Doubters and Unbelievers: Sermon: April 3,

Transcription

1 Doubters and Unbelievers: Sermon: April 3, Doubters and Unbelievers The United States Religious Landscape Survey has indicated a shifting nature of religion in America. About 28% of Americans have left the faith in which they were raised and switched to another religious tradition or no tradition at all. In the 1980 s two-thirds of all Americans were Protestants. Today only 51% are Protestants in other words, Protestants are on the verge of becoming a minority religion in America. Twenty-six percent of Americans identify themselves as evangelical Protestants, 18% as Mainline Protestants, and about 7% belong to historically black denominations. The Roman Catholic Church has maintained its quarter portion of the American population largely due to the massive immigration over the past generation. Forty-six percent of all immigrants to the U.S. are Catholic. About 16% of Americans claim no religious affiliation at all, and the remaining 9% includes all other groups: Jews, Muslims, Mormons. America by the standard of almost any developed country continues to be a very religious country. Still, the waves of modern ways and immigration and religious competition have made for a very unstable religious scene in our country. This instability suggests that we live in an age of questioning and doubt. It is appropriate, then, that our Scripture lesson this morning is of Thomas, the so-called doubter.

2 Doubters and Unbelievers: Sermon: April 3, We do not know why Thomas was not with the other disciples at the time of Christ s first appearance to the other disciples. Perhaps he was in hiding, or he was out for supplies or food. We do not know why Thomas was not with the other disciples on that Easter Sunday. On the first day of Jesus resurrection, the disciples were in a locked attic room, afraid of the Romans and of other Jews as the disciples had been closely associated with Jesus. We read of Jesus appearing to them, although Thomas was not present. Thomas had missed that initial gathering on Easter day when the Risen Christ first appeared to the other disciples. And, when they told Thomas about it, he did not believe. Eleven or more people were there telling Thomas that they had seen the Risen Jesus. But no, doubting Thomas said, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. As we think about this event, Thomas was really not much different than the other disciples. They had not believed the report of the women who had visited the tomb; and they did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until they had seen him themselves. Thomas just didn t happen to be there at the time Jesus first appeared. Thomas was not doubting; he was not believing. When Jesus appeared a week later, Jesus did not hesitate to give Thomas exactly what he needed to believe. Jesus immediately went to Thomas and said, Put your finger here in these holes in my hands. Reach out your hand

3 Doubters and Unbelievers: Sermon: April 3, and put it in my side. Stop being an unbeliever, and start believing. There is an important difference between doubters and unbelievers. Doubters are people who are not sure about something. They have questions that they would like to have answered: Does God exist? Is Jesus His divine son? Why is there so much pain in the world? Will there be life after death? These doubters are at best, true seekers. They read, they study, they examine, they discuss. They will eventually come to some conclusion. Unbelievers may pose as doubters, but they have clearly made up their minds. Such persons might say that they are doubting, but if they are not actively pursuing an issue, chances are they are simply hiding in their doubt. They may even be hiding from themselves. Saying they are doubters means they do not have to take a position. Not taking a position is itself a position, just the same way as not making a decision is making a decision. Jesus does not address Thomas as a doubter, rather he calls him an unbeliever. It is important to note that in John s gospel unbelief is a sin. We are used to thinking of sins only as moral faults such as lying, cheating, stealing. But in John s Gospel there are also theological faults that are sins. In John 16: 8-9, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is going to come and convict the world with regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. In regard to sin, because human beings do not believe in me. The passage means that no one can really come to a belief in Christ and see themselves as sinners apart from the Holy Spirit. But it also means that a

4 Doubters and Unbelievers: Sermon: April 3, lack of belief is a sin. John makes this point toward the beginning of his gospel the third chapter. We all know these words: For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Let us then turn to verses 18-19: Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God s one and only son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Jesus had a very simple word for such people. It was what he said to Thomas: Stop being an unbeliever, and believe. Belief is, after all, a decision. It is a moral decision and it s an intellectual decision. In God s eyes we fall into one of two camps: believer or unbeliever. And, so-called doubters or agnostics are practicing unbelief. We understand unbelievers; agnostics are those individuals who are argumentative, aggressive and possibly defensive in social interaction between individuals especially in discussions of religion and belief in the Risen Savior. Let s go back to the attic room with the disciples and Jesus. After Jesus greets them with Peace be with you, he then says As the Father sent me, so I am sending you. Then he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone s sins, they are forgiven; if you don t forgive them, they aren t forgiven. Think about this: has anyone ever breathed on you before? I mean really truly breathed

5 Doubters and Unbelievers: Sermon: April 3, on you? If they have, I feel sure you don t remember it as a pleasant experience. In Genesis, how did God bring Adam to life when he is created from clay? God breathed on him. Only Creator God can give life to something that is dead. The disciples in that attic room were dead and lifeless. They were dead in their denial of Jesus, their sins, in the way they had let God down. And now Jesus, the Risen Savior, breathes on them and says receive the Holy Spirit. In both Greek and Hebrew the word for God s spirit can also mean breath or wind. So, Jesus who until recently was dead, breathes life, the Holy Spirit back into the weak disciples. In Ephesians 2:5, Paul writes, even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. When we receive the forgiving power of the Holy Spirit, both the disciples in the 1 st century and each one of us today are to do the same, to forgive others in the forgiving power of the Holy Spirit. I think that God delights in our humanity, and through Jesus, the son, delights in us even when we stumble and question our existence, and our nature. God is there with us, even when we cannot see or feel God. God is there, beyond our senses. Knowledge is important, but faith is what matters most. Let us hold on to faith when we doubt and when we believe. Let us trust that God is working through the uncertainty and the unanswered questions of our lives.

6 Doubters and Unbelievers: Sermon: April 3, Let us pray: Holy Father, we may have doubts about our faith, but let us not be unbelievers. Guide us in our journey to learn of your wisdom and guidance. We pray that the Holy Spirit will be with us as we go about our daily lives, bringing us to worship you, O Lord and Savior. Our closing hymn is # 354, I Surrender All stand.altar Benediction: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord shine His face on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift his countenance on you and give you peace now and forever. Amen.