“Doubt - the beginning of Faith”
Preached
by Linda Jo Peters ~ April 15, 2012
Scripture: Acts 4:32-35 and John 20:19-31
Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana
INTRODUCTION
TO SCRIPTURE
Acts
4:32-35
The
theme of The book of Acts is the story of the early church’s witness—the
witness to the resurrection of Jesus and the new life that comes out of it…
But
what made their witness so effective was the combination of their proclamation
and their life. One of the most important ways in which the early church lived
out this good news was by sharing their possessions with one another.[1]
32Now
the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one
claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was
held in common. 33With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was
not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them
and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35They laid it at the apostles’
feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
John
20:19-31
We
think of Thomas as a man of doubt. But
we know he was no coward. When Jesus
proposed to go to Jerusalem most of his disciples tried to talk him out of it.
Thomas said, "Let's go with him and die with him."[2]
While the disciples were hiding in a locked upper room, Thomas was out. So let’s not judge Thomas instead let’s keep
our eyes on Jesus who is ever willing to go that extra mile to open our hearts
and minds to faith.
19When
it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the
house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came
and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he
showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw
the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has
sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said
to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas
(who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus
came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said
to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in
the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
26A
week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.
Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace
be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands.
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed
because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come
to believe.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may
come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name.
SERMON
What
strikes me about this story is the demand for realism. Not just of Thomas, but
the realism about how hard it can be to believe. When you read through the
resurrection accounts of all four gospels, you quickly realize that Thomas is
not alone in his doubt. In fact, doubt isn't the exception but the rule. No one
-- even after all the predictions -- no one says, "Welcome back." Or
"I was never worried." No one
anticipates Jesus’ return and when he shows up, everyone doubts. Everyone.
Which makes me think that maybe doubt isn't the opposite of faith but,
actually, where it begins.[3]
One
man cried out to Jesus, “help my unbelief.”
As disciples of that same Jesus we may have reached a point in our lives
where God’s truth transcends every moment and fills us with hope and joy. Or we may still find ourselves struggling
with doubt. We as the body of Christ
need to face that doubt for ourselves and those we seek to share our faith is
normal. Doubt is the boundary of
knowledge, experience and wisdom as well as faith. It is a place of testing and fine tuning.
Because
we trust reason, we doubt what we cannot perceive with our senses or understand
with our intellect. Doubt even affects
our relationship with others. When they
betray our trust we want to wipe our hands of them. But we know we have been called to be a
friend of the friendless: those who hunger, thirst are sick or in prison. We are called to welcome the stranger. Yet many of us come to doubt that people can
change, even while we believe we have been saved and are going to heaven. We even doubt those who reject Christ and His
life have value as human beings. Here we
stand at the edge between doubt and faith.
It is the place of testing and fine tuning our faith. What would it take
for you to see value in everyone as a beloved child of God? Anyone of us might say, “Yes, God can save
anyone who turns to him and confesses their faith in him, but there is no way
“those” people will ever be saved.” To
face our doubt in the value of people we believe will always be evil, we would
need the hands of our Master. Some of
you may know the poem by Myra Brooks Welch:
'Twas
battered and scarred,
And
the auctioneer thought it
hardly
worth his while
To
waste his time on the old violin,
but
he held it up with a smile.
"What
am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who
starts the bidding for me?"
"One
dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two
dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars
once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But,
No,
From
the room far back a gray bearded man
Came
forward and picked up the bow,
Then
wiping the dust from the old violin
And
tightening up the strings,
He
played a melody, pure and sweet
As
sweet as the angel sings.
The
music ceased and the auctioneer
With
a voice that was quiet and low,
Said
"What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As
he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One
thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?" "Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice, Going and gone", said he.
The
audience cheered,
But
some of them cried,
"We
just don't understand."
"What
changed its' worth?"
Swift
came the reply.
"The
Touch of the Masters Hand."
And
many a man with life out of tune
All
battered with bourbon and gin
Is
auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much
like that old violin
A
mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A
game and he travels on.
He
is going once, he is going twice,
He
is going and almost gone.
But
the Master comes,
And
the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The
worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By
the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
