FIRST READING Acts 5:27–32
27 When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
PSALM Psalm 118:14–29
14 The LORD is my strength and my song, and has become my salvation. 15 Shouts of rejoicing and salvation echo in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD acts valiantly! 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted! The right hand of the LORD acts valiantly!” 17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. 18 The LORD indeed punished me sorely, but did not hand me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them and give thanks to the LORD. 20 “This is the gate of the LORD; here the righteous may enter.” 21 I give thanks to you, for you have answered me and you have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 By the LORD has this been done; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Hosanna! O LORD, save us! We pray to you, LORD, prosper our days! 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; we bless you from the house of the LORD. 27 The LORD is God and has given us light. Form a procession with branches up to the corners of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will thank you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the LORD, for the LORD is good; God’s mercy endures forever.
SECOND READING Revelation 1:4–8
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. 8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
GOSPEL John 20:19–31
19 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.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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.” 26 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 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.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 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.
Blessed are the Believers
There’s a story that has floated around the internet for years, some of you may have heard it. A college student was in a philosophy class, and the topic of discussion that day was, whether or not God exists. The professor had the following logic: “Has anyone in this class heard God?” Nobody responded. “Has anyone in this class touched God?” Again, nobody spoke. “Has anyone in this class seen God?” When nobody answered for the third time, he simply stated, “Then by logical conclusion, there is no God.”
One student, in the back of the class, took exception to the professor’s logic and asked for permission to speak. The professor granted it, and the student stood up and asked the following questions of his classmates: “Has anyone in this class heard our professor’s brain?” Silence. “Has anyone in this class touched our professor’s brain?” Absolute silence. “Has anyone in this class ever seen our professor’s brain?” When nobody in the class dared to speak, the student concluded, “Then, according to our professor’s logic, it must be true that our professor has no brain!” Living a life of pure logic, based only on empirical evidence, can make one pretty cynical.
Jerry Kramer was an offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers back when they dominated the National Football league under the leadership of Coach Vince Lombardi. Kramer is also an articulate man, who has authored three best-selling books about his experiences. In his most recent book, Distant Replay, he reflects on his own sense of mortality; words that could be helpful for many of us. He writes, “I think a lot about death these days, which is funny, too, because I’ve never been healthier. I’ve had only one serious illness in the past ten years, only one near death experience. I haven’t broken a bone, not even a finger, since I stopped playing football sixteen years ago. My weight isn’t bad, about 240, twenty pounds less than when I stopped playing, and most of the time I feel awfully good. And yet, now, more than ever, I sense that I am mortal.
A year ago, I lost my father to cancer, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over his death. In some ways, I think it was more difficult for the family than it was for him. Dad was a deeply religious man and he was ready to go. He had his faith and he said he was locked in the arms of the Lord. Sometimes I wish I had that kind of faith. But I don’t. I just have questions.”
I found this to be an interesting statement in light of our gospel reading for today; “his father’s death was harder on the family than it was on him”. Even more intriguing was the reason; because Dad “was a deeply religious man and he was ready to go. He had his faith and he said he was locked in the arms of the Lord.” I think Jerry’s dad took comfort Jesus’ words found in the second half of verse 29 of today’s gospel reading; blessed are the believers.
It’s a wonderfully true statement. How often have we looked at this important passage in John’s Gospel only to focus on Thomas’ doubts? Not that this is a bad thing, because many of us would agree that we can identify with his hesitation. However, when we do this, we have a tendency to miss the punch line. In our relating to Thomas’ doubt we sometimes miss the important part. We miss the words of the Master that comes near the end of this passage. Jesus said to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” By means of paraphrase, Jesus is saying, blessed are the believers.
We’re not talking about the smugly self-righteous or about the pious pontificators who spout off answers to questions no one is even asking. We’re talking about people who have come to grips with their doubts, in an honest and forthright way, and have made a commitment of their will, to trust in the care and providence of God. These are the Children of God who are indeed the blessed of this earth. They are healthier, happier, and generally more effective in relating to others, than the doubters and the cynics.
