Skeptical Thomas
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For April 11, 2021:
Skeptical Thomas
by Dean Feldmeyer
John 20:19-31
My wife and I are both fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and we trust the vaccine. But our faith in science does not give us license to be stupid or irresponsible. We know that the vaccine is something like 94% effective but we don’t know on what side of that percentage we stand.
We know that even though the chances are that we can’t catch the virus, we still might be able to carry and transmit it to others. So, we go out to eat, now, but we wear masks and we avoid crowded places.
We like to think of it as a healthy, realistic, responsible skepticism. One that does not weaken but, in fact, strengthens our faith.
Maybe that’s what Thomas was exhibiting on that first Easter evening. Maybe we would be a little closer to the truth if we started referring to him not as Doubting Thomas but as Reasonably Skeptical Thomas.
In the News
There are two kinds of people in the world: Cynics, who will never believe what you tell them, no matter what you do or say, and skeptics who are willing and waiting to be convinced.
25% of Americans surveyed by Monmouth University say they will refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. 36% of Republicans, 31% of Independents, and 6% of Democrats say they will not accept the vaccine. That’s in spite of the fact that 60% of Americans view the government’s handling of the vaccine rollout as positive. So, what’s the deal with that one in four who refuse to get vaccinated? Are they cynics who will never be convinced? Or are they skeptics who are waiting to be persuaded by reasonable and responsible evidence and argument?
In Texas, 59% of white Republicans say they won’t get the vaccine, calling it a liberal “power grab.” Count them in the cynical column.
Case in point: cynic Adam Ellwanger, professor of English at the University of Houston-Downtown, writing for HumanEvents.com, who insists that he is “not a lunatic” because he gets a flu vaccine every year, but he’s not getting the coronavirus vaccine because... well, for various reasons that we’ve all heard umpteen times. According to him, those reasons prove that “skepticism about the vaccine is a rational response.” But a skeptic is, admittedly, persuadable. Not so, Dr. Ellwanger.
He condemns what he calls “virtue-signaling” on the left because claiming that an act or a set of beliefs is virtuous and encouraging others to do the same is, according to him, nothing more than a way to “score political points or feel good about” one’s self. Then he embraces his refusal to be vaccinated as a virtue that he is proud to signal.
While he takes pains to separate himself from them, his rambling, disjointed, lopsided, cynical argument would be right at home among the thousands of anti-vaxxers who, even though they, as children, were vaccinated against all manner of diseases and were spared the horrors those diseases visited upon their victims, still refuse to get their children vaccinated not just against the coronavirus but against any disease at all.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers anti-vaxxers one of the top 10 biggest threats to public health but they are not a new phenomenon. There have been anti-vaxxers as long as there have been vaccines. Some refused vaccines back in the early 1800s when vaccination for smallpox started.
They simply did not like the idea of injecting a cowpox blister into their bodies to prevent them from getting smallpox.
Some people said it went against their religion though no mainstream religious group or organization has ever condemned the use of vaccines. In the 1970s people opposed the DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine because they claimed it caused neurological problems. Scientific studies showed, however, that any risk of neurological problems was so infinitesimally small that it could not possibly outweigh the risk associated with contracting those three horrible diseases. Yet, anti-vaxxers persists even today in their cynical refusal to learn from science.
Those are the cynics, people who refuse to be convinced no matter what evidence is presented to them. On the other end of the spectrum are the skeptics.
Skeptics are willing to be persuaded. They want to see the evidence.
In the Scripture
It’s Easter Sunday evening and they’re back in the upper room or, at least, some upper room. Doors locked, afraid to turn on the lights, talking in hushed tones. Some of the women and a couple of the men say the tomb is empty. Some even report that they have seen Jesus but, to tell the truth, most of them don’t know what to believe.
Then, all of a sudden, Jesus appears. Shows them the wounds in his hands/wrists and sides. Bids them, “Peace,” and does this thing where he breaths on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” And then he tells them that they have the power to forgive sins.
Just one little problem. One little snag. Thomas isn’t with them. Had a family thing that demanded his presence. Or a meeting, maybe. Or who knows what, but the point is, he wasn’t there. And he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t there, was he?
I wasn’t there, either. And you weren’t there. In fact, of the roughly 170 million people who inhabited the earth at that time, only 10 of them were in that upper room when Jesus showed up. That’s 12 minus Judas and Thomas. Ten. Ten out of 170 million. Only ten eyewitnesses.
Everyone else is going to have to find a different way of dealing with these reports that Jesus was up, out of the grave, and walking around, talking to people and whatnot.
Well, everyone except Thomas. Thomas the skeptic. Thomas who isn’t willing to just take their word for it. Thomas was from Missouri. You had to show him. In fact, not just show him — he wanted evidence that he could not just see but touch. He wanted to put his fingers in the nail holes and his hand in the wound left by the soldier’s lance.
But he’s not a cynic. He isn’t one of those people who refuses to believe it even when it’s been proven. He actually wants to believe but he doesn’t want to seem foolish so he offers the other ten disciples a way to bring him over to their truth: Show me.
And they do. That is, Jesus does.
A week after his first appearance he shows up for a triumphant return engagement in the same room, a special command performance, presumably, solely for Thomas’s benefit. Okay, Thomas, here I am. In the flesh. Put your finger in the holes and your hand in my side, if that’s what it’s going to take.
But it doesn’t go that far, does it?
Thomas believes.
And then the author adds this little epilogue, this little caveat spoken by Jesus for the benefit of the 169,999,989 people who weren’t there to see it with their own eyes. And for you. And for me. Because we weren’t there, either, were we?
Yeah, there are eleven who saw him but everyone else is going to have to find another way to come to faith. He doesn’t expect it to happen immediately, like, “Oh, okay. I’ll just believe without proof, then.” That’s not the way it happens. People don’t just believe; they “come to believe.” His words. Or a better translation might be, “they come to have faith.” They work their way around to it. Faith rarely happens all of a sudden. It’s a gradual thing made up of lots of little working parts that have to mesh in some special way that produces faith.
And, to push the metaphor just one more inch, even when the parts have all come together and created something like faith, the machine sometimes slows down or even breaks down. Sometimes skepticism, like rust, gums up the works and has to be dealt with. But that’s okay. Faith, real faith, can handle a little skepticism now and then. In fact, faith can be made even stronger by confronting and wrestling, by contending with skepticism, our own and that of others.
In the Sermon
There are two kinds of people in the world: Cynics, who will never believe what you tell them, no matter what you do or say, and skeptics who are willing and waiting to be convinced.
Most of us are skeptics but only a little. We want to and we usually do believe what people tell us. Even complete strangers. We have to in order to survive in the world we live in.
If the car coming toward me has its turn signal on, I believe that car’s going to turn, right? Or left? Whatever. If the menu says that the deluxe cheeseburger is $8.00, I believe that when I get my check, I will be charged $8.00. If the label on the bottle says “aspirin,” I believe that the bottle contains aspirin.
Timothy R. Levine, the Distinguished Professor & Chair of Communications Studies at the University of Alabama has dubbed this the “Truth Default Theory.” Put simply, it says that we generally believe what we are told. Malcom Gladwell talks about it extensively in his book, Talking to Strangers. We are, he says, horrible lie detectors, especially when what we see matches what we expect to see.
If a person looks and acts like they are not guilty, we tend to believe they are not guilty. If they look and act sick, we tend to believe they are ill. If they are well spoken and seem to know a lot of stuff, we tend to believe they are well educated. The fact that they may be guilty, not sick or uneducated rarely even crosses our minds.
