More than Meets the Eye

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.

What can one say after the kind of week we have had? What words can we hear that don’t ring just a little hollow in the comfort of this sanctuary? Just over the course of this week hundreds of lives have been lost in the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in this state’s history. Tens of thousands are still without electricity or water. Entire communities have been erased from the map. And right here in our very own community we have experienced such an alarming tragedy that words fail to express our emotions. So what can one say? Is it right to say anything at all when words seem so useless in a time like this? How can one say anything in a place like this when there are so many who have lost everything, and so many more who can’t even find where to begin to put the pieces back together? Can God really have something to say to us, something that will bring us peace in such a tumultuous time as this?
You know, it has always interested me how people tend to get more “religious” in the wake of such tragedy. Television reports and newspapers run stories with titles like “Finding God in the midst of Devastation.” People who would never darken the door of a church or bend a knee in prayer suddenly show up at the front door of the church asking for someone to pray for them or give them shelter. Sometimes people get more “religious” by becoming more vocal in their disgust with the divine. They blame God for the tragedy that has struck; they curse the heavens and the God they imagine dwells there; they may even reject the assistance of a church because somehow they think that the church is subtly behind their misfortune and is seeking to profit from it by adding another body in the pew on Sunday morning. Whatever the case may be, it seems that when tragedies such as these strike, people begin to see them as signs—signs of God presence in their midst.
Of course, who can blame them for wanting a sign? My grandma used to tell me: “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.” It’s not an uncommon philosophy for many people today. Folks have a difficult time believing what their told. Don’t believe me? Well that would just prove my point wouldn’t it? We don’t believe what we’re told because we’ve been let down too many times, whether it’s been by politicians unable to live up to their campaign promises or loved ones who have told us time and again they’ll get help, they’ll get sober this time. We just don’t believe them anymore. We need proof, something tangible. We want some collateral when it comes to believing someone’s word, and perhaps that is why people tend to wax religious when tragedy strikes. Because somehow, in the midst of the confusion, despair, and horror there is some kind of tangible proof of something greater, something bigger than us.
I suppose that very same sort of feeling had crossed those first followers of Jesus when the tragedy of Good Friday struck. For years life seemed to be heading in a positive direction: they had a Messiah now; he did miracles, taught with wonderful stories, and even walked, laughed, and ate with them—right there in the midst of them! They had proof of a genuine Messiah, because he was there; they could hear him, smell him, touch him. What more could a follower of Christ need to prove his or her faith than the Christ himself?! But then that Friday came, and as Mark tells us in the fourteenth chapter of his gospel, “All of them deserted him and fled.” They left, right when Christ could have needed them most and right when their faith was most directly put to the test. Then…tragedy: Jesus was crucified. The movement was surely doomed to be over as the disciples had fled, and none of them seemed to believe what Jesus had said when he told them he’d be back on the third day.
Sunday dawned, and with it came the hope of all humankind—the resurrection. The disciples, however, didn’t see it; they were only told about it (“Don’t believe anything you hear…”). So it doesn’t come as a surprise to me that, (20:19-20) “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 just showed up! And not in some David Copperfield sort of way with smoke and mirrors, but in a supernatural way beyond our comprehension. Jesus appears and shows them his hands and his side: here’s proof, tangible, physical evidence of his existence.
Of course, the timing is important. This is after the devastation of Good Friday, and here Jesus is giving his troubled disciples proof. However, there is so much more he gives them than just some visible evidence, for he continues on in verses 21 and following: “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.’” In the wake of Good Friday’s tragedy, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit onto his disciples and gives them peace. Consider the magnitude of such a thing: not simply comfort, not just an explanation as to what has happened, not some sort of systematic theology of atonement. He gives them peace, and then breathes the Holy Spirit upon them, charging them with the duties of a follower of Christ. In the wake of tragedy, Jesus offers peace and the comforting commission of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the disciples gathered there that first day saw Jesus when he granted them peace and the Holy Spirit—they had visible evidence! So really, Thomas’ action in the following verses shouldn’t come as so much of a shock to us.
In verses 24 and 25 the Bible says, “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.’" Now, perhaps Thomas had in mind Jesus’ words from Mark 13:5-6: “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!' and they will lead many astray,” so maybe he just wanted to be sure that it was Jesus and not one of these others who would lead them astray. Maybe, but I doubt it. Thomas just wanted what we all want and what the other disciples had—proof. He wanted to see the telling signs of Jesus’ crucifixion and his physical body that would prove resurrection. Of course, the odd thing is (at least to me) that Jesus gives Thomas exactly what he asked.
Verses 26-28: “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 not only showed up, but offered Thomas to touch his wounds. Here is undeniable proof! Yet I wonder if Jesus wasn’t just a little disappointed with Thomas; after all, he’s gone on to receive the nickname “Doubting Thomas.” You can almost hear Jesus’ disappointment in verse 29: “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me?’” While the NRSV translates this sentence as a question, other translations render it as a declarative statement: “You have believed because you have seen me.” The existential theologian, Rudolf Bultmann went so far as to claim that the resurrection appearances of Jesus occurred simply because of the weakness of the disciples’ belief; they had to have some sort of proof to “seal the deal.” And that brings us back to looking for signs in the midst of tragedy.
Thomas, along with the other disciples desired some sort of proof of Jesus’ resurrection after the despair of Good Friday. They wanted a sign. That, my friends, is truly irony at its best, especially in John’s gospel, in which Jesus performs no miracle—the writer of the fourth gospel prefers to call them signs. In fact, the last words of our text this morning sum up the author’s use of signs quite well: “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.” The author wrote down these signs so that we may believe, yet there are still countless people, particularly in the midst of such troubled times, who turn their gaze towards heaven asking for a sign.
But do not be misled into thinking that somehow the heartbreak of these past few days is somehow simply a “sign” from God. Do not give into the simplistic idea that faith is based on what can be seen and therefore proven. After all, if faith can be proven with tangible evidence can it really be called faith any longer? No, in the midst of these tragic days we hear a better word from Jesus, for just as he appeared to Thomas for the sake of his faith, Jesus also spoke these words: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
If you are one who is looking for a sign, the truth is you could find one. If you’re one who wants to prove God’s existence in the terrifying forces of nature, you could easily do so. However, we are called to a faith in things unseen, to a faith witnessed for us in the pages of Holy Scripture and in the lives of those saints who have gone on before and are in our presence now. Jesus says those who believe without seeing are blessed, and in the midst of tragedy and despair he offers peace and the comfort of the Holy Spirit to those who believe. So are you still waiting for a sign? Are you simply riding on the religious fumes that tend to follow such devastating times? Or will you this day let go of that human desire for proof and cling to Christ who offers you peace that surpasses all evidence and hope that is greater that all that we could hope to see? If you call on his name this day, you will truly find joy in the midst of heartache, love in the midst of grief, and a life that is more than meets the eye.
Let us pray…