Believers are the ones who move the world forward, because there’s power in believing, more power than the unbeliever can ever know. Part of that power is the power of vision, for truly, if seeing is believing, than the converse is equally as true. Believing is seeing; seeing possibilities and promises that bode well for all who perceive their presence. So again, I say, blessed are the believers. Of course this doesn’t mean we don’t have our doubts.
Everyone experiences doubt at some point. To paraphrase a statement by Woody Allen, faith would be much easier if God would show Himself by depositing, say, a million dollars in an off-shore bank account in my name. It seems to be imbedded in our nature that we need some sort of physical proof, before we begin to trust something. I read a true story recently about a young man named Charlie who was in love with a charming young lady named Ava. She was in love with Charlie as well, but he hadn’t been unable to persuade her to marry him. Then one day he invited her to lunch.
They drove to the Los Angeles Coliseum, where he led Ava to the center of the vast playing field. In the middle of the field she saw four men and a small table and two chairs. A maître’d showed them to the table, a captain seated them, and a waiter waited behind each chair. Apart from this small oasis, the Coliseum was empty. Something like 94,000 empty seats stared down at Charlie and Ava. The table was elegantly set. Caviar and champagne were served, then a soufflé and salad and more champagne. Later, as they were waiting for dessert, Charlie directed Ava’s attention to the huge electronic scoreboard at the far end of the field. In a prearranged signal he raised his glass, and on the board flashed the words, “Darling Ava, will you marry me?” This time, she said yes.
I think some people would ask, why can’t God do something like that for us? Believing would be so much easier. Maybe a giant comet streaking through a dark winter night with its tail skywriting in our behalf, “I love you, God.” Of course, if that happened, immediately a group of cynics would get together and “explain” that it was simply a freak product of certain atmospheric conditions. So why doesn’t God do something spectacular like that today?
We can sympathize with British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell who was once asked what he would say, if after death he found himself confronted by God. Russell replied, “I shall say to Him, ‘Why did you make the evidence of your existence so insufficient?'” There’s a part of us that says with Thomas, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” As human beings, we all want certainty. But that’s one gift that God hasn’t granted us. And He hasn’t granted that gift for good reason.
If it is God’s aim to produce mature followers fit to spend eternity in His presence, it makes sense that He wouldn’t reveal Himself in His fullness to us. Such certainty would keep us perpetually immature. If a child knows that his father will always be there to solve every problem, to resolve every crisis, to comfort every sorrow, the child will never develop self-reliance. Our insecurity may be essential to spiritual growth. Besides, most of us have certainty enough. Of course it’s through faith that I see God’s presence and work every day. I see it in His marvelous creation, in the lives of others and in my own life. But of course there are those who want to explain everything away, in an attempt to deny God. But despite their best efforts, I think they know better.
It’s interesting how often the name of God slips out on the lips of even those who are officially committed to atheism. During my time in Clinical Pastoral Education, my professor shared with the group, that some 75% of all avowed atheists will pray to God, or curse Him, when confronted by a tragic situation. Knowledge of God is implanted in every human, even those who try to deny the existence of God.
Time magazine reported how Prime Minister Gorbachev of the Soviet Union was forced to edit his own remarks when he visited the U.N. Before he spoke to the General Assembly, Gorbachev met with U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar. When Perez de Cuellar thanked Gorbachev for the Soviets’ recent support for U.N. peacekeeping efforts, Gorbachev answered, “God is on your side at the United Nations.” After a short pause, he rephrased his statement in a more orthodox Marxist fashion: “The objective trends of what is happening in history are on your side,” he said. I for one am not surprised, at the Soviet Premier’s verbal slip. It’s part of how we were created. We were created to seek and be in a relationship with God.
Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła, once said, that he would never forget the impression left with him by a Russian soldier in 1945. World War II had just ended. A conscript knocked at the door of the Krakow seminary where Seminarian Karol Józef Wojtyła was serving, many years before his election to the papacy. When asked “What is it you want?” the soldier replied that he wished to enter the seminary. The conversation between the Russian soldier and the Polish student went on for quite some time. Even though the soldier never in fact entered, and was far from clear in his mind about what a seminary really is, the meeting taught the young seminary student one great truth: how wonderfully God succeeds in penetrating the human mind even in the extremely unfavorable conditions of systematic denial of Him.