You can see the problem, here, right? The default to truth can get us into trouble. What if the driver doesn’t know his or her turn signal is on? What if the waiter accidentally gave you the lunch menu when you should have been given the dinner menu? What if there was a mix-up at the factory and the bottle labeled “aspirin” actually contains strychnine?
We need a little bit of skepticism in our culture and in ourselves if we are to be safe,
Skepticism makes for good science. Scientists don’t believe even their own hypotheses. Not at first. They test them. A little skepticism makes good drivers. They don’t pull out in front of another driver just because they see a turn signal blinking. They wait to see if the other driver really is turning. A measure of skepticism makes for good jurors. That’s why lady justice is blindfolded. She doesn’t let her preconceived notions tip her scales one way or the other.
And a little bit of skepticism makes for strong faith. Skepticism keeps us from immediately believing every so-called evangelist or theologian that comes down the pike. It prevents us from believing fanciful notions and half-baked ideas, half-truths and outright lies. As Proverbs 14:15 reminds us: “The gullible believe anything they're told; the prudent sift and weigh every word.” (Peterson, The Message)
There are two kinds of people in the world: cynics and skeptics.
Cynics are like helium balloons, buffeted and blown about by every breeze. They are afraid to believe anything for fear they might be wrong, so they believe nothing. Skeptics are always searching, always looking for the thing in which they can believe, the thing that seems right, that makes sense; that holds up under scrutiny.
That’s Thomas. He had to be a skeptic because he wasn’t there.
And that’s us, because we weren’t there, either. And, like Thomas, if we aren’t afraid to be a little skeptical, we will be rewarded with a faith that is even stronger for having been sifted and weighed.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Real Good News
by Pastor Katy Stenta
1 John 1:1--2:2, Acts 4:32-35, Palm 133
Faith is a communal act of the church, so too is confession. No one person can hold onto faith on their own. It is impossible. We are a chorus of witnesses covering for one another when one of us has to stop to catch our breath. Unity does not mean conformity, but actually the opposite. 1 John 1:1--2:2 talks about the value of fellowship and the importance of people coming together and showing their faith in God, and in one another.
If you have seen or read Lord of the Rings, you know that the fellowship is made up of disparate people — indeed disparate races — each offering up their own skills answering the call for hope. The hobbit says he will carry the ring, though he does not know the way. The human says: “if by life or death I can protect you, you can have my sword.” Legolas the elf says “and you have my bow” and Gimli the dwarf says “and my axe.” Here is a confessional! A full accounting of who these people are and what they have to offer, and how they can help. For us humans, we too practice a confession, knowing the more we practice it the more our skills can come together to create this thing called church — based upon this thing called faith!
Fellowship is not just with one Godly being, but with God the Father, and with the Son, and then finally with the Holy Spirit. God’s own self relates differently to us in different persons. In Acts 4:32-35 it is made clear that “everything they owned were held in common.” The gifts were not cherished because they were all the same, but rather because they were shared with one another. We have one God, one baptism, one church, and still we have many confessions that make up what we call “faith.” We become the body of Christ this way, with “one heart and soul” but many gifts.
Confession is ultimately an act of joy, we tend to individualize it and see it as a discussion of our individual sins. However, it can be so much more. If you can confess where you see God in your life and how that is affecting your call, purpose and humanity, and I do as well, then my faith and understanding of God is made richer by the experience. The more varied the confessions, the more we are able to glimpse the full multiplicity and mystery of God’s very self. It is for this reason that we have four accounts of the gospel — and then a plethora of books expounding upon those gospels. “We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us.” This is one we practice every week, and on our better days, it is an act of Easter resurrection — witnessing to the life, death and resurrection of Christ in such a way that we are confessing our joy and embodiment of God’s grace as a sharing act that builds the faith.
Belief may be individualistic, but faith is communal. Time and time again faith is painted as communal. In the Old Testament, the faith of Judaism is referred to as the faith of generations added up and laid out together. God is the God of many, very different individuals: Moses, Abraham and Jacob. It’s an illustration of Psalm 133:1, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” Faith is supposed to be a tool of tying people together as a community, and still letting them be fully themselves. It is a tool of community building. It is spelled out in 1 John that these confessions are to atone for “our sins.” The good news is not only for the individual but for the structures, infrastructures, families, neighborhoods and communities. The real good news is that Jesus redeems all of society, not just you or me “for Jesus came into the world not to judge it but to save it” (John 3:17) or as 1 John says, but “for the sins of the whole world.” For this, we practice confession, faith, and Easter, and if we are lucky, we get to practice it more days that not!
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:
John 20:19-31
Rehabilitating the memory of “Doubting Thomas”
I admit it, I’m a little sensitive about being named Thomas. My mother told me that a few days after I was born, she got to thinking about Toms: Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son; Peeping Tom; Tom Turkey; Doubting Thomas. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to change my birth certificate. Then she thought of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Edison—“Who could have a problem with great men like them?” she asked herself in 1964. Both these Thomas giants, redeemers of my first name, have come under fire in the past few years: Thomas Jefferson, author of The Declaration of Independence, owned slaves. Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, caused society to burn loads of carbon-based fuel and thus speed Global Warming. So we’re stuck now with only Thomas the Tank Engine, who delighted my children ages ago, or, perhaps rehabilitating Thomas the Disciple.
Thomas is listed among the disciples in all four gospels; only in John does he stand out. In the 11th chapter when Jesus hears about Lazarus’s death and decides to go to Bethany to bring him back to life, the disciples remind Jesus that the people in Judea, Bethany’s province, had tried to stone him the last time he was there. Thomas is alone in saying, “Let us also go, that we might die with him.” It is not clear whether Thomas means to die as Lazarus had died, or die at Jesus’ side. Either reading supports Thomas’s status as a stalwart disciple.
In the 14th chapter, after Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet and begun his farewell discourse, Jesus tells those gathered that He is going ahead to prepare a place for them and “you know the way to the place where I am going.” (14:4) It is Thomas who speaks up and says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?” Thomas is the lone disciple brave enough to raise his hand and ask a question that is probably on all their minds. It is Thomas who raises this question. Jesus’ response, “I am the way, and the truth and the life,” is a very compact, easily remembered phrase they could always carry with them.
In today’s reading, Thomas is the only one not present with the other disciples on the evening of the resurrection. When they tell him they have seen the Lord, Thomas does not deny their experience, rather he insists on seeing the Risen Christ with his own eyes. If you doubt (or suspect) that this story isn’t an important part of the gospel, imagine what it would be like for Christians 2,000 years later if Thomas has replied to the disciples, “You saw Jesus? Excellent! That’s good enough for me!”
* * *
John 20:19-31
Who’s the twin?
Thomas is identified to as “the twin,” in an appositive in John 11 and in today’s lectionary passage. Nowhere is it specified whose twin he is.
Some scholars have argued that Thomas looks a lot like Jesus.
Perhaps Thomas’s twin is not among the disciples, which could be a rich setting for an historical novel.
Some have contended that Thomas is Jesus’ actual physical, biological twin. This seems far-fetched given the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke.
(For some reason, the speculation about Jesus’ twin reminds me of an old, old joke: What does the H. stand for in Jesus H. Christ? Haploid.)
Thomas is not mentioned anywhere in scripture as a potential biological brother of Jesus, as James is sometimes presented.
* * *
John 20:19-31
Skepticism, cynicism or doubt?
