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| The Raising of Lazarus by John Reilly 1962 - Martha and Thomas are shown twice at the head of the grave. |
Bible Reading
John 20. 24-29 - Jesus and Thomas
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.’
A 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.’ Then 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.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
Reflection
Two months ago at the service to license Reverend Stephen as our new Parish Priest, we heard the reading at the end of the Gospel according to St Matthew which is known as the Great Commission. The reading describes how the resurrected Christ calls the disciples to the top of a mountain in Galilee, where he commissions them to spread his teachings throughout the world and baptise all nations. This is how the passage begins;
‘Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.’
Some doubted.
It’s not the only time that we read of the disciples, these first believers, having doubts about the teachings of Jesus – but the name has stuck to Thomas. This is the same Thomas who was ready to lay down his life for Jesus when, despite the dangers posed by the Jewish authorities, Jesus returned to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. Thomas is recorded as saying: “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” What faith!
Yet this man of faith is famous for his doubt – or perhaps more accurately, for openly questioning his faith in Jesus, who had foretold of his death and resurrection many times. We don’t know why Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples when Jesus first appeared to them. In his sermon on the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle, Gregory the Great suggests that this was God’s will: “Do you really believe that it was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed? It was not by chance but in God’s providence. In a marvellous way God’s mercy arranged that the disbelieving disciple, in touching the wounds of his Master’s body, should heal our wounds of disbelief.”
I wonder if Thomas was chosen over the other disciples because of his gifts? The Golden Legend (a medieval manuscript describing the lives of the saints) suggests Thomas was an architect and builder – a practical man, used to dealing with timber and nails to construct buildings. He is remembered today as the Patron Saint of Architects. Thomas would have been practising his work nearly two thousand years before the term phenomenological architecture was used to describe buildings such as those of Daniel Liebskind and Peter Zumthor – buildings whose experiential qualities are informed by but seem to transcend the senses. Whilst the convoluted language may be modern, I think even in the time of St Thomas, architects would have understood their work to be more than just about the practical or what can be seen or sensed. All architecture is about both the physical and the meta-physical; at its most basic level a shelter quickly becomes a place of refuge, security; a home – a place experienced more in the heart than in the head.
Perhaps, through his gifts as an architect, Thomas was predisposed to make connections between the earthly and the transcendental; maybe this is why, after being left grieving and in turmoil for a week, it was Thomas who was chosen to be the first person to recognise the divinity of Christ; the most ‘convincing’ witness to the resurrection – the thread on which our faith hangs? Thomas’s questioning and subsequent declaration of faith “My Lord and my God!” has been said by some to be the Christological climax of the entire gospel.
John Humphrys says that journalists are meant to “question, to doubt and to challenge” and over a fifty year career he has become adept at all of those! In his Radio 4 series, Humphrys in Search of God he challenges religious leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, to prove that God exists. During his interviews, he uses graphic examples of disasters witnessed during his long experience as a reporter, to question God’s justice and fairness. Why, for instance, did some houses escape destruction at Lockerbie, while others perished? He seems taken aback when the Chief Rabbi answers him saying; “If you find the randomness of that challenging, then you have more faith than you think. Because actually you want to believe in a just world, and that is the first movement of faith; the belief that what we do on this earth is not insignificant, that there is such a thing as a moral purpose to a universe.”
In the book which accompanied the radio series titled ‘In God We Doubt’, Humphrys is critical of those who use quotations from scripture as evidence in both sides of the argument, but perhaps the climax of his work comes after he himself quotes, at length, from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and in so doing seems to confirm the Chief Rabbi’s insight about his faith. St Paul writes:
‘Love never fails. But where there are prophecies they will cease; where there are tongues they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away…..And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’
In response, Humphrys says “For St Paul of all people to pronounce that love is a greater virtue even than faith says a great deal. He could scarcely be more clear on the subject. When everything else is stripped away, it is love that remains. It is what makes us what we are. It was displayed by every human being who has acted out of pure selflessness at risk to themselves to save others. Christians would say the supreme example was Jesus. We cannot describe their actions in Darwinian terms.”
This is perhaps as close as a self-described ‘doubter’ can come to saying “God is love.”
John Humphrys questioning, his doubts and the challenges he explores in his book are not unlike those of St Thomas (although he might take issue with the comparison) because Thomas – and the other disciples who doubted - show us that belief is a journey; a process which, for some (even those first-hand witnesses to the resurrection) has its ups and downs – moments of certainty and moments of utter despair. In allowing Thomas to explore his doubt, Jesus invites us to undertake that journey.
Jesus says "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." In concluding his sermon on Thomas, Gregory the Great says:
“There is here a particular reference to ourselves; we hold in our hearts One we have not seen in the flesh. We are included in these words, but only if we follow up our faith with good works.”
Let us pause for a moment to consider what then, is our response to the risen, crucified Christ? The Lord, our God.
Prayers
Let us pray. The response to;
Amid our doubts, uncertainty and despair; is
Strengthen us in faith, O Lord my God.
We give thanks for the example of St Thomas the Apostle and pray that we may be guided to live our lives in response to the risen, crucified Christ;
Almighty and eternal God,
who, for the firmer foundation of our faith,
allowed your holy apostle Thomas
to doubt the resurrection of your Son
till word and sight convinced him:
grant to us, who have not seen, that we also may believe
and so confess Christ as our Lord and our God;
Amid our doubts, uncertainty and despair;
Strengthen us in faith, O Lord my God.
We pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who face imprisonment and torture because of their faith.
God of hope, we pray for people whose humanity is denied by others;
for those who are persecuted or imprisoned because of their beliefs;
for those who try to oppress and manipulate others and in so doing lose sight of their own humanity;
for those who work for peace and justice, whatever the cost.
Through your grace help us to overcome our doubts and work together to bring peace and justice to the world.
Amid our doubts, uncertainty and despair;
Strengthen us in faith, O Lord my God
Finally, we pray for all those who are feeling doubtful, uncertain and are in despair, using the words of Thomas Merton;
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Amid our doubts, uncertainty and despair;
Strengthen us in faith, O Lord my God.
Blessing
May the Lord bless us and keep us.
May the Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon us,
and grant us peace.
Thank you for joining us for Start:Stop today. The next reflection will begin in a few minutes.
Links
Picture : The Raising of Lazarus by John Reilly 1962 - Methodist Modern Art Collection
St Gregory The Great on St Thomas Sunday
In God We Doubt - Confessions of a Failed Atheist - John Humphrys
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