In the whole of his adult life, that soldier had scarcely ever gone inside a church. At school, and then later at work, he had continually heard people asserting “There is no God!” And in spite of all that, he said more than once: “But I always knew that God exists…and now I would like to learn something about him….” That soldier believed the evidence in his own mind and heart. Living in the kind of magnificent world in which we find ourselves, it’s easy to agree with the Psalmist: “The fool says in his heart there is no God.” (14:1)
A British biologist by the name of George Romanes, wrote a book designed to further the cause of atheism. He says, “I took it for granted that the Christian faith was played out.” When, however, he saw that Christianity worked; that many eminent persons, some of the most illustrious in the fields of science, had ranged themselves on the side of the Gospel, he resolved to let the Bible speak for itself. As a result he wrote a book called, Thoughts on Religion, showing why, from a merely human point of view, everyone should be a Christian. He concluded, “Unbelief is usually due to indolence, often to prejudice, and never a thing to be proud of.” For most of the world’s people, there is certainty enough. This isn’t to say that faith is to be accepted without careful thought. God gave us minds to protect us from gullibility to every silly idea that comes down the pike. We see evidence of this in many mainline Protestant churches today. Those who want to rewrite the Bible and have us accept the cultural whims of the day, as Biblical truths, for the sake of pacifying their self-centered agendas.
We need to closely examine every new idea to which we are exposed, whether it comes from a preacher, a politician, a professor, a news publication or a TV pundit. God doesn’t honor gullibility. Nevertheless, we’ll never make much progress in life until that moment when we take our stand, until we resolve in our own mind what we believe and to whom we are committed. Blessed are the believers. That’s the first thing we need to see. The second reality is, believers in turn are a blessing themselves.
When has there ever been a monument erected to the cynic, the critic, or the doubter? I like the old saying that was on the sign at a church there in Dallas, “He who pulls on the oars has no time to rock the boat.” Believers are those who know, that the world can yet be a better place. Consider our own society. Who were and are the builders? Who is it that constructed the hospitals, the great universities, the social service agencies? Behind every one, you’ll find people who hold in their hearts not cynicism, but hope, not doubt, but faith, not hostility, but love.
Would you be offended if I said that most cynics are idiots? I mean that in the original sense of the word. The Greek word idios meant “one’s own private affairs.” The Greeks considered anyone who turned his back on the public good, who ignored the health and security of the whole society, in order to look after his own affairs, an idiot. So, as Paul Harvey used to say, now you know the rest of the story. You know where that word originated.
The converse of this, then, is that believers are not idiots. Believers are people who know that if they make this a better place for their neighbors, they’ll also make it a better place for themselves. They’ve learned that the path to greatness is the road of service. In a wonderful statement from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your noun and verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love… “When evil men plot, good men plan. When evil men bomb and burn, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glory of love….”
Newscaster David Brinkley once put it like this: “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” The question this morning is, which side are we on? Are we on the side of the doubters or on the side of the believers? Anybody can be a doubting Thomas. It takes no particular strength of character to say, “Unless I put my fingers in his hands and his side, I will not believe.” It does, however, take strength of character to say, “I don’t have all the answers. But I know who’s making this world a better place to live. It’s those who are followers of the Man from Galilee. And I want to make my stand with them!
No, I don’t have all the answers or empirical evidence, but unless someone proves otherwise, I’ll take my stand with those who believe this beautiful world was the creation of a good and loving God. I believe God created everything with a purpose. Now I know I joke at times that when I get to heaven I’ll have a hundred questions for God like, a red bug and a mosquito? Really? That aside, I believe God initially created everything in the cosmos and called it good; it’s because of our sin that things are corrupted. No, I don’t have all the answers, but I do believe that the death of Jesus Christ upon the Cross of Calvary and His resurrection on the third day has completely changed this world forever. I don’t have all the answers, but you can put me down as one who believes.
Listen again this morning to the words of our Lord and be blessed, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” As far as I’m concerned, God gave us all we need to believe. He gave His only Son that we might have life and He is active in our world and involved in the lives of His children. All the proof we need, is in the world God so wonderfully created, in the people around us and written in His word. Jesus’ promise to us is simple, believe and you’ll be blessed.
Amen