A close friend appeared on a panel at an interfaith gathering representing the Baha’i faith. A hostile member of the audience asked, “What proof can you give me that God exists?” My friend answered, “What proof would you accept?” My friend outed a cynic. There is a profound difference between cynics, who mock and belittle believers, and skeptics who are open to being persuaded, sincerely open.
* * *
Psalm 133
About this oil on my collar….
Psalms 120-134 are grouped as Songs of Ascent, presumably these were sung as worshippers made their way to the Temple in Jerusalem. The first verse of Psalm 133:
How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity
is often lifted up at ecumenical and interfaith events. Certainly, those who traveled to Jerusalem for Passover would need to dwell together in unity, to get along well in a crowded city, overrun with visitors, perhaps pilgrims is a better term. The synoptic gospels make clear that Jerusalem was a very tense place in the days leading up to and during Passover. The Romans may have been wishing as fervently as the psalmist that the people would dwell (or worship) together in unity.
It is likely that this psalm was sung or recited on the occasion of anointing a new High Priest. The abundance of the oil is an expression of both joy and extravagance. It puts modern Americans in mind of a messy clean up and steep bill for dry cleaning. Perhaps you might suggest another, modern event where people are extravagant. I suggest steering away from presidential inaugurations—one person’s extravagance is another’s example of “what’s wrong with those people?”
* * *
John 20:19-31
“The Jews”
Be very, very careful whenever the author of the 4th gospel mentions, “The Jews.” He does it in v. 19 in today’s lectionary reading. Jesus and his disciples were Jewish. They were not afraid of themselves; they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. You need to explain this every time you find this phrase in John’s gospel. In John 19:38 Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, “because of his fear of the Jews,” buried Jesus’ body with Nicodemus. The Gospel of Mark says this about Joseph: “Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.“ (15:43) so at least one Jewish Authority was afraid of the Jewish Authorities. Please, please, bury anti-Semitism in the grave Joe and Nick placed Jesus’s body in!
* * *
1 John 1:1--2:2
This isn’t exactly a letter, but it’s definitely John-like
Unlike 2 John and 3 John, 1 John lacks a salutation, an indication of who the author is and who the author’s intended audience is and greetings to local people of the author’s acquaintance. Apparently the author is sending an essay to a collection of Christians who are having a dispute, which is an occasion for many of Paul’s letters.
There are clear echoes of the 4th gospel in today’s reading; “touched with our hands” clearly references Thomas’s desire to see Jesus’ wounds and Jesus’ invitation for Thomas to touch them. (It is not clear from the John text whether Thomas actually touches the wounds.) Also, “from the beginning” is an echo of the prologue to the Gospel of John, which is itself an echo of Genesis 1.
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:
John 20:19-31
Giving Thanks for Doubt
Author and blogger Laura Grace Weldon and her family keep a gratitude tree in the hallway of their family home. She says, “We keep the tree lively by writing on leaves made of brightly colored paper, then tape them to the tree. It’s usually filled with life affirming reminders like hugs from Daddy, going to the library, bike rides, playing cards with Grammy, and yes, winning arguments.” Gratitude is in style right now. “Studies show that those who practice gratitude are healthier, happier, more helpful to others, and even more likely to reach their goals. People post gratitude lists on Facebook and on their blogs, keep gratitude journals, and pray in gratitude each morning. This is undeniably wonderful. Orienting ourselves toward what works in our lives is perpetually rejuvenating. But perhaps we’re limiting ourselves to a childlike version of gratitude. Are we grateful only for what we deem good and ungrateful for all the rest?”
On their family tree, they include less popular, more mysterious gifts, including mistakes, crisis and even doubt. Weldon says, “While doubt seems ruinous, it can actually be a gift. We may doubt choices we’ve made, relationships we’re in, or the faith we have practiced all our lives. Doubt is a powerful motivator. When we look at doubt, using our heads and our hearts, we may not like what we see. It may take us years to find answers. This forces us to tell the truth to ourselves, and that process makes us stronger. Sure it’s painful, but it also leaves us much to be grateful for. The harsh light cast by doubt can lead, after a time, to a much brighter path. We may find ourselves in stronger relationships and making more conscious choices. We may end up with deeper faith or accept that we don’t know the answers, but that we love the search all thanks to our friend, doubt.”
Thomas’s doubt leads him into a deeper connection with Jesus, and our doubts hold similar gifts.
* * *
John 20:19-31
Long Live the Doubters
Historian and poet Jennifer Michael Hecht says that doubt requires a certain level of character. “You have to be a little bold and a little brave in most periods of time to be a doubter.” She traces a long line of doubters through history, adding that “the dominant history basically suggests that doubt is very modern and that we had a few doubters in the ancient world, but basically doubt is a modern phenomenon. And I kept seeing it everywhere.”
The doubters have made great contributions over the centuries, she says, in contrast to “the average person who doesn’t ask any of these questions and sort of just goes along. The great doubters have tried to figure out how you can live, and they have very much respected the answers that religion has come up with…And it doesn’t mean you have to question the religious morality, because, indeed, the doubters suggest that that came from humanity in the first place. So there’s no reason to throw it out.”
Hecht counts Jesus himself among history’s great doubters, noting, “in two out of three of the synoptic gospels, the three gospels that we think of as the most historical, Jesus’ last words are “My God, why have you forsaken me?” And that seems to be — it seems authentic. Most historians think that it would have never made its way into the gospels if it hadn’t been something that they simply couldn’t have left out, because people heard it, and it was part of the story. And what that does is it makes faith forever after have doubt in it in a way that’s been very positive for faith. So that the experience of belief isn’t simply the way that you believe the sky is blue without question. You always believed it, everyone says it, you see it yourself, but rather something that isn’t provable. That notion of faith, that’s one of the most wonderful things about belief and faith.”
Perhaps that’s why he understands Thomas, and his questions, so well.
* * *
John 20:19-31
Being Close to God
Believing in God and feeling close to God are interestingly different for our Jewish neighbors, according to Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. He asked a large group of students if they believed in God, and was devastated to hear that none of them did. Later in the conversation, he circled back and asked who had felt close to God. “And, so help me, every kid raised his hand. And that was a very eye-opening experience for me. And I — I — I realized that Jews will say, `I’ve been close to God, but I’m not sure I believe in God.’ If — if you ask a Jew, `Do you or do you not believe in God?’ you’re — they’re likely to regard it as something that’s put to them by the House on Un-American Activities Committee. You know, it’s like, `May I speak to my attorney? I’m not sure, you know.’ But — but if you say, `Have you been close to God?’ `Oh, well, yeah, I was close last Shabbat when Mother lit the candles, or, you know, when somebody I loved died, I was aware that the — the texture of religious time was different and that I was more intimate with the source of holiness in the universe.”
Kushner adds an experience of his own. “I had a professor at rabbinic school. His name was Samuel Sandmel. He — he wrote widely about Jewish and Christian issues. He was a beautiful man. And he was from the South; he spoke with a Southern accent. And he used to say to us, `Gentlemen’ — in those days, it was only men — `Gentlemen, if you don’t seriously doubt the existence of God every couple of weeks, you are theologically comatose.’ Well, I — I think that that sums up neatly Jewish attitudes toward belief in God.”
Thomas is definitely not theologically comatose!
* * *
Acts 4:32-35
Sharing Everything
Once a Fortune 500 executive, Nathan Dungan now spends his time connecting money and moral living. Much like the very early church, which helped people understand how to share their goods with each other, Dungan says that the church in our world is a “guiding light in terms of needs of others and gratitude, and really understanding again what is your purpose and place for being on this earth.” The church community still has an important job in helping us resist the consumer culture that always says to buy more, and to concentrate solely on ourselves.
