John 20:24-28 *
Majoring in the Minors:
Dear Friends in Christ,
He retired in 1979 after playing 20 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League, 19 of which were with the same team, 17 of them as the team’s captain. He holds NFL records for playing in consecutive games (282), consecutive seasons without missing a game (20) and consecutive games with one team (270). He played in 4 Super Bowls. He is considered the Iron Man of his sport, had the respect of his peers both on and off the field, and many feel he should be in the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
Those are impressive credentials. But that’s not what he’s known for.
What Jim Marshall of the Minnesota Vikings is best known for
took place in a game against the
Moments later when he realized what he had done – that he had actually scored for his opponent and because he tossed the ball he couldn’t undo it – he buried his head in his hands; but it was too late. One act indelibly branded him. And to this day, stellar career notwithstanding, that single mistake is what Jim Marshall is most remembered for.
Kind of like the Apostle Thomas.
It doesn’t seem to matter that for three years he was a
devoted disciple of Christ. Or that he
was the disciple who expressed a willingness-to-die loyalty to Jesus when Jesus
declared He was going to
Those aren’t the reasons we remember him. We remember him mostly as “Doubting Thomas.” Which, of course is true. But there is more to him than that. He went through a major transformation. So in recognition that a single negative event ought not define him, the church has designated a minor festival to reflect upon the positive lessons we can learn from
Our text is a familiar one.
We are taken to a room in
Now Thomas (called
Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have
seen the Lord!” For one reason or
another Thomas was not with the disciples that first Easter evening. If we were writing a children’s book on this
event, we might give it the title “Thomas’ Bad Day.”
Perhaps he was especially despondent over the events of the last few days. Everyone handles their grief in their own individualized way, and maybe he just wanted to be alone. Whatever the case, while the other disciples sought solidarity among themselves, Thomas opted for solitude.
When Thomas did return, he obviously found the disciples in better spirits than when he had left them. And although they must have recounted the event they had just experienced with great animation and happiness, Thomas was unmoved and unimpressed. “… He said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” These are the words of a skeptic. Thus forever the name: Doubting Thomas.
Well, if proof is what Thomas wanted, proof is what he
got: 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and
Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among
them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your
finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop
doubting and believe.” And he did,
for 28 Thomas said to him,
“My Lord and my God!”
This is the transformation of Thomas. Thomas the doubter became Thomas the confessor. That was the effect the Risen Christ had on him. And it wasn’t just some kind of momentary, feel-good, existential “encounter” with Christ. This was the real, long-lasting deal. As mentioned earlier, tradition and church history tell us that Thomas eventually preached and taught the good news of Christ in distant lands until he met a martyr’s death. He spent His life for the Risen Christ. You don’t do what Thomas did to uphold the ideals of a dead hero. But you do do it in grateful response to a living Lord.
And he wasn’t the only one. The Risen Christ had the same transforming effect on all the other disciples in that locked room as well. The resurrection transformed them from scared men hiding behind locked doors to confident believers and bold proclaimers of the Risen Lord they had seen…
And so it is with every Christian since. So it is with each of us.
Consequently, perhaps the greatest contribution the Apostle Thomas can make for us today is to remind us of this simple fact: Easter is real. Jesus Christ, after living and dying for our salvation, rose from the grave. By His resurrection He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is who He said He is – the Son of God; that He accomplished what He came to accomplish – the eternal salvation of our souls; and that as the firstfruits of all who will rise from the grave, someday we will live with him forever in a resurrected, glorified body.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith and the basis for the transformation of Thomas. And what transformed Thomas transforms us.
How can it not be that we, too, are changed when we consider the resurrection? When we ponder the Risen Christ and all that Easter means, how can we not be a little happier? How can we not feel closer to the Lord who has done so much for us? How can we not want to live more for Him and less for ourselves? How can we not be strengthened and filled with peace and look upon life a little differently when we say (as we blessedly can), “I know that my Redeemer lives?”
Indeed, the Risen Christ changes lives. He changed the lives of His disciples. He changed the life of Thomas. He changes ours as well.
But to know and feel the full impact of this transforming power we must take to heart the words Jesus spoke to Thomas: “Stop doubting and believe!” These are words which we very well may need to repeat to ourselves several times a day: “Stop doubting and believe!” What should we stop doubting?
That God is in control… Or that He’ll take care of us… Or that He’ll provide for us… Or that He’ll never forsake us… Or that everything He does is out of love and according to the big picture of what is truly best for us… Or that He will keep all His promises… Or that He has forgiven us all our sins (including – and especially – those we are having a hard time forgiving ourselves)… Or that He knows what He is doing, even in the unexplainable things in life.
In our best moments we do indeed believe these truths. But at other times we forget these things. Then we worry. And the peace and joy we’ve talked about ebbs away.
You know what’s really going on, don’t you? When we find ourselves weighed down by these things, overly troubled by these things, paralyzed by these things, we’re essentially acting like Thomas did on Easter evening. We’re acting like Jesus is dead, not alive.
But He is alive. Ask Thomas.
He’ll tell you. And, again, what
Jesus said to him He says to us: “Stop doubting and believe!” For I
am risen and I live for you… I live
To silence all your fears; I
live to wipe away your tears.
I live to calm your troubled heart;
I live all blessings to impart…
I live to transform
your life from doubt to confidence; from fear to victory. Trust me!
The poet Robert Browning wrote a poem with strange and long
title I won’t bore you with but which is actually about Lazarus, the man Jesus
raised from the dead. It is written in
the form of a letter from an Arab physician, Karshish, who is reporting to
another man about his travels and discoveries.
When Karshish visits
What is most interesting is the way Lazarus is described by
this doctor. He observes that Lazarus
has this weird sort of calmness about him and that he seemed to be unaffected
by the changes going on around him. For
example,
The conclusion to be drawn is that once a person has seen firsthand the power of God in their life as well as what awaits us, the daily struggles and uncertainties of life which may once have consumed our time and energy, just don’t anymore. Because we know who we are and whose we are and where we’re going and who is in control in the meanwhile.
I bet Thomas and the rest of the disciples took on that kind of demeanor, don’t you? Once you’ve conversed with the Risen Christ, once you’ve come to understand the personal meaning of His resurrection and applied it to your own life, don’t you think life becomes a little less stressful? And a little more confessional, in the sense that we no longer live according to what the world says is important, but for the glory of our Living Lord?
Such is the transforming effect the Risen Christ has on the
believer. Such is the transforming
effect He had on one
…And as a prime example that transformation is what the Risen Christ is all about. He changes lives and calms hearts. He provides peace and creates joy. And we are the direct beneficiaries of all the changes He brings about…
May the blessings of the resurrection that Thomas has given
us the opportunity to review continue to comfort, strengthen and uplift
us. These blessings are and always will
be ours for as long as we, like the transformed disciples and transformed
Thomas, “stop doubting and believe”
that He is risen. He is risen
indeed. Alleluia. Amen.