“In every mind there is an enormous store of not-knowing, of being puzzled, of wonder, of radical amazement.” (Abraham Heschel, Man’s Quest for God”)

“God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance. It is hard to define religion; it is hard to place its wealth of meaning into the frame of a single sentence. But surely one thing may be said negatively: religion is not expediency. If all our actions are guided by one consideration, how best to serve our personal interests, it is not God whom we serve but the self.” Abraham Heschel

When was the last time you were truly amazed by something – or someone? When was the last time you stopped in such awe and wonder that you remained speechless for a time? Perhaps it has been awhile — perhaps not. The world around us right now often presents us scenes of wonder — but they may not always be positive.

You do know that Jesus was a radical? You don’t? Have I offended you? Jesus was kind, he was loving, he was caring and compassionate — but Jesus was a radical. What is a radical? When I push the button on my IPad seeking a definition of the word radical, it tells me that a radical is a “revolutionary, a progressive, a reformer…” among other things. Martin Luther was a radical — Jesus was a radical. In fact, Jesus was all three, if not more. He was a revolutionary, for he often stood up to, taunted, and verbally defeated the powers that would eventually kill him. He was a progressive, for he continually reshaped the understanding and the rules within the “Kingdom of God”. And, Jesus was a reformer — most evidently seen in identifying himself as “Lord of the Sabbath”, among other “radical” titles.

Many of the teachings and the actions of Jesus should leave us standing at the foot of the cross enamored and filled with “radical amazement.” Jesus not only reshaped our understanding of G-d’s presence, G-d’s love and G-d’s commandments, he chose to do what no radical chooses to do. John 15:13 says: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

The cross event should leave us all filled with “radical amazement”, for it demonstrates the radical love G-d has for all people.

Pastor Dave

“Doubt is the shadow cast by faith.” Hans Kung

“But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So 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.” John 20:24-25

Let me say right up front that Thomas should not be referred to as “The Doubting Thomas”. He should be called “The Curious Thomas” — for that is a better description of his actions on that first night of the resurrection. But even if we want to keep the title “Doubter” for the one called “The Twin”, doubt is not a sign of weak faith. Instead, it is a sign of active, curious faith.

Mike Yaconelli in his book “Dangerous Wonder” spends time building up the resume of Thomas. He says “Thomas believed in Jesus, trusted Him, followed Him, was willing to die for Him, but he was infected with a risky curiosity. When everyone else said they had seen Jesus after the Crucifixion, Thomas wasn’t satisfied. He wanted more. He wanted to touch Jesus, hear Jesus, see Jesus, embrace Him. Thomas wasn’t doubting Jesus, he was longing for Jesus.”

Hans Kung is a Catholic Priest and theologian. Here is the full quote from Kung: “Doubt is the shadow cast by faith. One does not always notice it, but it is always there, though concealed. At any moment it may come into action. There is no mystery of the faith which is immune to doubt.”

Doubt is the shadow cast by faith. In other words, faith does not exclude doubt — for doubt is engulfed by faith and makes it a part of our journey. It is one of the reasons we join a faith community — for just like Thomas, though he questioned the experience of the other disciples, he was not dismissed nor was he chastised by his friends. The story of Thomas confirms that doubt is what gathers disciples together — and should not be what drives us apart. It is in the face of doubt that faith is birthed.

G-d does not call us to a blind, un-questioning faith where we accept all that we see and all that we hear as unquestionable truth; G-d instead calls us to an illumined doubt, through which we search and journey toward a greater understanding of G-d.

Pastor Dave