We are clearly not presenting this message as clearly as the early church, and Dungan says, “in some respects, I believe the church has been complicit in sort of getting sucked into this whole persuasive argument about the role of consumerism in our culture, and I really don’t think they have understood the impact. I believe they are starting to get it, but I don’t think they have fully thought through the impact of what that means for people’s souls, for our, you know, sense of place and time and space, and what it robs of us in terms of just our personal sense of being.”
We need, Dungan says, a “counter-rhythm” to the demands of consumer culture, starting when we’re young, so the rhythm takes hold in how we use our money. He adds, “part of what I encourage people to do is think about the future and recognizing, you know, the deep trouble that many young adults are in today and our savings rate, which has literally fallen through the floor, and stepping back and saying, ‘OK, what do I need to do as either an individual, a parent, a community, a church? How can we lift up and support people for making different choices?’ And so it’s in that notion of, again, the share and the save and the spend. It’s that we develop a different kind of habit.”
The early church had a different kind of counter-rhythm to their culture. Even if we can’t duplicate it exactly, we can follow the pattern in our own faith lives.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
One: How very good and pleasant it is
All: when kindred live together in unity!
One: It is like being anointed with precious oil.
All: It is like being anointed with abundant oil.
One: It is as refreshing as the morning dew.
All: It is as refreshing as morning dew on the mountains.
OR
One: The Risen Christ is among us to call us to faith.
All: Sometimes it is hard to hear his call to us.
One: When it is hard for us to hear, we count on others to listen for us.
All: Together we can listen for each other.
One: As we grow and deepen in our faith, we grow together.
All: As God’s people we will have faith for and in each other.
Hymns and Songs:
Thine Be the Glory
UMH: 308
PH: 122
NCH: 253
CH: 218
LBW: 145
ELW: 376
W&P: 310
AMEC: 157
Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain
UMH: 315
H82: 199/200
PH: 114/115
NCH: 230
CH: 215
LBW: 132
ELW: 363
Christ Is Alive
UMH: 318
H82: 182
PH: 108
LBW: 363
ELW: 389
W&P: 312
Renew: 300
O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing
UMH: 317
PH: 116/117
NCH: 244
CH: 220
ELW: 386/387
W&P: 313
Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands
UMH: 319
H82: 185/186
PH: 110
LBW: 134
ELW: 370
Faith, While Trees Are still in Blossom
UMH: 508
CH: 535
My Faith Looks Up to Thee
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELW: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138/139/140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18/19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELW: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52/53/65
In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557
Open My Eyes, That I May See
UMH: 454
PH: 324
NNBH: 218
CH: 586
W&P: 480
AMEC: 285
Open Our Eyes, Lord
CCB: 77
Renew: 91
I Call You Faithful
CCB: 70
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is mystery beyond all human knowledge:
Grant us the faith to trust that your created us
so that we could come to trust in your love;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are far beyond our human knowledge. You are a mystery too deep for us. Help us to trust that created us to come to faith as we encounter you day by day. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our lack of openness to questioning and doubt.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You created us as thinking beings with the ability to evaluate and make decisions yet we are often afraid to use these gifts in matters of faith. Help us to see that in questioning issues we are expressing our faith in you and your good creation. Help us not to be cynics who cannot believe but allow us to be skeptics that come to a faith that we can own and depend upon. Amen.
One: God created us and trusts what has been created. Encounter God with all your heart, soul, mind, and being that your faith may be complete.
Prayers of the People
We praise you, O God, because you have created us in your own image. You have made us like yourself and so we can trust that we are good beings capable of good thinking.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You created us as thinking beings with the ability to evaluate and make decisions yet we are often afraid to use these gifts in matters of faith. Help us to see that in questioning issues we are expressing our faith in you and your good creation. Help us not to be cynics who cannot believe but allow us to be skeptics that come to a faith that we can own and depend upon.
We give you thanks for all the way you have blessed us. We thank you for the gifts of reason and thought. We thank you for those who help us work through the issues that surround our faith. We thank you for the Risen Christ who comes among us and challenges us a deeper and fuller faith.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who feel incapable of believing anything and those who cannot be open to any questions about their faith. We pray for all of us as we are learning to trust you more each day.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Today we heard about Thomas and sometimes he is called Doubting Thomas as if that was something really bad. But Thomas just had questions. He wanted to know for himself that Jesus was alive. He didn’t want to just hear other people’s stories. Asking questions, even at church, is how we learn and grow as Jesus’ disciples.
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CHILDREN'S SERMON
Let’s Pass It On!
by Chris Keating
Acts 4:32-35, 1 John 1:1--2:2, John 20:19-31
In some churches, the Sunday after Easter is called “Low Sunday,” because it closes out the cycle of celebrations related to Easter. But the texts for the Sunday after Easter are full of ideas, images, and opportunities for communicating the story of God’s love to children.
By the way, “low Sunday” does not necessarily refer to a lack of attendance but is rather an indicator that this portion of the liturgical celebration of Easter is on the “low end” of the feast’s octave. (If you really want to toss a curve ball at the congregation, try calling it “Quasimodo” Sunday, from the Latin words used at the introit of the mass, “Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac concupiscite.” (This won’t earn you extra jellybeans, however!)
The readings remind us that Easter is more than one day. In the “Great 50 Days of Easter” the church is called to pass on the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. As you think about which reading to use with the children this week, be guided by the ways the readings call us to “pass on” this good news.
The Acts reading explores the ways the church “passes on” God’s love through a ministry of sharing — both as individuals or families and corporately as a church. If your congregation participated in the One Great Hour of Sharing offering on Easter or Palm Sunday, using the Acts reading offers you a chance to talk with children about what it means to share with those who have less. Tell stories of how your church practices sharing with others. Use “wondering” questions with the children that help them wonder how we can practice sharing today. Invite them to wonder about the ways they could share things with others.
In using John’s reading, avoid calling Thomas a “Doubter.” Instead, help children to see that Thomas is really like all of us — he is full of questions, and is willing to ask questions others may be afraid to ask. Take some empty Easter eggs, and write down some honest questions that children might wish to ask God. Better yet, invite one or two of the children in your congregation to think of some questions they have for God. Do this ahead of Sunday so you can write them down and put them inside the Easter eggs. Remind children that questions always lead us to deeper faith and are welcomed by God. We can pass along faith by sharing questions!
In 1 John, the writer calls us to confess our sins. This is also another way of passing the good news along. Imagine the ways that not “fessing up” to our sins leads us away from God and each other. The joy of the Great 50 Days, however, is living into the instruction to have fellowship with each other by passing along the gift of forgiveness.
Finally, if your congregation is celebrating “Holy Humor Sunday,” consider sharing the story of Jesus’ gift of peace to the disciples in John. Jesus stands among them, forgives their sins, and gives them the gift of peace. This must surely have made them smile. He wasn’t pulling a funny prank on them, or even telling a corny joke, but was instead offering them deeply satisfying peace. Their sadness turned to joy. He forgave them and then sends them out to pass on this gift of peace. Wonder with them what that sort of peace might feel like, and then conclude by singing that familiar camp song, “Pass it On.”
I wonder how you might consider inviting the children of your community to pass along the good news of Easter. This week’s texts are filled with images of community, friendship, and the peace of God — perfect ways that call us to pass along God’s good love!
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The Immediate Word, April 11, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Skeptical Thomas by Dean Feldmeyer — Yes, it is possible to be faithful and skeptical at the same time.
