Doubtful Witness

Pastor Joseph G. Crippen
Texts (from the daily lectionary for today): Isaiah 60:17-22; John 20:24-29

Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It’s my turn now.

Last Wednesday our vicar described the challenge that the texts assigned in the weekly lectionary gave him. It seemed like a vision of God – God calling God’s people worthless, for example – that was inconsistent with the witness of Scripture and of his own understanding of God.

The texts assigned for today challenge in the other direction. Isaiah brings light and joy and hope to people who have experienced exile. Verse after verse is wonder: violence will no longer exist, devastation and destruction are gone. The days of mourning are ended, and all people, all, will be righteous. Peace and Righteousness will be the rulers of the land.

So when is this going to happen? How can we hear this in a world where violence reigns, where our rulers abuse and hate and kill, and create and promote devastation and destruction. Mourning isn’t ended, people all over are dealing with grief over the suffering inflicted in our nation and world. And Peace and Righteousness aren’t in charge here.

At what point do we ask, “how can we trust this?

And the assigned Gospel isn’t a lot of help.

We jump from Lent to a week after Easter. Everyone’s seen Jesus alive except Thomas. They’re excited, filled with joy and wonder. But Thomas says, “I really need to see this to trust it.” After years of hoping in Jesus ended in such tragedy, he wasn’t ready to trust something he couldn’t see.

And here’s the hardest part of this Gospel: Jesus says: “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to trust.” That’s the challenge. Trusting in God’s goodness, God’s healing of all things, God’s promises of peace and righteousness, when we can’t see them.

But notice this.

Jesus says, “Blessed are those who trust without seeing.” He doesn’t say “blessed are those who never doubt.”

Somewhere we got the message that having doubts was a sign of weakness, alack of faith. But if we look at all the people of faith in the Bible and in the years since, doubt seems to be a pretty regular companion.

So what if we embraced our doubt as a normal part of faith? What if instead of fearing doubt, or despising it in ourselves or others, we admitted it, were open about it? Some days we feel stronger in faith than in doubt. Other days it’s the other way around. Wouldn’t it be good to just accept that as our reality and live with it?

And that might be a help to more than just us.

If we could admit there were days we didn’t feel secure in our faith, days we had more questions than answers, what kind of witness might that be for others? Mother Theresa’s lifelong doubts and struggles with faith were revealed after she died, and I, for one, was very glad to hear of them. If the great saints can admit their doubts, it gives the rest of us room to breathe as well.

We are those blessed Jesus talks about who have not seen and yet trust in God. In God’s love. In God’s healing of this world. Even though we have doubts and struggles with that trust every day.

Could we share this with others who don’t trust that God’s love is for them, that God is working in this world for good? Those who want to trust but don’t know how? Or who struggle for answers to the pain and suffering of life and don’t see how God could be real?

That’s what we can share. Our faith. Our doubts. It’s what we know.

Because even in our deepest doubts we have found that God comes to us with life and grace and resurrection. Even when we felt most lost the risen Christ has reached out and found us. Even when we look at the world and despair at it being healed, we have seen God’s hand working and bringing life, signs of Isaiah’s promises.

And wouldn’t that be something to share? To say to someone who has more questions than answers not that we have all the answers, but rather that we’ve been found by the One who is the Answer, who we trust to truly give us and the world life, now and forever. We could do this – so that they too might find life in Jesus. Doubts and all.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen