Rev Helen preached this sermon on Sunday 7 April. Here it is for you again:
I do feel very sorry for Thomas, he gets a really bad rap in this story, the one who doubted Jesus words, the one who didn’t believe that Jesus would come back from the dead, like the other disciples were all 100% sure that Jesus was going to come back before they saw him that day in the upper room, sure. Of course we don’t hear about that it’s Thomas who get the reputation as the one who needed proof. Lets just think for a moment what Thomas was being asked to believe, that a man, who witnesses had seen die, wrapped in bonds and placed in a tomb, with a stone rolled across the entrance is alive without any proof, it’s not an everyday occurrence is it?
I find there are a lot of things that are hard to believe, I was looking at Guinness world records website and some of the things on there are hard to believe. There was a woman on there who in 2015 simultaneously spun 200 hula hoops on her body. That is amazing…I don’t know about you but I can barley manage one, unbelievable right…but if I got her to come here and do it in front of the alter you’d believe it then right…because you’ve seen it and couldn’t deny it any longer. There’s another story on the website I found that I really liked, Mike the Headless Chicken, anyone heard this before? Chicken lived without a head from 18 months in 1945 and 46, he was fed with a pipette and lived after losing his head. It’s crazy but if we could bring Mike here and you could see and touch him…you’d believe it then right, because you’ve seen it.
Seeing Jesus wasn’t enough for Thomas he had to prove who he was by showing the wounds of his death which is also a palaver in todays world. I has a call from the bank the other day, the advisor said can we have a chat with you about savings sort of thing, I said fire away. Ok so before we start can you prove who you are…hang on you rang me! Just a slight side note that puzzled me why is it when you then start going through all the mandatory stuff like this they ask you for your postcode, your door number, then you are amazed when they tell you your address, like a rubbish magic trick you’ve done half the work for them.
This is what Thomas needed, to see Jesus, to touch the wounds he received from his death to believe that he had really risen from the dead and as I said it’s not everyday you see someone come back from the dead, even in this day it would be a shock and I can imagine it didn’t happen to often in 1st century Israel/Palestine. No wonder he needed some kind of proof.
As far as history goes (and you know me I like a bit of history),we know Jesus existed and was executed by the Romans, there are sources outside the bible that have told us this, but his resurrection is different, there’s a lot of faith, belief and a lets be fair certain suspension of reality needed to accept that. So do we have? We have that testimony, we have the women who went to the tomb, we have the disciples who saw Jesus and the other people who saw him like Saul. We have their testimony to him and that he rose from the dead and what happened after.
So where does that leave us, the people who 2000 years later are just expected to believe that Jesus did this, from the testimony we have, without seeing him or being able to hold him, I understand how Thomas must have felt and he was there at the time. That’s one of the things I like about this passage as after Thomas has seen Jesus and has his proof, Jesus makes an observation. “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John’s gospel is the latest of the four in the New Testament and is believed to have been complied between 80 and 120 CE, there wouldn’t be many eyewitnesses to the events of that morning left but the gospel is giving a message for the future, for the people who may not see Jesus, who still keep the faith and believe in him and his words. This is Jesus’ message to us, those who still believe he blesses us for still keeping faith with him, still telling his story and living by his teachings.
Would proof be nice? I’ve wondered at times but to be honest if Jesus re appeared here now I’m not sure if I’d believe it, but when I see someone who is very ill get better, when I see people forgetting hate and anger and starting to love each other, when I see the amazing people here today and beyond still telling this story, that’s all the proof I need Jesus came back from the dead. Believe, remember the resurrection and the hope that it brought and testify, testify and testify to him. Amen
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 