- Second Thoughts: The Real Good News by Katy Stenta — The good news is not only for the individual but for the structures, infrastructures, families, neighborhoods and communities.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin and Chris Keating.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: Let’s Pass It On! by Chris Keating — The risen Jesus brings peace to the disciples and sends them into the world to share signs of God’s love.
Skeptical Thomasby Dean Feldmeyer
John 20:19-31
My wife and I are both fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and we trust the vaccine. But our faith in science does not give us license to be stupid or irresponsible. We know that the vaccine is something like 94% effective but we don’t know on what side of that percentage we stand.
We know that even though the chances are that we can’t catch the virus, we still might be able to carry and transmit it to others. So, we go out to eat, now, but we wear masks and we avoid crowded places.
We like to think of it as a healthy, realistic, responsible skepticism. One that does not weaken but, in fact, strengthens our faith.
Maybe that’s what Thomas was exhibiting on that first Easter evening. Maybe we would be a little closer to the truth if we started referring to him not as Doubting Thomas but as Reasonably Skeptical Thomas.
In the News
There are two kinds of people in the world: Cynics, who will never believe what you tell them, no matter what you do or say, and skeptics who are willing and waiting to be convinced.
25% of Americans surveyed by Monmouth University say they will refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. 36% of Republicans, 31% of Independents, and 6% of Democrats say they will not accept the vaccine. That’s in spite of the fact that 60% of Americans view the government’s handling of the vaccine rollout as positive. So, what’s the deal with that one in four who refuse to get vaccinated? Are they cynics who will never be convinced? Or are they skeptics who are waiting to be persuaded by reasonable and responsible evidence and argument?
In Texas, 59% of white Republicans say they won’t get the vaccine, calling it a liberal “power grab.” Count them in the cynical column.
Case in point: cynic Adam Ellwanger, professor of English at the University of Houston-Downtown, writing for HumanEvents.com, who insists that he is “not a lunatic” because he gets a flu vaccine every year, but he’s not getting the coronavirus vaccine because... well, for various reasons that we’ve all heard umpteen times. According to him, those reasons prove that “skepticism about the vaccine is a rational response.” But a skeptic is, admittedly, persuadable. Not so, Dr. Ellwanger.
He condemns what he calls “virtue-signaling” on the left because claiming that an act or a set of beliefs is virtuous and encouraging others to do the same is, according to him, nothing more than a way to “score political points or feel good about” one’s self. Then he embraces his refusal to be vaccinated as a virtue that he is proud to signal.
While he takes pains to separate himself from them, his rambling, disjointed, lopsided, cynical argument would be right at home among the thousands of anti-vaxxers who, even though they, as children, were vaccinated against all manner of diseases and were spared the horrors those diseases visited upon their victims, still refuse to get their children vaccinated not just against the coronavirus but against any disease at all.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers anti-vaxxers one of the top 10 biggest threats to public health but they are not a new phenomenon. There have been anti-vaxxers as long as there have been vaccines. Some refused vaccines back in the early 1800s when vaccination for smallpox started.
They simply did not like the idea of injecting a cowpox blister into their bodies to prevent them from getting smallpox.
Some people said it went against their religion though no mainstream religious group or organization has ever condemned the use of vaccines. In the 1970s people opposed the DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine because they claimed it caused neurological problems. Scientific studies showed, however, that any risk of neurological problems was so infinitesimally small that it could not possibly outweigh the risk associated with contracting those three horrible diseases. Yet, anti-vaxxers persists even today in their cynical refusal to learn from science.
Those are the cynics, people who refuse to be convinced no matter what evidence is presented to them. On the other end of the spectrum are the skeptics.
Skeptics are willing to be persuaded. They want to see the evidence.
In the Scripture
It’s Easter Sunday evening and they’re back in the upper room or, at least, some upper room. Doors locked, afraid to turn on the lights, talking in hushed tones. Some of the women and a couple of the men say the tomb is empty. Some even report that they have seen Jesus but, to tell the truth, most of them don’t know what to believe.
Then, all of a sudden, Jesus appears. Shows them the wounds in his hands/wrists and sides. Bids them, “Peace,” and does this thing where he breaths on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” And then he tells them that they have the power to forgive sins.
Just one little problem. One little snag. Thomas isn’t with them. Had a family thing that demanded his presence. Or a meeting, maybe. Or who knows what, but the point is, he wasn’t there. And he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t there, was he?
I wasn’t there, either. And you weren’t there. In fact, of the roughly 170 million people who inhabited the earth at that time, only 10 of them were in that upper room when Jesus showed up. That’s 12 minus Judas and Thomas. Ten. Ten out of 170 million. Only ten eyewitnesses.
Everyone else is going to have to find a different way of dealing with these reports that Jesus was up, out of the grave, and walking around, talking to people and whatnot.
Well, everyone except Thomas. Thomas the skeptic. Thomas who isn’t willing to just take their word for it. Thomas was from Missouri. You had to show him. In fact, not just show him — he wanted evidence that he could not just see but touch. He wanted to put his fingers in the nail holes and his hand in the wound left by the soldier’s lance.
But he’s not a cynic. He isn’t one of those people who refuses to believe it even when it’s been proven. He actually wants to believe but he doesn’t want to seem foolish so he offers the other ten disciples a way to bring him over to their truth: Show me.
And they do. That is, Jesus does.
A week after his first appearance he shows up for a triumphant return engagement in the same room, a special command performance, presumably, solely for Thomas’s benefit. Okay, Thomas, here I am. In the flesh. Put your finger in the holes and your hand in my side, if that’s what it’s going to take.
But it doesn’t go that far, does it?
Thomas believes.
And then the author adds this little epilogue, this little caveat spoken by Jesus for the benefit of the 169,999,989 people who weren’t there to see it with their own eyes. And for you. And for me. Because we weren’t there, either, were we?
Yeah, there are eleven who saw him but everyone else is going to have to find another way to come to faith. He doesn’t expect it to happen immediately, like, “Oh, okay. I’ll just believe without proof, then.” That’s not the way it happens. People don’t just believe; they “come to believe.” His words. Or a better translation might be, “they come to have faith.” They work their way around to it. Faith rarely happens all of a sudden. It’s a gradual thing made up of lots of little working parts that have to mesh in some special way that produces faith.
And, to push the metaphor just one more inch, even when the parts have all come together and created something like faith, the machine sometimes slows down or even breaks down. Sometimes skepticism, like rust, gums up the works and has to be dealt with. But that’s okay. Faith, real faith, can handle a little skepticism now and then. In fact, faith can be made even stronger by confronting and wrestling, by contending with skepticism, our own and that of others.
In the Sermon
There are two kinds of people in the world: Cynics, who will never believe what you tell them, no matter what you do or say, and skeptics who are willing and waiting to be convinced.
Most of us are skeptics but only a little. We want to and we usually do believe what people tell us. Even complete strangers. We have to in order to survive in the world we live in.
If the car coming toward me has its turn signal on, I believe that car’s going to turn, right? Or left? Whatever. If the menu says that the deluxe cheeseburger is $8.00, I believe that when I get my check, I will be charged $8.00. If the label on the bottle says “aspirin,” I believe that the bottle contains aspirin.
Timothy R. Levine, the Distinguished Professor & Chair of Communications Studies at the University of Alabama has dubbed this the “Truth Default Theory.” Put simply, it says that we generally believe what we are told. Malcom Gladwell talks about it extensively in his book, Talking to Strangers. We are, he says, horrible lie detectors, especially when what we see matches what we expect to see.
