Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…

The Rev. Dr. Whitworth Ferguson III

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

May 1, 2011

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…

John 20:19-31

The disciples were all gathered together for one last time

before leaving to go their separate ways. 

The first Easter and the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection

still glowed within them,

and they were filled with confidence, assurance,

grace and peace.

Even they were surprised by how different things were

from just a few months before,

when each of them had been so filled with fear,

so afraid to do anything, say anything,

huddling together behind locked doors,

watching, listening,

jumping at every knock on the door.

Now they were energized,

afraid of nothing, no one,

ready to take the Gospel into the world,

ready to share the good news of God’s love with anyone,

with everyone.

At Peter’s suggestion,

they had decided to parcel out the known world,

each of them given an area in much the same way

each of the Twelve Tribes had been given an allocation of land

in Israel more than a thousand years before.

This was their effort to divide up the world

each of them then responsible for taking the Word

out to the area he’d been given.

                                                     

They knew they were each about to take on

an enormous responsibility,

but they were so filled with desire to take the gospel

to the farthest corners of the world,

that they couldn’t wait to set out.

                                                     

They had agreed that the fairest way

to determine who would go where

was simply to draw lots.

They would go in reverse order,

the newest disciple, Matthias would pick first,

Peter would be last.

When it was Thomas’ turn to take his lot,

he was trembling with excitement:

where would God send him?

To what part of the world would he go

to take the glorious, joyous news

of the loving God revealed in the living Christ?

He was willing to scale the highest mountains,

or cross the most unforgiving desert

to share the Gospel with even one person.

He stepped forward and drew his lot,

and then stepped back aghast, horrified--

India.

He had chosen India.

He was to take the gospel to India.

“It’s too far”, he protested to the others.

“I am weak and could not handle the journey.”

But his protests were in vain;

The others were quick to assure him that it was God’s will

that his lot was India.

“Have faith”, they said to him;

“The Lord will see you through!”

Later than evening, when Thomas was alone,

Jesus appeared to him and said,

“Fear not, Thomas;

Go to India and preach the word there,

for my grace is with you.”

But even in the presence of the risen Christ

Thomas protested,

“Wherever you wish to send me, send me,

but elsewhere.

For I am not going to India.”

Do I need to tell you how the story ends?

Of course God prevails!

Of course Thomas goes to India

to preach the good news there.

This is the legend we have of Thomas,

our beloved “Doubting Thomas”.

Legend, Tradition,

Myth more than anything else;

that’s what we have,

mostly from a book called “The Acts of Thomas”,

a strange book written about two hundred years after

Thomas lived, after the Resurrection of our Lord.

It is not considered credible,

yet the legend remains.

Thomas’ apostolic symbol combines a carpenter’s square and a spear:

the carpenter square reflecting the church

he is supposed to have built in India with his own hands,

the spear reflecting his death there as a martyr.

All the stuff of legend,

but it does make a good story.

The Bible tells us almost nothing about this man,

this apostle,

a disciple who followed Jesus so faithfully.

We have of course our lesson,

the lesson which gave rise to the name

that Thomas bears to this day:

“Doubting Thomas”.

Was he truly a doubting Thomas?

A careful reading of the passage shows us that

Thomas was asking for nothing more than

the same opportunity provided the other apostles.

The week before, they’d all seen the risen Christ,

seen him in the flesh.

And, as John tells us,

“Jesus showed them his hands and his side.”

(John 20:20)

Why wouldn’t Thomas want the same opportunity?

John’s gospel records only two other incidents of Thomas speaking.
In chapter eleven, when Jesus informs his disciples

that Lazarus is dead,

Thomas responds strangely, even bizarrely:

“Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

(11:16)

We interpret his response as

obedience to Jesus

along with a profound lack of understanding

of what Jesus was trying to teach him and the others

in raising Lazarus from the dead.

Thomas’ lack of understanding is reinforced in chapter 14

where we find Jesus speaking to his disciples

as they gathered for their final meal together:

 “Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places.

If it were not so, would I have told you

that I go to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again and will take you to myself,

so that where I am, there you may be also.

And you know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas is quick to respond to Jesus:

“Lord, we do not know where you are going.

How can we know the way?”

(14:1-4)

Thomas comes across not so much a man filled with doubt

as much as a man who didn’t want to think,

a man who wanted things handed to him,

things made clear, set before him,

so he wouldn’t have to figure things out for himself.

Jesus speaks of going away and Thomas responds,

“Wait a minute Jesus,

you cannot go away 
without first giving us your destination

so we can set our GPS units and find you later.”

Thomas seems like the kind of person

who was more comfortable

in the Monday through Saturday world,

what we call the “real” world,

the world of everyday life,

the world in which we all spend most of our time.

On Sunday we come into a world that seems so different.

We come into a world where we talk about:

a God we cannot see;

a son who died and then was raised from death;

a God in Three Persons who brings life to us

through the person we call the Holy Spirit.

If you were listening carefully

to the words of the Anglican wedding liturgy

that united Prince William and Catherine Middleton

on Friday, you heard the Archbishop of Canterbury

speak not of the Holy Spirit, but of the Holy Ghost.

Ghosts!

That’s the Sunday world we inhabit,

Is it any wonder we struggle to live our faith lives

in the Monday through Saturday world,

the world of facts, realism,

of analysis and proof,

the world of “show me”.

The wonderful irony is that it is Thomas,

who shows us how to live in our faith,

how to live in our belief in the

Monday through Saturday world.

Those simple yet profound words he uttered,

“my Lord and my God” –

those words are the foundation on which we build our lives,

on which we live our lives

not just on Sunday

but Monday through Saturday,

starting each day with our profession of faith

in our Risen Lord,

professing our faith in the one we follow

the one who teaches us that

compassion matters more than economic certainty,

forgiveness matters more than being right,

grace matters more than money,

love matters more than power.

We should not think of him as

Thomas the doubter;

that’s old news, the old life.

He is reborn in the presence of the risen Christ

as Thomas the example,

Thomas the teacher,

the disciple who helps us to see ourselves in him

as we each walk in faith,

each of us with our own struggles.

Thomas the example,

the one who wanted certainty,

shows us that if we ground ourselves each day

in our profession of faith in our risen Lord,

we’ll find life surprisingly,

reassuringly

clear.

 AMEN