Second Sunday of Easter
Text: John 20:19-31
Pastor Jean M. Hansen
Welcome on this Sunday after Easter! If you’ve attended worship on this Sunday previously, there’s no doubt that something sounded familiar. It’s interesting to note that in most congregations that use the lectionary – a 3-year cycle of assigned readings for each Sunday of the church year – today’s Gospel is likely read more often than any single resurrection account is read on Easter Day. Those passages from Matthew, Mark and Luke are rotated yearly, and John’s account is an annual choice, so it may be selected more often. But every Sunday after Easter we read John’s description of Jesus appearing to his fearful disciples on Easter evening, and Thomas missing out on the reunion.
Given the repetition, there must be a message we need to hear. When the resurrected Jesus showed up that evening, not stopped by a locked door that no one unlocked, his followers were cowering in fear, wondering what would happen next. No doubt they had contemplated the report from the women that his tomb was found empty, that angelic beings had proclaimed him risen and remembered how Mary Magdelene had proclaimed, “I have seen the Lord!” Soon they saw him too, their Risen Lord, who gave them a message of peace and a mission.
When Thomas returned and heard what he had missed, he was understandably skeptical. He knew the dead stay dead … although, there was Lazarus to consider…. Yet, he specified what it might take him to believe. As one commentator surmised, “As he talks, his rhetoric gets more and more exaggerated. ‘My friends, I’d have to see with my own eyes the nail holes in his hands. No, tell you what, I’d need to touch those holes with my finger. Better yet, I’d want to stick my whole hand right into his side where the sword pierced him!” Thomas kept mounting up an ever-larger heap of evident that he thought he’d need to believe. His words seemed calculated to induce some eye-rolling. Of course, once he does meet Jesus, all that evaporates.” (1)
Thomas has been criticized for his doubt over the years, often in support of the premise that doubt is a detriment to faith. Perhaps you’ve heard the aphorism, “Without faith, no evidence is sufficient; with faith, no evidence is necessary.” And, yet, it has been my experience that while there’s truth in that statement, the need for certainty can be as damaging to faith than doubt. In a world where little is certain and pain abounds, there needs to be room for questioning and skepticism to produce faith deep enough to endure the realities of living in an imperfect world with imperfect people.
Commentator Sean Gadding grew up in a church that demanded certainty of belief as well as certain behavior in order to be considered a person of faith. He wrote about encountering people proclaim, “I don’t believe in God; his response often is, “Tell me about this God you don’t believe in, because I probably don’t believe in that God either.” He goes on to write, “If the conversation continues, I might discover that the person grew up in a church similar to (the one I grew up in) and at some point rejected the certainty of that faith, along with the judgmentalism and self-righteousness that often accompany it. Or I might learn that they’ve been on the receiving end of such judgement and want nothing to do with God in whose name the person pronounced the judgement.” (2) I would add that the reason for unbelief could be people’s perception that God allowed a horrible accident, unfair suffering or the atrocities of war or other violence.
So, looking again at Thomas, what might the story behind his doubt be? If you’ve watched “The Chosen” series, you know that its creators addressed that question head-on. Pastor Gladding surmises, “Why did Thomas say he would have to thrust his hand in Jesus’ side before he would believe their declaration that, ‘We have seen the Lord,’? What was the source of his doubt? Perhaps he had lost faith in Jeus. How could he be who he said he was and then allow himself to be killed? Perhaps Thomas had lost faith in himself. After all, he had once declared that he was willing to return to Judea with Jess and die with him there. But just a few days ago he had abandoned Jesus when the council made good on their threat. Maybe it was some combination of both.” (3)
Given the possibilities behind his doubting, which may simply include needing his experience to offer his own testimony, Thomas deserves a break, especially since his reticence to believe ended with a heart-wrenching proclamation, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus showed up for Thomas and encouraged him to believe in the midst of his doubt. I think that happens for us too, but in less dramatic ways.
We all have heard so much about Pope Francis this week following his death on Monday. I’ve considered his last 24-hours, how after weeks of serious, life-threatening illness, he fought the exhaustion to give the Easter blessing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica façade. Then, he gladdened the hearts of many with a ride in the popemobile in St. Peter's Square, where he embraced the crowd, especially the children; it was the last outing among the faithful of his life. Afterwards he thanked his personal healthcare assistant, saying, “Thank you for bringing me back to the Square.”
He died the next morning. Was that Jesus showing up, not only for the gathered faithful, but for Pope Francis?
Perhaps this account from John 20 is read so often because it is a reminder that our Resurrected Lord shows up for us too, in times of difficulty and doubt. At such times, questioning, searching, expressing frustration and confusion can all be ways our faith is strengthened and deepened, especially when we realize that God does not abandon us, even when we are inclined to abandon God. Jesus does show up; he can breach any locked door or heart or mind, and will celebrate with us when we proclaim, “My Lord and my God!” AMEN
- “John 20:19-31 Commentary” by Scott Hoezee, April 8, 2018, www. cepreaching.org
- “In the Lectionary” by Sean Gladding, April 2025, The Christian Century, pg. 31
- Same as #2