If a person looks and acts like they are not guilty, we tend to believe they are not guilty. If they look and act sick, we tend to believe they are ill. If they are well spoken and seem to know a lot of stuff, we tend to believe they are well educated. The fact that they may be guilty, not sick or uneducated rarely even crosses our minds.
You can see the problem, here, right? The default to truth can get us into trouble. What if the driver doesn’t know his or her turn signal is on? What if the waiter accidentally gave you the lunch menu when you should have been given the dinner menu? What if there was a mix-up at the factory and the bottle labeled “aspirin” actually contains strychnine?
We need a little bit of skepticism in our culture and in ourselves if we are to be safe,
Skepticism makes for good science. Scientists don’t believe even their own hypotheses. Not at first. They test them. A little skepticism makes good drivers. They don’t pull out in front of another driver just because they see a turn signal blinking. They wait to see if the other driver really is turning. A measure of skepticism makes for good jurors. That’s why lady justice is blindfolded. She doesn’t let her preconceived notions tip her scales one way or the other.
And a little bit of skepticism makes for strong faith. Skepticism keeps us from immediately believing every so-called evangelist or theologian that comes down the pike. It prevents us from believing fanciful notions and half-baked ideas, half-truths and outright lies. As Proverbs 14:15 reminds us: “The gullible believe anything they're told; the prudent sift and weigh every word.” (Peterson, The Message)
There are two kinds of people in the world: cynics and skeptics.
Cynics are like helium balloons, buffeted and blown about by every breeze. They are afraid to believe anything for fear they might be wrong, so they believe nothing. Skeptics are always searching, always looking for the thing in which they can believe, the thing that seems right, that makes sense; that holds up under scrutiny.
That’s Thomas. He had to be a skeptic because he wasn’t there.
And that’s us, because we weren’t there, either. And, like Thomas, if we aren’t afraid to be a little skeptical, we will be rewarded with a faith that is even stronger for having been sifted and weighed.
SECOND THOUGHTSThe Real Good News
by Pastor Katy Stenta
1 John 1:1--2:2, Acts 4:32-35, Palm 133
Faith is a communal act of the church, so too is confession. No one person can hold onto faith on their own. It is impossible. We are a chorus of witnesses covering for one another when one of us has to stop to catch our breath. Unity does not mean conformity, but actually the opposite. 1 John 1:1--2:2 talks about the value of fellowship and the importance of people coming together and showing their faith in God, and in one another.
If you have seen or read Lord of the Rings, you know that the fellowship is made up of disparate people — indeed disparate races — each offering up their own skills answering the call for hope. The hobbit says he will carry the ring, though he does not know the way. The human says: “if by life or death I can protect you, you can have my sword.” Legolas the elf says “and you have my bow” and Gimli the dwarf says “and my axe.” Here is a confessional! A full accounting of who these people are and what they have to offer, and how they can help. For us humans, we too practice a confession, knowing the more we practice it the more our skills can come together to create this thing called church — based upon this thing called faith!
Fellowship is not just with one Godly being, but with God the Father, and with the Son, and then finally with the Holy Spirit. God’s own self relates differently to us in different persons. In Acts 4:32-35 it is made clear that “everything they owned were held in common.” The gifts were not cherished because they were all the same, but rather because they were shared with one another. We have one God, one baptism, one church, and still we have many confessions that make up what we call “faith.” We become the body of Christ this way, with “one heart and soul” but many gifts.
Confession is ultimately an act of joy, we tend to individualize it and see it as a discussion of our individual sins. However, it can be so much more. If you can confess where you see God in your life and how that is affecting your call, purpose and humanity, and I do as well, then my faith and understanding of God is made richer by the experience. The more varied the confessions, the more we are able to glimpse the full multiplicity and mystery of God’s very self. It is for this reason that we have four accounts of the gospel — and then a plethora of books expounding upon those gospels. “We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us.” This is one we practice every week, and on our better days, it is an act of Easter resurrection — witnessing to the life, death and resurrection of Christ in such a way that we are confessing our joy and embodiment of God’s grace as a sharing act that builds the faith.
Belief may be individualistic, but faith is communal. Time and time again faith is painted as communal. In the Old Testament, the faith of Judaism is referred to as the faith of generations added up and laid out together. God is the God of many, very different individuals: Moses, Abraham and Jacob. It’s an illustration of Psalm 133:1, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” Faith is supposed to be a tool of tying people together as a community, and still letting them be fully themselves. It is a tool of community building. It is spelled out in 1 John that these confessions are to atone for “our sins.” The good news is not only for the individual but for the structures, infrastructures, families, neighborhoods and communities. The real good news is that Jesus redeems all of society, not just you or me “for Jesus came into the world not to judge it but to save it” (John 3:17) or as 1 John says, but “for the sins of the whole world.” For this, we practice confession, faith, and Easter, and if we are lucky, we get to practice it more days that not!
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:John 20:19-31
Rehabilitating the memory of “Doubting Thomas”
I admit it, I’m a little sensitive about being named Thomas. My mother told me that a few days after I was born, she got to thinking about Toms: Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son; Peeping Tom; Tom Turkey; Doubting Thomas. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to change my birth certificate. Then she thought of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Edison—“Who could have a problem with great men like them?” she asked herself in 1964. Both these Thomas giants, redeemers of my first name, have come under fire in the past few years: Thomas Jefferson, author of The Declaration of Independence, owned slaves. Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, caused society to burn loads of carbon-based fuel and thus speed Global Warming. So we’re stuck now with only Thomas the Tank Engine, who delighted my children ages ago, or, perhaps rehabilitating Thomas the Disciple.
Thomas is listed among the disciples in all four gospels; only in John does he stand out. In the 11th chapter when Jesus hears about Lazarus’s death and decides to go to Bethany to bring him back to life, the disciples remind Jesus that the people in Judea, Bethany’s province, had tried to stone him the last time he was there. Thomas is alone in saying, “Let us also go, that we might die with him.” It is not clear whether Thomas means to die as Lazarus had died, or die at Jesus’ side. Either reading supports Thomas’s status as a stalwart disciple.
In the 14th chapter, after Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet and begun his farewell discourse, Jesus tells those gathered that He is going ahead to prepare a place for them and “you know the way to the place where I am going.” (14:4) It is Thomas who speaks up and says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?” Thomas is the lone disciple brave enough to raise his hand and ask a question that is probably on all their minds. It is Thomas who raises this question. Jesus’ response, “I am the way, and the truth and the life,” is a very compact, easily remembered phrase they could always carry with them.
In today’s reading, Thomas is the only one not present with the other disciples on the evening of the resurrection. When they tell him they have seen the Lord, Thomas does not deny their experience, rather he insists on seeing the Risen Christ with his own eyes. If you doubt (or suspect) that this story isn’t an important part of the gospel, imagine what it would be like for Christians 2,000 years later if Thomas has replied to the disciples, “You saw Jesus? Excellent! That’s good enough for me!”
* * *
John 20:19-31
Who’s the twin?
Thomas is identified to as “the twin,” in an appositive in John 11 and in today’s lectionary passage. Nowhere is it specified whose twin he is.
Some scholars have argued that Thomas looks a lot like Jesus.
Perhaps Thomas’s twin is not among the disciples, which could be a rich setting for an historical novel.
Some have contended that Thomas is Jesus’ actual physical, biological twin. This seems far-fetched given the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke.
(For some reason, the speculation about Jesus’ twin reminds me of an old, old joke: What does the H. stand for in Jesus H. Christ? Haploid.)
Thomas is not mentioned anywhere in scripture as a potential biological brother of Jesus, as James is sometimes presented.
