Easter 2 Year C

Acts 5:27-32, Psalm 150, Revelation 1:4-8, John 20:19-31

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.

You cannot actually see wind. You can feel it on your skin. You can hear it through cracks in the door. You can smell things from far away that the wind moves towards you. You can see plants sway and bend in its mighty force...but you cannot actually see wind.

Believing without seeing.

There are many things in and about the world that we believe in though we cannot see them. We believe in the property of gravity and other forces of creation, though we cannot see the pressure of gravity at work. We believe in love, though we have no way to measure it, but we feel it burn intensely within us.  Some of us believe that there are monsters in the closet or under the bed, though no one has ever actually seen a monster.

Believing without seeing.

We come to believe in all sorts of things we cannot see through our personal experiences and through experiences shared with us by others. This is especially true when we are young and are still exploring the multitude of experiences within God’s creation.

 

As a child I remember thinking that electricity was some sort of magical phenomenon, and because of this I would go around the house flipping the light switches on and off as often as possible. I liked being in control of this magic. When my dad realized that I was the one constantly messing with the lights, he sat me down and explained to me how electricity works and how it costs money. While I am sure he did a great job at explaining it, I had to just take his word for it. I had to believe that he was telling me the truth about something that I could not see. It wasn’t until a few years later when I got to build a circuit in Science class that I was able to believe in electricity because of my own experience.  If only I had believed my father without seeing.

Our gospel story today reminds me of a quotation that I have heard before... “the absence of evidence, is not the evidence of absence.” Let me just say that again, “the absence of evidence, is not the evidence of absence.” As I mentioned earlier there are known unknowns, such as gravity and electricity, things we cannot see but know to exist. But there are also unknown unknowns, things that exist that we cannot or have not yet proven. There is a human tendency to logically conclude that if we cannot experience it then it must not exist. Just because we cannot prove its existence, does not mean it does not exist at all.

This is the case of Thomas, the disciple who wanted proof. Now before we ridicule Thomas for his doubt, we must understand that it is in our very human nature to be inquisitive, to seek out proof of existence. Reason and the scientific method has allowed us to learn more about how the universe works in and around us. It has allowed us to learn that humanity is just one thread interwoven with many others into what we know as God’s creation. We use all our senses to experience the world around us. We can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste, all of which validates our experience.  It is evidence of existence. If that evidence is partial or missing altogether then doubt creeps in as to whether something is real or not.

This was what Thomas struggled with.  He was not with the other disciples when Jesus made himself known to the others, so Thomas did not see the risen Lord. Thomas had to rely upon the words of others, a second hand experience, and it was one that he could not reconcile with his own belief, his own faith in Jesus. He wanted proof, hard evidence that would cast all doubt aside so that he could then know for sure that Christ had indeed conquered death. But because that evidence was not present, he did not believe what the others were telling him. For Thomas the absence of evidence was indeed evidence of absence.

Most of us can identify with Thomas. Most of us have been in situations when we required hard evidence as proof, because we did not believe what was being relayed to us by another. It is easier said than done to believe without seeing. It is faith. Jesus does not condemn Thomas for his disbelief but invites Thomas to touch him, to physically experience the risen Lord. Jesus is not upset at Thomas’ disbelief but lifts up those who do believe without physical evidence. This story provides for us a model of how to navigate the world around us. We must trust our senses, but we also must realize that we are human and therefore our senses can deceive us. Jesus calls us to believe without seeing, to trust in God even when it seems like nothing is happening. God is working in and around us whether we see it or not.

Near the end of today’s gospel, John says that he could have written down many other signs that the risen Jesus performed but that these were included so that we would come to believe in that Jesus is the Messiah. I am always intrigued by this statement. What other things did Jesus do after he was resurrected?! I want to know because I am interested in Jesus... I also want to know because, like Thomas, I want more proof to back up my beliefs. But that is exactly why John does not include more details. We are supposed to believe without seeing. We are invited to make this story our own story. We are invited to have our own personal relationship with the risen Christ.

So where is God working in your life? Where have you encountered Jesus? Has it been through prayer?  Has it been through serving others?  Has it been through the gathered community in worship? We are called to live a life of discipleship, to have faith in a God who sent his Son to us to redeem us, to save us, and to bring us closer to the unconditional love that God has for each and everyone of us. God is working through all of us in unique ways, our challenge is to recognize the Spirit working in us and to believe in those things which we cannot see.

Christ is risen, may we all believe without seeing.