Acts 3: 12a, 13 – 15, 17 – 26; Psalm 111; I John 5: 1 – 6; John 20: 19 – 31
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at St. Stephen’s Church, Harrisburg, IL; Sunday, April 23rd, 2006
Back when I was in the Army, many times we used to close our programs with a cute little song (which actually came from a 1930s Broadway musical), part of which went like this:
I wouldn’t give a bean, to be a fancy-pants Marine,
I’d rather be a Dogface Soldier like I am.
I wouldn’t trade my old ODs[1] for all the Navy’s dungarees,
For I’m the walkin’ pride of Uncle Sam.
On all the posters that I read, it says “the Army builds men”,
So they’re tearing me down to build me over again…..
Now despite the fact that it was fun to sing that song to an audience that might have had Marines and Navy personnel in it, the reason I began this sermon with those lyrics was because of the last line, “so, they’re tearing me down to build me over again.”
Every person who’s ever been in the military remembers their initial training, where the person who came to boot camp begins to be reshaped into a useful member of the organization.
Actually, most every human organization operates pretty much in the same way: new members are trained and indoctrinated so that they can become effective members of the team. In the process, some old stuff within the individual is removed, only to be replaced by something new and more useful. That way, the mission can be accomplished.
So, my premise is that, in today’s Gospel reading about the familiar encounter “Doubting Thomas” had with the risen Jesus, Our Lord is “tearing something down” that’s within Thomas, only to turn around and “build him up again” into something new and useful for the Kingdom of God.
Furthermore, what was an issue for Thomas is also an issue for us: the issue of the reality of the resurrection.
So, we should begin with a look at the Gospel reading itself….
It’s clear that Thomas has an issue: the issue is that he demands physical proof that Jesus is alive: “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.” Thomas’ demand isn’t all that much different than the demands the Jews made of Jesus, especially in the first 11 chapters of John’s Gospel account,[2] when they demanded to know “by what authority He was doing these things”, demanding a “sign” to prove what He was saying is true.
Thomas’ issue is our issue: we want proof!...we want proof that the resurrection is real. We want proof in scientific terms. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
So, let’s return to the Gospel account….eight days later, gathered in the same place as they were earlier, we see that Jesus gives Thomas exactly what he demands, saying, “put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt, but believe.”
Now, note a couple of things about this story:
- Jesus gives Thomas exactly what he needs in order to believe: Notice the wording of Jesus’ instructions to Thomas in their encounter….they answer exactly the demands that Thomas made.
- Jesus answers Thomas’ demands in Jesus’ timeframe: No doubt, Thomas had an agonizing time between the time that he made his demand to the other disciples, and that encounter with Jesus behind those locked doors. It’s probably safe to say that Thomas wondered if he would have the proof he needed in order to become an effective Apostle.
Now, let’s turn to our situation, applying some of the lessons from Thomas’ encounter to ourselves….
First of all, it was the transforming encounter that each disciple had with the risen Christ that empowered them to become Apostles,[3] We can see this most clearly in the case of Peter, whose bumbling ways were torn out by his encounter with the risen Jesus, only to be built up into a powerful and persuasive preacher…see Peter’s sermon from Acts, chapter three, read today, as proof.
Secondly, each disciple, in order to become an apostle, had to have the power of the Holy Spirit working within him….In today’s Gospel, Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, “receive the Holy Spirit.” In connection with that sending, He then says, “as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The Holy Spirit’s work is to tear out of us what is unhelpful to the work of the gospel, that which might even totally block the work the Lord has for us to do, in the same way that Thomas’ doubts may well have prevented him from every becoming an Apostle.
We began with a military analogy, that of a person entering boot camp to have some old things torn out, only to have them be built up into something useful for the organization.
If the person entering the military had training that only consisted of reading histories of the army they’d joined, then they wouldn’t be ready for the battles that are to come…..No, the training they receive as a new recruit consists not only of learning the history of the army they are now a part of, but of the training they receive now, which has a lot in common with the training that might have existed a 100 years ago or more, yet which has the battles of today in mind as well.
Scripture functions in this way: John reminds us in our reading today, that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written 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.”
As we read Holy Scripture, the proof of the transforming power of the risen Christ to change the lives of those early disciples, building them up in order to be sent out as Apostles, comes alive with the aid of the Holy Spirit.
And so, we have a face – to – face encounter with the risen Jesus, as the Holy Spirit aids us to see Him in all His fullness. To each believer, the story ceases to be only a story of something that happened 2,000 years ago, as it is replaced by the upbuilding experience of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead and now ascended into Heaven.
Thanks be to God!
AMEN.
[1] “ODs” were an early form of fatigues, which were Olive Drab in color.
[2] The first 11 chapters of John are often nicknamed by Biblical scholars “The Book of Signs”, since the things that Jesus did were intended to be signs to those who saw them.
[3] The title “Apostle” comes from the Greek word for “sent out”…”apo + stello” = “away + sent”.