* * *
John 20:19-31
Skepticism, cynicism or doubt?
A close friend appeared on a panel at an interfaith gathering representing the Baha’i faith. A hostile member of the audience asked, “What proof can you give me that God exists?” My friend answered, “What proof would you accept?” My friend outed a cynic. There is a profound difference between cynics, who mock and belittle believers, and skeptics who are open to being persuaded, sincerely open.
* * *
Psalm 133
About this oil on my collar….
Psalms 120-134 are grouped as Songs of Ascent, presumably these were sung as worshippers made their way to the Temple in Jerusalem. The first verse of Psalm 133:
How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity
is often lifted up at ecumenical and interfaith events. Certainly, those who traveled to Jerusalem for Passover would need to dwell together in unity, to get along well in a crowded city, overrun with visitors, perhaps pilgrims is a better term. The synoptic gospels make clear that Jerusalem was a very tense place in the days leading up to and during Passover. The Romans may have been wishing as fervently as the psalmist that the people would dwell (or worship) together in unity.
It is likely that this psalm was sung or recited on the occasion of anointing a new High Priest. The abundance of the oil is an expression of both joy and extravagance. It puts modern Americans in mind of a messy clean up and steep bill for dry cleaning. Perhaps you might suggest another, modern event where people are extravagant. I suggest steering away from presidential inaugurations—one person’s extravagance is another’s example of “what’s wrong with those people?”
* * *
John 20:19-31
“The Jews”
Be very, very careful whenever the author of the 4th gospel mentions, “The Jews.” He does it in v. 19 in today’s lectionary reading. Jesus and his disciples were Jewish. They were not afraid of themselves; they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. You need to explain this every time you find this phrase in John’s gospel. In John 19:38 Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, “because of his fear of the Jews,” buried Jesus’ body with Nicodemus. The Gospel of Mark says this about Joseph: “Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.“ (15:43) so at least one Jewish Authority was afraid of the Jewish Authorities. Please, please, bury anti-Semitism in the grave Joe and Nick placed Jesus’s body in!
* * *
1 John 1:1--2:2
This isn’t exactly a letter, but it’s definitely John-like
Unlike 2 John and 3 John, 1 John lacks a salutation, an indication of who the author is and who the author’s intended audience is and greetings to local people of the author’s acquaintance. Apparently the author is sending an essay to a collection of Christians who are having a dispute, which is an occasion for many of Paul’s letters.
There are clear echoes of the 4th gospel in today’s reading; “touched with our hands” clearly references Thomas’s desire to see Jesus’ wounds and Jesus’ invitation for Thomas to touch them. (It is not clear from the John text whether Thomas actually touches the wounds.) Also, “from the beginning” is an echo of the prologue to the Gospel of John, which is itself an echo of Genesis 1.
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:John 20:19-31
Giving Thanks for Doubt
Author and blogger Laura Grace Weldon and her family keep a gratitude tree in the hallway of their family home. She says, “We keep the tree lively by writing on leaves made of brightly colored paper, then tape them to the tree. It’s usually filled with life affirming reminders like hugs from Daddy, going to the library, bike rides, playing cards with Grammy, and yes, winning arguments.” Gratitude is in style right now. “Studies show that those who practice gratitude are healthier, happier, more helpful to others, and even more likely to reach their goals. People post gratitude lists on Facebook and on their blogs, keep gratitude journals, and pray in gratitude each morning. This is undeniably wonderful. Orienting ourselves toward what works in our lives is perpetually rejuvenating. But perhaps we’re limiting ourselves to a childlike version of gratitude. Are we grateful only for what we deem good and ungrateful for all the rest?”
On their family tree, they include less popular, more mysterious gifts, including mistakes, crisis and even doubt. Weldon says, “While doubt seems ruinous, it can actually be a gift. We may doubt choices we’ve made, relationships we’re in, or the faith we have practiced all our lives. Doubt is a powerful motivator. When we look at doubt, using our heads and our hearts, we may not like what we see. It may take us years to find answers. This forces us to tell the truth to ourselves, and that process makes us stronger. Sure it’s painful, but it also leaves us much to be grateful for. The harsh light cast by doubt can lead, after a time, to a much brighter path. We may find ourselves in stronger relationships and making more conscious choices. We may end up with deeper faith or accept that we don’t know the answers, but that we love the search all thanks to our friend, doubt.”
Thomas’s doubt leads him into a deeper connection with Jesus, and our doubts hold similar gifts.
* * *
John 20:19-31
Long Live the Doubters
Historian and poet Jennifer Michael Hecht says that doubt requires a certain level of character. “You have to be a little bold and a little brave in most periods of time to be a doubter.” She traces a long line of doubters through history, adding that “the dominant history basically suggests that doubt is very modern and that we had a few doubters in the ancient world, but basically doubt is a modern phenomenon. And I kept seeing it everywhere.”
The doubters have made great contributions over the centuries, she says, in contrast to “the average person who doesn’t ask any of these questions and sort of just goes along. The great doubters have tried to figure out how you can live, and they have very much respected the answers that religion has come up with…And it doesn’t mean you have to question the religious morality, because, indeed, the doubters suggest that that came from humanity in the first place. So there’s no reason to throw it out.”
Hecht counts Jesus himself among history’s great doubters, noting, “in two out of three of the synoptic gospels, the three gospels that we think of as the most historical, Jesus’ last words are “My God, why have you forsaken me?” And that seems to be — it seems authentic. Most historians think that it would have never made its way into the gospels if it hadn’t been something that they simply couldn’t have left out, because people heard it, and it was part of the story. And what that does is it makes faith forever after have doubt in it in a way that’s been very positive for faith. So that the experience of belief isn’t simply the way that you believe the sky is blue without question. You always believed it, everyone says it, you see it yourself, but rather something that isn’t provable. That notion of faith, that’s one of the most wonderful things about belief and faith.”
Perhaps that’s why he understands Thomas, and his questions, so well.
* * *
John 20:19-31
Being Close to God
Believing in God and feeling close to God are interestingly different for our Jewish neighbors, according to Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. He asked a large group of students if they believed in God, and was devastated to hear that none of them did. Later in the conversation, he circled back and asked who had felt close to God. “And, so help me, every kid raised his hand. And that was a very eye-opening experience for me. And I — I — I realized that Jews will say, `I’ve been close to God, but I’m not sure I believe in God.’ If — if you ask a Jew, `Do you or do you not believe in God?’ you’re — they’re likely to regard it as something that’s put to them by the House on Un-American Activities Committee. You know, it’s like, `May I speak to my attorney? I’m not sure, you know.’ But — but if you say, `Have you been close to God?’ `Oh, well, yeah, I was close last Shabbat when Mother lit the candles, or, you know, when somebody I loved died, I was aware that the — the texture of religious time was different and that I was more intimate with the source of holiness in the universe.”
Kushner adds an experience of his own. “I had a professor at rabbinic school. His name was Samuel Sandmel. He — he wrote widely about Jewish and Christian issues. He was a beautiful man. And he was from the South; he spoke with a Southern accent. And he used to say to us, `Gentlemen’ — in those days, it was only men — `Gentlemen, if you don’t seriously doubt the existence of God every couple of weeks, you are theologically comatose.’ Well, I — I think that that sums up neatly Jewish attitudes toward belief in God.”
Thomas is definitely not theologically comatose!
