Wednesday, April 10, 2002
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Wednesday, April 10, 2002 |
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Doubt may lead to renewed belief By REV. JOHN HATCHER Where was God Easter night when Union City veterinarian Jason Andrew Trotman, who had just finished a shift at Southern Crescent Animal Hospital in Fayetteville, was killed when his automobile was rammed by a car driven by two men who allegedly had just robbed a supermarket? Where was God? Of course, the biggest and most recent one is: where was God September 11, 2001? We preachers went to great lengths Easter Sunday to declare that God was no longer in the grave, no longer dead, but arisen, alive and well on planet earth. Thomas, one of the original twelve disciples, asked something similar. You see, Thomas was not there when Jesus made an Easter appearance to the other 10 disciples. When the rest of the guys told Thomas that Jesus had appeared to them, he didn't believe. In fact, a good Greek text says that Thomas kept insisting that he did not believe, regardless what the rest of the disciples had heard or seen. There's no doubt that God allowed this section in his book about a doubting disciple to indicate that it is okay for you and me to voice our doubts like: "God, are you there? God, do you see the predicament I am in and you are doing nothing? God, when are you going to stop the lying and injustice perpetuated on me by others? God, why did you let me daddy die before I even got out of school? God, do you care about me and the fact that I don't have rent this month? God, have you stopped rewarding and honoring righteousness and started honoring the thief? God, where are you?" Thomas, perhaps like you and me, simply told his fellow, devoted followers of Jesus Christ, "I won't believe until...." He said unless he saw the nail prints in the hands of Jesus and Jesus' side which had been pierced with a soldier's spear, he would not believe." Get this: Thomas was no fly-by-night disciple. He was one of the ones tight with Jesus for three plus years. Tradition has it that it was Thomas who took the Gospel to India. But as a member of the inner core, Thomas wondered if Jesus had in fact been raised from the dead to such an extent that he could have a personal, assuring encounter with him. You know the rest of the story: one week later, Jesus shows up among the remaining 10 disciples. Thomas is present. Jesus walks over to Thomas and invites him to reach forth with his finger and touch the nail-scarred hand and to take his hand and put it into the pierced side. I bet that Thomas did just that. He felt the healed, scarred hand of Jesus. He put his hand and rubbed the pierced side. Sixteenth century Italian artist, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, painted the Biblical scene in 1599, depicting Thomas examining the body wounds of Jesus. Funny thing, Caravaggio also painted two other disciples looking as intently as ever at the same wounds. Perhaps, while Thomas was the only one who verbalized his doubts, the other disciples also harbored a few. Then, Jesus answered Thomas' doubts. Jesus said, "Peace is with you." After feeling the wounds and hearing the peace from Jesus' own lips, Thomas expressed the Christian faith's most profound and deep statement of belief toward Jesus: "My Lord and My God." My only big point: don't be so afraid to express your doubts. It may be in expressing your doubts and your fears, that you too will experience the peace of Christ's presence.
The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive Fayetteville, Georgia 30215 770-719-0303
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