Easter 2 2004
Acts 5.27-32, Ps 118.14-29, Rev 1.4-8, John 20.19-31.
Why would anyone believe in anything these days?
Everything is open to challenge. It’s a feature of post modern society, that everything is questionable, that there are no longer any absolute truths, and as a consequence of this, no one will commit to anything.
Facts are not facts anymore. Nothing is written in black and white, only in shades of grey. Everything is open to interpretation. Even what we think are historical facts can be questionable. I’ve just begun reading a book called 1421, about Chinese exploration of the world, and the possibility that long before Europeans came to Australia the Chinese did. That Chinese may have been here before Captain Cook discovered this allegedly empty continent requires a big shift in the thinking of any of us who have grown up with the notion that it was the English who discovered Australia.
Even the empirical truths that science produces are open to question. I’m sure some of you will have heard of the uncertainty principle. It’s the theory that the mere act of observing something, of measuring it, will produce the result that is measured. In other words, the actual act of measuring and recording changes the properties of the subject, so that the true nature of the subject might not be knowable. It like that old saying, I’m not even sure where it comes from, that goes “If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one to hear it, does it make a noise?” We can’t tell. It is a question to which there is no measurable, provable answer. So, if there is no provable answer to anything, then why would we believe anything?
It’s a good thing we don’t need evidence for faith. Well, strictly speaking, that’s not quite true. But more about that later. What I mean is the evidence we don’t seem to need is empirical evidence, measured physically with special instruments, observations, etc. which is a good thing because we would have had a hard time finding it, although this hasn’t stopped some people trying. There’s the guy who goes looking for chariot wheels at the bottom of the Red sea, and for Noah’s ark, and things like that. Personally I think he is barking up the wrong tree, and it probably says lot about his own feelings of inadequacy in the faith department and ridicule from his non-religious colleagues in the scientific world. I don’t think he has fully grasped the idea that faith is not something people come to through logical deduction and intellectual thought, even though these processes and faculties may play a part in its development.
Yes, that’s right, I don’t think faith is an intellectual decision. I think it’s a lot deeper than that. But let’s go to the Gospel reading for some unpacking of this, particularly as it relates to Thomas.
I can imagine Thomas in a bar. His mates are telling him some story, and he’s saying, yeah, right, pull the other one, it’s got bells on it. It’s a bit of a tall story, and if someone told me something like that out of the blue I imagine I would express my skepticism in a similar way. Who of us wouldn’t? Now I don’t think there is anything wrong with a bit of skepticism. It is natural, it hopefully prevents us from being taken for a ride so much, from being conned. I can even identify with Thomas. I think most of us could. We want proof when we hear something that’s a bit off the planet. Why shouldn’t Thomas?
The interesting thing is Jesus’ response. Jesus doesn’t refuse to give Thomas proof. He doesn’t point blank refuse to give Thomas the opportunity to see and do exactly what he said he wanted to do in order to believe. You see, that’s the thing. We all have moments of doubt, and anyone who says they don’t is I think kidding themselves. We have the dark times of the soul, times of trouble, times where we think about the darker side of life, and of death, and we wonder what it is that’s out there, what it is we believe in. I think that what we can learn from this is that we can actually ask Jesus for some help through these hard times, so that we too may believe again. And whilst those who have no need of proof are certainly blessed, for those who do need some assistance with faith at times it will be forthcoming, for as we see, Jesus offers Thomas the opportunity to touch His wounds. Jesus is prepared to give Thomas what he needs. Dare we ask, next time we are lost and can’t see Jesus, to touch His wounds, to feel him or see him?
But in the end Thomas doesn’t quite need that much proof. He doesn’t need the tactile proof he though he did. What happened? He saw Jesus. That was enough. Perhaps it was the feeling of being with him. I’m sure that most of you know someone that you feel very safe with, or with whom you feel happy. Perhaps that is what Thomas sensed. A familiar feeling, a sense of the holiness of Jesus, the love that flows from Him. Something that was not as empirical or incontrovertible as touching His actual wounds, it seems, but which none the less was just as convincing and elicited a faith response.
Might this be what Jesus would offer us? If we ask for help with doubt, what might happen? Might we too experience the risen Christ? Well, we can only give it a go, and see what happens. But be open to the experience. Ask and you might just receive. And remember, having doubt is ok. Struggle makes us stronger.
In the name of Christ, in whom be glory for ever, Amen.