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Acts 4:32-35
Sharing Everything
Once a Fortune 500 executive, Nathan Dungan now spends his time connecting money and moral living. Much like the very early church, which helped people understand how to share their goods with each other, Dungan says that the church in our world is a “guiding light in terms of needs of others and gratitude, and really understanding again what is your purpose and place for being on this earth.” The church community still has an important job in helping us resist the consumer culture that always says to buy more, and to concentrate solely on ourselves.
We are clearly not presenting this message as clearly as the early church, and Dungan says, “in some respects, I believe the church has been complicit in sort of getting sucked into this whole persuasive argument about the role of consumerism in our culture, and I really don’t think they have understood the impact. I believe they are starting to get it, but I don’t think they have fully thought through the impact of what that means for people’s souls, for our, you know, sense of place and time and space, and what it robs of us in terms of just our personal sense of being.”
We need, Dungan says, a “counter-rhythm” to the demands of consumer culture, starting when we’re young, so the rhythm takes hold in how we use our money. He adds, “part of what I encourage people to do is think about the future and recognizing, you know, the deep trouble that many young adults are in today and our savings rate, which has literally fallen through the floor, and stepping back and saying, ‘OK, what do I need to do as either an individual, a parent, a community, a church? How can we lift up and support people for making different choices?’ And so it’s in that notion of, again, the share and the save and the spend. It’s that we develop a different kind of habit.”
The early church had a different kind of counter-rhythm to their culture. Even if we can’t duplicate it exactly, we can follow the pattern in our own faith lives.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship:
One: How very good and pleasant it is
All: when kindred live together in unity!
One: It is like being anointed with precious oil.
All: It is like being anointed with abundant oil.
One: It is as refreshing as the morning dew.
All: It is as refreshing as morning dew on the mountains.
OR
One: The Risen Christ is among us to call us to faith.
All: Sometimes it is hard to hear his call to us.
One: When it is hard for us to hear, we count on others to listen for us.
All: Together we can listen for each other.
One: As we grow and deepen in our faith, we grow together.
All: As God’s people we will have faith for and in each other.
Hymns and Songs:
Thine Be the Glory
UMH: 308
PH: 122
NCH: 253
CH: 218
LBW: 145
ELW: 376
W&P: 310
AMEC: 157
Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain
UMH: 315
H82: 199/200
PH: 114/115
NCH: 230
CH: 215
LBW: 132
ELW: 363
Christ Is Alive
UMH: 318
H82: 182
PH: 108
LBW: 363
ELW: 389
W&P: 312
Renew: 300
O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing
UMH: 317
PH: 116/117
NCH: 244
CH: 220
ELW: 386/387
W&P: 313
Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands
UMH: 319
H82: 185/186
PH: 110
LBW: 134
ELW: 370
Faith, While Trees Are still in Blossom
UMH: 508
CH: 535
My Faith Looks Up to Thee
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELW: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138/139/140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18/19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELW: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52/53/65
In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557
Open My Eyes, That I May See
UMH: 454
PH: 324
NNBH: 218
CH: 586
W&P: 480
AMEC: 285
Open Our Eyes, Lord
CCB: 77
Renew: 91
I Call You Faithful
CCB: 70
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is mystery beyond all human knowledge:
Grant us the faith to trust that your created us
so that we could come to trust in your love;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are far beyond our human knowledge. You are a mystery too deep for us. Help us to trust that created us to come to faith as we encounter you day by day. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our lack of openness to questioning and doubt.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You created us as thinking beings with the ability to evaluate and make decisions yet we are often afraid to use these gifts in matters of faith. Help us to see that in questioning issues we are expressing our faith in you and your good creation. Help us not to be cynics who cannot believe but allow us to be skeptics that come to a faith that we can own and depend upon. Amen.
One: God created us and trusts what has been created. Encounter God with all your heart, soul, mind, and being that your faith may be complete.
Prayers of the People
We praise you, O God, because you have created us in your own image. You have made us like yourself and so we can trust that we are good beings capable of good thinking.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You created us as thinking beings with the ability to evaluate and make decisions yet we are often afraid to use these gifts in matters of faith. Help us to see that in questioning issues we are expressing our faith in you and your good creation. Help us not to be cynics who cannot believe but allow us to be skeptics that come to a faith that we can own and depend upon.
We give you thanks for all the way you have blessed us. We thank you for the gifts of reason and thought. We thank you for those who help us work through the issues that surround our faith. We thank you for the Risen Christ who comes among us and challenges us a deeper and fuller faith.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who feel incapable of believing anything and those who cannot be open to any questions about their faith. We pray for all of us as we are learning to trust you more each day.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Today we heard about Thomas and sometimes he is called Doubting Thomas as if that was something really bad. But Thomas just had questions. He wanted to know for himself that Jesus was alive. He didn’t want to just hear other people’s stories. Asking questions, even at church, is how we learn and grow as Jesus’ disciples.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONLet’s Pass It On!
by Chris Keating
Acts 4:32-35, 1 John 1:1--2:2, John 20:19-31
In some churches, the Sunday after Easter is called “Low Sunday,” because it closes out the cycle of celebrations related to Easter. But the texts for the Sunday after Easter are full of ideas, images, and opportunities for communicating the story of God’s love to children.
By the way, “low Sunday” does not necessarily refer to a lack of attendance but is rather an indicator that this portion of the liturgical celebration of Easter is on the “low end” of the feast’s octave. (If you really want to toss a curve ball at the congregation, try calling it “Quasimodo” Sunday, from the Latin words used at the introit of the mass, “Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac concupiscite.” (This won’t earn you extra jellybeans, however!)
The readings remind us that Easter is more than one day. In the “Great 50 Days of Easter” the church is called to pass on the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. As you think about which reading to use with the children this week, be guided by the ways the readings call us to “pass on” this good news.
The Acts reading explores the ways the church “passes on” God’s love through a ministry of sharing — both as individuals or families and corporately as a church. If your congregation participated in the One Great Hour of Sharing offering on Easter or Palm Sunday, using the Acts reading offers you a chance to talk with children about what it means to share with those who have less. Tell stories of how your church practices sharing with others. Use “wondering” questions with the children that help them wonder how we can practice sharing today. Invite them to wonder about the ways they could share things with others.
In using John’s reading, avoid calling Thomas a “Doubter.” Instead, help children to see that Thomas is really like all of us — he is full of questions, and is willing to ask questions others may be afraid to ask. Take some empty Easter eggs, and write down some honest questions that children might wish to ask God. Better yet, invite one or two of the children in your congregation to think of some questions they have for God. Do this ahead of Sunday so you can write them down and put them inside the Easter eggs. Remind children that questions always lead us to deeper faith and are welcomed by God. We can pass along faith by sharing questions!
In 1 John, the writer calls us to confess our sins. This is also another way of passing the good news along. Imagine the ways that not “fessing up” to our sins leads us away from God and each other. The joy of the Great 50 Days, however, is living into the instruction to have fellowship with each other by passing along the gift of forgiveness.
Finally, if your congregation is celebrating “Holy Humor Sunday,” consider sharing the story of Jesus’ gift of peace to the disciples in John. Jesus stands among them, forgives their sins, and gives them the gift of peace. This must surely have made them smile. He wasn’t pulling a funny prank on them, or even telling a corny joke, but was instead offering them deeply satisfying peace. Their sadness turned to joy. He forgave them and then sends them out to pass on this gift of peace. Wonder with them what that sort of peace might feel like, and then conclude by singing that familiar camp song, “Pass it On.”
I wonder how you might consider inviting the children of your community to pass along the good news of Easter. This week’s texts are filled with images of community, friendship, and the peace of God — perfect ways that call us to pass along God’s good love!
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The Immediate Word, April 11, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
