 From the Manse
The following article is taken from our April/May '08 Church ‘Newsletter’:
Was Thomas really all that bad?
Poor old Thomas! Spare him a thought during this Easter season. Over the centuries he’s been labelled a cynic, a belligerent pessimist and his name has become synonymous with scepticism. Many people have singled out ‘doubting Thomas’ as having an inferior faith because of his slowness in accepting Christ’s resurrection. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it” (John 20:25). It took Thomas a week to accept the resurrection and it only came about once he’d had the opportunity to see the scars in the flesh of Jesus. Only then did he fully believe.
Here’s a theory: although Jesus did say to him “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”, maybe we need to see Thomas in a different light. In some dictionaries a ‘doubting Thomas’ is “a habitually doubtful person”. But I think that’s a bit harsh on Thomas. Back in John 11, following Lazarus’ death, Thomas says “Let us also go, that we may die with him”. This reveals his devotion to following Jesus and suggests that he was never in any doubt about his Master at this stage. Don’t forget that, according to Luke’s gospel, the others disciples initially thought that news of the resurrection was a non-sense!
Who of us, hand on heart, would have greeted reports of resurrection appearances, pure and simple, as matter of fact? Who of us wouldn’t have expressed a degree of caution or suspicion without any hard or real evidence? Maybe Thomas’ honest doubt wasn’t so bad after-all. Maybe he was on a passionate search for real truth. Maybe he didn’t want to rely on any second-hand stories from the other disciples. If he was to be comforted, he’d have to be comforted by reality.
An honest desire for truth is the kind of doubt that can brings us closer to a real encounter with God – just as it did for Thomas. It is this sort of desire that can, eventually, lead us to echo that ecstatic proclamation that Thomas uttered in front of the risen Christ: “My Lord and my God!”
I believe Thomas can be an encouragement to us. His honesty is refreshing. He wasn’t prepared to glibly believe in something that he hadn’t fully encountered for himself. Although we cannot see or touch Christ in exactly the same way as Thomas did, we can still encounter His presence in our lives today through the eyes of faith.
But there’s also another aspect to this story that is so significant. The scars of Jesus’ death were so deep and permanent that they survived the resurrection. In Carvaggio's 16th century masterpiece painting entitled "The Incredulity of Thomas", Thomas is stooping down next to Christ with his finger, a full knuckle deep, embedded inside the bloody tear in Jesus' side. If all Thomas needed was proof, wouldn't the mere sight of Jesus standing there have been enough for him? Couldn't a simple handshake or a touch of Christ's shoulder have done the trick? Why does he need to see and touch Jesus' wounds?
What Thomas needed to know is what we all need to know. In his death and in his rising, Jesus was still willing to bear the marks of human pain and suffering. God’s love for humanity runs so deep that Christ still carried the scars after his resurrection. Ultimately, perhaps this was what Thomas’ honest desire for truth was all about. He wanted to be sure that the risen Jesus still stood in total solidarity with, and was still able to compassionately relate to, the pain, wounds and suffering of the world. Maybe Thomas was right to initially doubt any kind of risen Saviour that had risen above the suffering of humans.
In our Morning Services and House Groups in the period after Easter we shall be looking at our SHAPE. Don’t worry, you won’t be asked to bring a tape measure with you. What we will be exploring is how each of us is made uniquely in God’s image and what part each of us can play in serving God in the places where we live and work. Part of that discovery will undoubtedly be related to the past and present experiences (possibly even scars?) of life that we each carry around with us. It is my hope and prayer that this will prove to be a liberating and affirming series for us all.
By the way, if you’re wondering what SHAPE stands for you’ll have to come along to find out!
God bless you,
Andy.
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