"Without A Doubt"

(John 20:19-31)

Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn

INTRODUCTION:

Did you all hear that the devil challenged St. Peter to a baseball game. St. Peter started laughing and said, "There's no way you can win. We've got all the great players up here. We just called Joltin' Joe Dimaggio up from the minor leagues. We'll play but you don't stand a chance."

To which the devil replied, "Oh, yeah, well we've got all the umpires."

Baseball season has officially opened. I had the privilege of going to the opening day game, Monday, with my oldest son. The Rangers took on Detroit. The Ballpark was packed with a record crowd. The talk on all the pre-game shows and in all the papers was that "this is the year." This is the year that Texas will finally win the Pennant. Everybody was excited.

And then came the first pitch. Helling wound up and fired one across the plate. The batter swung and knocked it out of the park. One pitch and Detroit had the lead. I'm not going into the rest of the game. You've read about it and heard about it, if your a Rangers fan. We lost 11 to 5 and never really looked good. By the seventh inning it reminded me of Moses and the second book of the Bible, Exodus. That's exactly what people were doing. They were leaving in droves in disappointment.

That sort of feeling of disappointment filled the Upper Room early on Easter Sunday. It defined the disciples and followers of Jesus before the discovery of the Empty Tomb and the message of the angel that Jesus had been raised from the dead. But then came the Good News. It was so good it was almost too good to be true. And for one disciple, it was.

I. THOMAS:

A. Here we are, just a few hours after the resurrection. The disciples are still in shock. Granted, it's a relieved, joyous sort of shock, but it's shock nonetheless. They are still trying to come to grips with the Resurrection. I'm sure the atmosphere was somewhat joyous and exuberant. Though even a little tentative. I mean this whole resurrection thing was just a little different. It was going to take a little bit of getting used to. But there in the Upper Room, the atmosphere had changed. It had done a 180. It was no longer the darkest night of history. Daylight peeked above the horizon and their hearts began to fill with hope and joy. Jesus had been raised from the dead. He had even appeared and stood in their midst.

Into all of this walks Thomas. We find out from John's Gospel that Thomas wasn't with the others when they heard the news about the tomb being empty and Mary's encounter with Jesus. He wasn't with them when the risen Jesus appeared to them. Scripture doesn't say where Thomas was or what he was doing, all we know is that he wasn't there. So, as far as he was concerned, Jesus was still dead and buried and he and the rest of the disciples were next.

No wonder he reacted like he did to their excited pronouncement that Jesus was alive. Thomas had to feel like Rangers fans Monday evening. The season started with such pomp and promise and then suddenly everyone was filled with doubt. From that moment on, Thomas was labeled as "doubting Thomas."

B. But you know, some labels are just plain bad labels. I ran across a few that people have collected from actual consumer goods:

On a Sears hair dryer: "Do not use while sleeping."

On a bag of Fritos: "You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside."

On a bar of Dial soap: "Directions: Use like regular soap."

On a Swanson frozen dinner: "Serving suggestion: defrost."

On Tesco's Tiramasu dessert: "Do not turn upside down." (Guess where they were printed. Yes, on the bottom of the box.)

My favorite one is on the packaging for an electric Iron: "Do not iron clothes on body." (1) Has that been a problem?

Just as those labels are pretty bad, so is the one we've hung on Thomas over the years. Thomas is only mentioned four times, apart from the lists of disciples. In the other three places, Thomas is portrayed as a man of deep faith and courage. Thomas didn't need any more proof when Peter said Jesus was the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi. He believed, wihtout a doubt. And when Jesus said he was going to Jerusalem to die, the others objected, but Thomas, without a doubt, said, "Then let's die with him."

There's lots of reasons why Thomas might have doubted. It might have been associated with the guilt he was feeling because he deserted Christ the night of the Crucifixion. Or maybe he was just feeling a little left out because the other disciples shared something of which he hadn't been a part. Haven't you ever felt left out of something like that? We all have. But whatever the reason, Thomas wasn't there with the other disciples when Jesus appeared. And he didn't receive the Good News first hand, so he doubted.

C. There was a certain man who was driving his sport utility vehicle when he came to a detour sign that read, "ROAD UNDER REPAIR." A little construction wasn't going to stop this guy and his S.U.V. So he dropped it into 4-wheel drive, drove around the sign and navigated the construction site with good success. Nobody even tried to stop him. His success continued for about 20 miles until he came to the absolute end of the road, beyond which there was a gorge in the road with no bridge.

This guy had to turn around and retrace his route back to the detour. When he approached the back side of the same construction sign, he read what someone had written on the back of sign: "WELCOME BACK STUPID." (2)

I sure am glad that's not the way Jesus welcomed back Thomas. Instead, the rest of the story, is an example of God's Grace. Jesus meets Thomas and his doubt with openness and love. I can even picture Jesus smiling; smiling to the point of being near laughter because of the look of surprise and joy on Thomas' face when he finally sees that Jesus is truly risen. Jesus offered a loving, grace filled welcome to one who needed more than just a simple witness.

II. DOUBT:

A. Jesus welcomes us in our doubt, too. You see, it's not wrong to doubt. Doubt is a natural part of life. Frederick Buechner wrote: "Were there no room for doubt, there would be no room for faith, either." I like that. For me, doubt is sort of like the weeding we do in gardens. It's sort of the weeding process of the development of faith. We root out that which doesn't need to be there. Sometimes that doubt even leads to faith.

It seems that this atheist was upset because a particular bank was going to be closed in recognition of a religious holiday. So, he went in to complain to the president of the bank who happened to be a devout Christian. The atheist began complaining that the religious people of the world had holidays like Christmas, Easter, Passover and Hanukkah. "We don't have ANY holidays," he complained. The banker replied, "Oh, yes, you do." The atheist said, "Oh, yeah, which one." And the banker said, "You've got April Fools Day."

