifted. Rather than wonder why Thomas struggled to believe, I wondered why Jesus seemed to answer him so harshly.  After all, Thomas only asks for what the other disciples had already received.  Have you ever noticed that? After Jesus greets them, he shows them his hand and his sides. Why? To prove that he wasn’t a ghost or apparition or someone that merely looked like Jesus — rather the one who had been nailed to the cross and pierced in the side was the same one who now stood in front of them, raised from the dead. And so Thomas asks for the same thing. So why the rebuke from Jesus? Maybe, just maybe, our gospel writer is holding up Thomas as an example of how even the most skeptical and hardened realist can come to faith. For after hearing Jesus’ invitation to faith, Thomas makes the great confession of John’s Gospel, calling him not just “my Lord” but also “my God.” Again, his questioning leads to more understanding.

My friends, ask the questions that are on your mind as you read the bible and as you encounter your faith. Do not be afraid to be seen as a “questioner” or as a “doubter”. I worry about the ones who have no questions more than I worry about the ones who have the courage to ask the questions probably everyone has on their minds — but not everyone is willing to dare to ask.

Pastor Dave

“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!  ²Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1ff

Love and be loved. That is the invitation of this Psalm; an open-ended prayer of praise and petition to give thanks and to love for all generations. “O give thanks to the Lord for he is good” — this is contextually relevant to every generation who recognizes G-d has created everything – and in the eyes of G-d everything was good. G-d loved everything and everyone. G-d’s love is present in the past, present and into the future, and this love will endure. All the saints have sung this song and will sing it well into the future. This is a prayer to be prayed in days of thanks, in days of fear, praying to encounter the G-d of love whose transformative love, mercy and grace is not just visible but accessible to all of us, forever and ever. Our only appropriate response is to give thanks always. When was the last time you prayed a sincere prayer of thanksgiving? Let’s be careful not to move too quickly from the empty tomb of Easter to the Easter egg hunt, before we stop and give thanks.

On Easter we join the prayers of generations, giving thanks for personal deliverance, for universal deliverance, and for universal salvation. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Psalm 118 was sung as the final word of the Passover festival. Jesus may have prayed it with his disciples just hours before his betrayal and death. Today, we need to engage this prayer with our minds, hearts, souls and bodies, living into the reality that the Lord is “Good all the Time, and All the Time the Lord is Good.”

Pastor Dave