No Doubt!

"The story is told about Albert Einstein, the brilliant physicist of Princeton University in the early 20th century. Einstein was traveling from Princeton on a train, and when the conductor came down the aisle to punch the passengers’ tickets, Einstein couldn’t find his. He looked in his vest pocket, he looked in his pants pocket, he looked in his briefcase, but there was no ticket. The conductor was gracious; “Not to worry, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are, we all know who you are, and I’m sure you bought a ticket.”

As the conductor moved down the aisle, he looked back and noticed Einstein on his hands and knees, searching under the seat for his ticket. The conductor returned to Einstein; “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry. I know who you are. You don’t need a ticket, I’m sure you bought one.” Einstein arose and said “Young man, I too know who I am; what I don’t know is where I am going.”

And that is the good news of Easter; that we know where we are going. We have been told by the Savior that his life and death has promised us life eternal. And Low Sundays don’t change that promise. And unemployment doesn’t change that promise. Neither does divorce, or bankruptcy, or cancer, or depression, or felony, or failure. Through elation and deflation and every emotion in between, this truth remains; we know whose we are and we know where we are going, because the Son of God has promised. And this, my friends, is faith."
(from Steven Molin, Elated....Deflated)

In this weekend's Gospel from St. John's 20th chapter we hear the story of the Doubting Thomas. After Jesus appears to the other disciples on Easter evening, Thomas doubts. He tells them that he won't believe that Jesus is risen until he sees and touches the Risen Christ. On the following first day of the week Thomas is present when Jesus comes to visit again. When faced with the reality of Christ, Thomas gives the witness that no one before him had ever given. Thomas calls Christ, "My Lord and my God!"

Thomas had every reason to doubt. Dead meant dead. There was no reason to believe otherwise. Jesus is and was the firstborn from the dead. And even given Jesus' promises that in three days he would rise again, the disciples had no reason to believe Him, since it had never happened before in the human experience. I'm sure he thought like many others that death had won another victim. Christ, His life, His ministry, His message, His hope, His truth, His love, everything about Him was defeated. His goofy band of brothers and sisters were full pie eyed visions for thinking and saying anything else. Dead was dead.

Yet Jesus came again! Thomas was invited to see and touch. His hope and Jesus' life was reborn. Faith happened! Thomas is able to call Jesus Christ the names that He wants all of us to confess. "MY Lord and MY God!!" Then Jesus talks to Thomas and US. "You have to believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Every time we allow forgiveness to be bigger than our sin or the sins of others, we say loud and clear, "My Lord and my God!" Every time someone rejects us or when we fail in a relationship, and we keep attempting to love we profess, "My Lord and my God!" When people in our lives that we love die, or when we find out that we are mortally ill, and we can still laugh and pray we witness, "My Lord and my God!" When jobs are lost, money gets tight or non-existent, or life disappoints in its myriad ways, and we still trust God's promise, "I am with you until the end of the ages", we will continue to prophecy, "My Lord and my God!"

He lives! Be courageous enough to be His witness today.

peace,
me