About a year later, this same atheist was spending a quiet day fishing on a lake in Scotland when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. It opened its mouth to swallow both the fisherman and his boat. As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, "Oh, God! God, help me!" At once, the ferocious attack scene froze in place, and as the atheist hung in mid-air, a booming voice came down from the clouds, "I thought you didn't believe in Me!" And the atheist said, "Come on God, give me a break! Two minutes ago I didn't believe in the Loch Ness monster either."

So you see, sometimes doubt CAN lead to a deeper faith.

B. Let me give you a better example, a real example. There was a couple in one of the Churches I served who were just some of the neatest people I know. Bill accepted Christ while I was his pastor and I baptized him and both of his sons all on the same Sunday. It was an exciting day, there wasn't a dry eye in the place. The reason was that Bill and Prissy were very involved in the life of the Church. They only had the best interest of the Church in mind. From the day of Bill's baptism on, that family began to change. Most of Bill's doubts and questions were answered.

There were only two areas of their Christian life that they were still struggling with. Their prayer life and their stewardship. It's not that they didn't pray, both of them did, but they didn't pray together and they wanted to. And they didn't know how to do it. They were each a little embarrassed to pray in front of the other. And it's not that they didn't give to the Church, they did. But they had never really taken their stewardship very seriously.

I didn't know all of this until later. One of the reasons Bill and Prissy had trouble with giving was because Bill had just started a new company. It was going great. They had already had to expand and move into a real building. But they felt like they were operating on a shoestring and living from hand to mouth.

During a stewardship campaign, I talked about Tithing and how important it is to our spiritual life. Tithing isn't about money, it's about stewardship and our relationship with God. I don't think tithing is a money matter at all, it's a spiritual matter. During this particular sermon, I challenged folks to put God to the test (as Malachi calls us to do) and to try tithing for three months. And then I told them to start waiting and looking for their blessings, because God always blesses our faithfulness.

About a year later, during another campaign, Bill and Prissy gave their testimony. They talked about how much God had blessed them. Not so much monetarily but in their spiritual life, in their family life, in their relationship with each other. They were now able to pray together. And Bill's business continued to flourish. They put God to the test and God took care of them. They had more than enough for the rest of life. They prioritized and were blessed because they saw that all of life is about stewardship, not just money.

They doubted at first but they didn't doubt God. They doubted whether or not they could or would be able to afford tithing. But after that first three months they came to the conclusion that they couldn't afford NOT to tithe. You see sometimes doubt leads to a deepening of the faith that we already have. That's exactly what happened to Bill and Prissy and to Thomas.

C. Oh sure, God would rather have us believe the Good News without any doubt. But doubt isn't bad. Doubt is usually always caused by faith, faith searching for deeper answers. John Drummond said: "Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is can't believe; unbelief is won't believe. Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness. (3) By Drummond's definition, living without a doubt might actually be a form of unbelief.

III. STILL EASTER:

A. The major problem Thomas had, or rather the major assumption that he made was that he thought the cross was the end. He bought into the misinformation put out there by the author of sin. But you see, the truth is that the cross is not the end of the matter. Jesus promised that there's something better coming.

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with cancer, and had been given three months to live. Her doctor told her to start making preparations to die, so she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.

She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what Scriptures she would like read and what she wanted to be wearing. The woman also told her pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order, and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. "There's one more thing," she said excitedly.

"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.

"This is very important," the woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say.

"That shocks you, doesn't it?" the woman asked.

"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor. The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and functions where food was involved, my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say, 'You can keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming. When they told me to keep my fork, I knew that something great was about to be given to me. It wasn't Jell-O or pudding. It was cake or pie. Something with substance. So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand, and I want them to wonder, 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: 'Something better is coming, so keep your fork, too.'"

The pastor's eyes were filled with tears as he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that that woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She knew that something better was coming.

At the funeral, people were walking by the woman's casket, and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, "What's with the fork?" And over and over, he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork, and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it, either. He was right. (4)

B. In today's Scripture reading it's still Easter. And that's part of the message. Because the stone has been rolled away, because Jesus has been raised from the dead, everyday is Easter. And there are signs of the resurrection all around. You can see them everyday if you will look. They are all related to the sign on the back of the door as you leave the garden tomb in Jerusalem. "He's not here, for He is risen." And those signs are given to us to answer our doubts. Those signs are given to us so that we will know to keep our fork. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you of the promise of Christ, that there is something better coming.

CONCLUSION:

Some time back in the Wizard of Id, the Wizard is talking to one of the peasants as they watch the W. C. Fields looking character, the lawyer walk away. The peasant asks, "Who was that?"

The Wizard says, "Larsen E. Pettifogger, the King's barrister."

Then the peasant asks, "In what area of the law does Mr. Pettifogger specialize?"

And the Wizard replies, "The gray area." (5)

So many people now days seem to be specializing in the gray areas of life, they can't get a handle on the realities. Thomas seemed to be like that when he first returned to the Upper Room. However, Thomas found out that in Christ there is no gray area. Christ is the Son of God, the Savior, who gives new life. Without a doubt Jesus wants us to live without a doubt. But when doubts do come up, Jesus calls us to turn them over to him. He will smile and hold out his hands for you to touch and then lead you to the truth through deepening our faith.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

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Bibliography

1. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), April 1999

2. The Pastor's Story File (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), April 1999

3. Parson's Bible Illustrator for Windows.

4. Homiletics, Mar/Apr 1999, Volume 11, Number 2. (Communications Resources, Inc., Canton, OH) p. 53.

5. Wizard Of Id, by Brant Parker and Johnny Hart 6-3-92

Other References Consulted