“Verifiable Proof”
Sermon Presented April 11, 2010
John 20:19-31
More than a decade ago, at the beginning of December, the Kansas City Star asked readers to respond to this question: “What is the tradition that makes Christmas most meaningful for you?” One man wrote that each December, he rereads John Irving’s novel A Prayer for Owen Meany. That piqued my interest. Why would a book – other than Luke’s story of Jesus’ birth, be that significant to him? So I checked it out from the library and I was hooked. Oh, I don’t read it each year, but it is now a significant book in my library. Besides offering a hilarious story of a Christmas pageant, it presents a deep picture of faith.
In the book’s preface, there is a quote by Frederick Buechner – a former teacher of Irving’s. It reads: “Not the least of my problems is that I can hardly even imagine what kind of an experience a genuine, self-authenticating religious experience would be. Without somehow destroying me in the process, how could God reveal himself in a way that would leave no room for doubt? If there was no room for doubt, there would be no room for me.”
Owen Meany had no doubts concerning his faith in God. He was brilliant, poor, tiny, and spoke with a high pitched voice. When a child, he hit a foul ball – possibly the only time his bat ever connected with a ball – and it hit his best friend’s mother in the head and killed her. Owen dearly loved this woman who had made it possible for him to attend private schools. The story is told from the perspective of Owen’s best friend, John Wheelwright, the son of the dead woman.
Our text is a familiar one – but in contrast to Owen’s deep faith, it is the story of a man commonly referred to as “Doubting Thomas”. Thomas is one of Jesus’ disciples, but he wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to the other disciples after his resurrection, and he is plagued with doubt at the report that Jesus is alive. I’m reading from John 20:19-31.
Thomas had doubt, but Owen Meany has no doubt about the reality of God. Owen illustrates his faith to his friend by pointing to a gray granite statue of Mary Magdalene in the twilight hours. When it becomes so dark that the statue is no longer visible, Owen asks John if he knows that the statue is still there. John says that of course he knows. Owen keeps pushing:
“You have no doubt that she’s there?” Owen nagged at me.
“Of course I have no doubt!” I said.
“But you can’t see her – you could be wrong,” he said.
“No, I’m not wrong – she’s there, I know she’s there!” I yelled at him.
“You absolutely know she’s there – even though you can’t see her?” he asked me.
“Yes!” I screamed.
“Well, now you know how I feel about God,” said Owen Meany. “I can’t
see him – but I absolutely know he is there!” (p. 451)
Owen Meany has an extraordinary kind of faith – the kind celebrated by John in our text. Because Owen believes so fully and completely in God, he literally stakes his life on that conviction. He doesn’t need to see; he doesn’t need signs and wonders; he believes and orients his entire life around what he believes God wants him to do. (Nancy Claire Pittman, Feasting on the Text Year C Volume 2, p. 399)
We shouldn’t chastise Thomas too severely, because the other 10 apostles and Mary Magdalene have already seen Jesus. In fact, if the truth be known, my guess is that the 10 didn’t believe Mary either and needed verifiable proof. They conversed with Jesus and received his commission for service. Thomas just wants the same opportunity they had. Their eyes and their ears aren’t enough for him, and his skepticism threatens the beginning of the Christian community. (ibid)
Let’s look at Thomas more closely. As you may have noticed in a footnote in your Bible, Thomas is not a proper name, but a nickname meaning “the twin”. In the Gospel of Thomas, we learn that Thomas’ given name was Judas, so he may have been given this nickname to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. (Gregory A. Robbins, Feasting on the Word, Year C Vol. 2, p. 401) Thomas didn’t trust the other disciples as purveyors of truth.
But before we criticize Thomas, we must admit to our skepticism and distrust concerning some in the Christian community. What are the motives of those who disagree with us? How can the miniscule faith or questionable theological beliefs of another characterize them as a true Christian? Surely those who question the minister or priest or rabbi are purveyors of gossip. We sometimes refuse to examine our comfortable preconceptions or challenge ideas that might “go against the grain” or upset others. We are often unwilling to reveal our doubts. It takes time and effort to learn to believe not only in the goodness of God, but in the goodness of one another. When our trust in a person is proven to be misplaced, then we should abandon that trust.
Doubt is common to all of us and is part of our rational world. We will never have perfect understanding of God or Jesus. Honest doubt encourages us to explore further what we don’t understand. God can’t be measured or contained and the faith of men and women for almost 2000 years can’t be limited to any one understanding or experience. God is God, and our understanding of God evolves over time, with experience.
Our Christian faith isn’t built on the Ten Commandments or on a literal interpretation of the Scriptures – as is the case for many Christians today. Faith can’t be passed directly to us by a parent or pastor or Sunday school teacher or friend – even though they may help us to grow in our faith. Our faith must come from a personal relationship with God through Jesus and not a factual treatise or confession. Christianity is conversion to a new way of life – a life marked by following Jesus – the risen Lord.
Jesus didn’t scold Thomas for his lack of faith; he just commends those who come to faith without seeing. It’s okay to doubt. Doubts come to everyone. It’s what we do with our doubts – it’s what we do to build our faith in light of our doubts that’s important.
Ultimately in the Gospel of John, it is those who believe without seeing, who are the true followers of Jesus. Jesus confirms this when he says to those of us who will not see him in the flesh; “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (v. 29).
In A Prayer for Owen Meany, Owen believes in God and God’s work in his life, without clear-cut evidence or proof, and he faithfully follows that direction. The novel begins with these words from John, his lifelong friend: “I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice – not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.” (p. 3)
I truly believe that it is in Christian community that our faith in God through Jesus has an opportunity to grow and flourish. It is in community that our faith is challenged. It is in community that we confront our doubts and in turn, have the opportunity to bolster our faith. It is in community that we confront our own humanity and the humanity of others.
We aren’t fictional characters like Owen Meany. We are real, live, flesh and blood people who sometimes act as completely faithful people and other times as scared people with little faith. In the Bible, we see examples of both faithful and doubting individuals – sometimes all rolled up into one.
When we express our doubts, we can move toward faith – if we are seeking. It’s important to feed our faith and not our doubts – advice a friend gave me when I was bogged down in doubt. That’s what Thomas did. He stuck around and was with the others when Jesus appeared a week later. It was then that he received proof that was adequate for him. It was then that his doubt turned to faith. It was then that he met the risen Christ. His life is our challenge!
04/11/2010
