On Wanting More


Rev. Mark Porizky


04/23/06


John 20:19-31


  When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

  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.”

  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.



April 23rd. An important day in history, April 23rd.  What’s happened on this date? 

 

Well, on April 23rd William Shakespeare was born.  So was Shirley Temple, and Lee Majors, the world’s first six million dollar man.  Of course, we should recognize local celebrities like Karyn Hooper and Joyce Purdue as well.  (Katie Story).  April 23rd was the day that Hank Aaron hit his first home run.  And who could forget, April 23rd was introduction of the fiasco that was New Coke, a short-lived lesson in bad promotion.

 

For that matter, Happy April 24th or 25st or 26th  or ANY day. Pick any date in the long calendar of the year, then go back through history - it will not take long to find something for which you have questions, questions like how in the world could Joseph McCarthy have been allowed to terrorize this nation with his communist scare?  By the way, the Army hearings on Joseph McCarthy’s behavior began on April 23rd, 1954, the beginning of the end of that “red scare.” (Pause)

Here’s a date for you.  Well, not an exact date, but the date comes with a question: The date? One week after Jesus’ resurrection.

 

The question?  What exactly happened in between Thomas and Jesus on that date in history, one week after the resurrection?  (Pause)

 

Before I try to answer that question, let me add a few more questions in the mix.

 

Three is a delightful little book written by David Heller called, Dear God: Children's Letters to God. There are some wonderfully witty observations about Easter, which are appropriate to this season of church life.

Dear God, What do you think about all those movies made about you around Easter time? I think they're kind of corny, myself. Your buddy, Charles (age 9)

Dear God, What do you do with families that don't have much faith? There's a family on the next block that doesn’t even come to church on Easter. I don't want to get them in trouble, so I can't say who. See you in church. Alexis (age 10)

Then there is this one:

 

"Dear God, I have doubts about you sometimes. Sometimes I really believe. Like when I was four and I hurt my arm and you healed it up fast. But my question is - if you could do this why don't you stop all the bad in the world? Like war. Like diseases. Like famine. Like drugs. And there are problems in other people's neighborhoods too. I'll try to believe more. Ian (age 10)"                                                                                                     

We know the Christian story of Jesus’s life, death and resurrection.  But sometimes, like Ian, we’d like a few more answers.

 

Is there any of young Ian in you? Or how about the hero of our gospel lesson, Thomas? "Inquiring minds want to know," as the old commercial used to say. We would ALL admit to doubts. There are so many awful things out there - terrorist bombings, devastating tornadoes, babies in dumpsters, and yes, good people murdered just as Thomas' friend Jesus had been for the flimsiest of reasons.  Doubt has never been the opposite of faith, but a part of faith’s process.

Thomas' story is familiar to us.  The date is now one week after Easter Sunday. Thomas in attendance now, Jesus appears again and moves directly to our skeptical friend. "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." And the rest of the story we know. Thomas proclaims for all the world to hear, "My Lord and my God!"

When Thomas was first told about the meeting with Jesus that he had missed, he was understandably guarded. As I said on Easter Sunday morning, the notion that a dead man was back alive again was not exactly something you grabbed hold of and easily believed in a minute or two. 

 

So Thomas plays it safe but also then speculates aloud as to what it might take for him to believe this after all. As he talks, his rhetoric gets more and more exaggerated. "My friends, I'd have to see with my own eyes the nail holes in his hands. No, tell you what, I'd need to touch those holes with my own finger. Better yet, I'd want to stick my whole hand right into his side where the sword pierced him!" Thomas kept mounting up an ever-larger heap of evidence that he thought he'd need to believe.

 

Of course, once he does meet Jesus, all that evaporates. To paraphrase a traditional aphorism, if you don't have faith, then there will never be evidence enough to convince you and if you do have faith, no evidence is needed. Without faith, no evidence is sufficient; with faith, no evidence is necessary. And although most of us probably agree with that in principle, we can perhaps admit that sometimes we are still hungry for a little evidence, or a little more evidence than we usually have.

 

That’s why so many of us are fascinated by scientific research that would seem to authenticate the claims of Scripture. Why else spend the millions of dollars that have been spent to search for Noah’s ark on Mt. Ararat in present-day Turkey? Granted, there is a valid archaeological interest here, but would the discovery of the ark really make our faith any stronger than it is right now? And if so, what does that say about our faith?

Years ago, many people were disappointed when carbon dating proved that the Shroud of Turin, thought to be the cloth that Jesus’ body was draped in after he was crucified, was only 800-some years old, not 2,000.

More recently, the reputed ossuary of James the brother of Jesus caused a similar debate. Some argue that this is indisputable evidence of Jesus’ family, proof that the stuff in the Bible really did happen. From an archaeological standpoint, it matters. But does it matter from a faith perspective? Is our faith stronger or weaker when such things happen?

There's a reason why there is now a huge enterprise that is literally scouring the universe for evidence that the formation of the cosmos required the hand of a Creator God. It's not just that we want to meet evolutionary and atheist scientists on their own turf--most folks also quietly hanker for something tangible that can bolster the confidence they have in their faith. Over and again we find ourselves wanting more.

Jesus himself knows that faith is both a blessing and a miracle. That's why he says in verse 29 that while it was one thing for Thomas to believe with Jesus standing right in front of him, it would one day be quite another thing to believe without such undeniable physical proof standing in the same room. But John at least seems confident that he has given us enough for just such faith to be born. That's why he immediately follows this comment by Jesus with his own commentary in which he says, "Now listen, friends: I have left out a ton. Jesus said and did lots of other really amazing things that I just have not gotten around to even mentioning. But what I have given you is enough. Read it and believe!"

 

Now I don't know about you, but when I read how much John left out, there is a part of me that wants to cry, "Tell me!  Don't leave me hanging in suspense!"

Scripture indicates that John could have said more but John seems convinced that he had said and written enough. And in one very strong sense, that is true.  If John could know how many millions of people over the centuries have come to faith, or had their faith strengthened, by what he wrote in this gospel, wouldn't it most certainly reduce him to tears? Could he have had any idea how great an effect his carefully crafted account of Jesus would finally have?

                                   

So we try to resist the temptation of wanting more. We don't get too uptight about whether or not we can find this or that new archaeological discovery to help bolster our faith. We have to trust that we don't need such things. We have to trust that no matter how much is learned by science about the universe, it will never spell the end of our faith in Jesus. We have to trust that even though someone like John admittedly did not tell us everything there was to know about Jesus, he did tell us enough. 

"I didn't tell you everything," John said, "but what I have told you is meant to generate faith in your heart." Today, April 23rd of the year 206, we can hear Jesus saying something similar. "You do not have standing before you what Thomas had. But you do have my Spirit with you and the witness of many saints throughout many centuries testifying on my behalf, and it is meant to strengthen your faith in me."

 

For in the end, faith is not given to us to make us comfortable.  No, faith is given to us to make us fly.

 

There is a parable about a wild goose shot down by a local hunter. Only wounded in one wing, he landed safely in a barnyard. Naturally the local turkeys and chickens were quite startled by this sudden visitor from the sky.

 

As they became more comfortable with this stranger, however, it was only natural to ask about what they had seen but never experienced: “Tell us what it’s like to fly.”

 

“It’s wonderful!” said the goose, who told story after story of his flights. “It’s beautiful to soar out in the wild blue yonder! Why this barn looks only an inch high and all of you look like tiny specks from such a distance. First you fly high and then you can glide and enjoy the astonishing scenery.”

 

All the birds were quite impressed by the goose’s stories. Later they asked him to tell more stories about flying. Soon, it became a weekly event for the goose to entertain all the barnyard birds with his stories. They even provided a little box for him to stand on so everyone could see him better.

But the strangest thing happened, or maybe I should say ¼ never happened. While the domestic birds very much enjoyed hearing about the glories of flight, they never tried to fly themselves. And the wild goose, even though his wing healed, continued to talk about flying but never actually flew again .¼(Pause)

It’s natural to want more, to inquire as to what really happened, to doubt and to wonder, as did Thomas.  But when Thomas had the answers he needed, Thomas’ faith became the wings that gave him flight.  Tradition has it that he went to India and started the church that grows strong there even today. 

 

So, yes, you want more.  We are people with inquiring minds.  But do you really want to know more?  Because, like Thomas, you won’t be allowed to just sit there. You’ll be expected to fly.  If you want more, like Thomas, be prepared to do more.

 

Blessed are all those who do not see everything and yet still believe.

 

Will you pray with me now?