The story of Thomas – doubting Thomas. A byword for sceptical questioning. But why is this story, now?
A bit of history might help.
The story of Thomas is only in John’s Gospel, which was the last of the Gospels to be written. It was composed at least 60 years after the first Easter and 20 years after the other gospels. Now between the first three gospels and John’s, some huge shifts took place in the ancient world that challenged the Christian story.
You see, in those 20 years, Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Romans, scattering Jews all over the world. At the same time, Christianity exploded among the pagan population. By the time of John’s gospel, there were far more pagan converts than Jewish ones. There were so many people converting to Christianity that Rome started becoming VERY worried.
Why? Mainly because Christians refused to worship the Emperor as god. This did not make the Emperor particularly happy - as you can imagine - but because they worshipped the one God, Christians couldn’t be trusted to fight for the state. So, Christians were bad for national security.
But the Romans had other problems with Christians too. For instance, if you were a craftsman you were likely part of a guild. A guild was kind of like a modern union, and members were expected to worship the patron god, who in return – they believed - blessed the guild with prosperity. Failure to worship was thought to result in anything from failed crops to a shortage of iron. In other words, Christians were bad for business.
If you were a Christian who lived in a city, you had further problems. You were expected to make sacrifices to the god of the city. If you refused, it was believed, the result was city-wide crises – like disease, famine, or natural disasters like earthquakes. In other words, Christians were bad for the community.
So, if you were a Christian, you were thought to be a threat to national security, bad for the economy, terrible for the community. Christians were not popular with Romans! By the time we get to John’s gospel, Christians had endured two enormous, bloody persecutions, first under Nero, then under Domitian. It was a lot more dangerous in John’s day to be a Christian than it was in was Matthew, Mark, or Luke’s.
Can we imagine the story of Thomas through the eyes of the people John was writing for? Imagine huddled together in a locked room for fear of the world surrounding them. Imagine being a target because of your faith. Imagine all the doubts that must have been swirling through the disciples’ minds before Jesus appeared.
And John’ audience could REALLY identify with Thomas, because he understood the cost of faith. He refused to whitewash his doubts. “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.”
By saying this, Thomas not only challenged Jesus’ disciples. He challenged GOD. “Prove it to me! Don’t expect me to risk my livelihood, and even my life, based on the word of others. There’s too much at stake here. I will never believe until I experience Christ’s resurrection for myself.”
And what is God’s response to Thomas’ lack of belief? Punishment? Ridicule? Eternal torment in hell? No. Jesus showed up, blessing Thomas with a word of peace. And what was Thomas’ response? “My Lord and my God.”
Curiously, after blessing Thomas, Jesus adds this: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Now why on earth does Jesus say this?
Well Jesus isn’t talking to Thomas. He’s talking to those fearful people who are reading John’s gospel. He’s talking to people who had never seen Jesus face to face, in flesh and blood. He’s talking to you and me.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
You will never believe in the Living Presence of Jesus without experiencing the Living Presence of Jesus. What Jesus is saying to John’s community – and to you and me – is that it’s okay to doubt until you’ve experienced Jesus.
If you have any doubts about whether the Spirit of the Living Christ is alive and well in our day – if you have any doubts that it is possible to experience the power and love of God in a personal and intimate way – then face your doubts. Tell your friends that you doubt. Tell your neighbours. Tell your vicar. Most of all, tell God: “I will not believe that any of this amounts to anything more than religious fantasy until you show up in my life!”
But of course, don’t say this unless you are actually willing to have Jesus show up. Because he will. Peace be with you.