Several of us went to see a one-man show presenting Matthew’s Gospel recently. It was of the very highest quality, provocative and challenging, but ... Jesus came over as rather ‘shouty’. In the passage before us from John, he certainly chides Thomas, but with kindness and grace and encouragement.
And what is going on for Thomas? Should we read his words as “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were ...” ? Certainly a modern script writer would feel impelled to insert a sub-story of jealousy and rivalry here: “am I not as good as Peter and John and the rest? Why am I being left out?”
Or perhaps we should read it: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were ...” ? In other words, “I demand objective proof for myself, and I am unable or unwilling to accept an account by anyone else.”
Whatever the case, Jesus appears again specially, as it were, for Thomas. He brings the same message of Shalom, Peace that he brought before, and he meets Thomas at the point of his need.
And what is going on for Peter? On the day of Pentecost, we read that Peter stood up, “with the Eleven”, raised his voice and addressed the crowd ... One of the eleven was Thomas. So earlier in the Upper Room, how did it feel for Peter to tell Thomas “We have seen the Lord”, and hear Thomas reply that he did not believe him? Did he want to argue? To shake him? To pray? And yet God is at work, in his own time.
There seems to be a paradigm, an underlying pattern that helps us understand what is going on.
First there is an event. This event is not always seen by everyone, and it is frequently ignored or misinterpreted. Most notably, Jesus is raised from the dead. This is so momentous and far from straightforward that there is confusion and apparent contradiction. Nevertheless an event has taken place that must be responded to. Later on there is another event, as the Holy Spirit falls on the waiting apostles, in a way that is public and audible, and that drives a crowd to seek explanations. It is in response to this that Peter (and the other eleven apostles) must stand up to preach and explain.
The church has a programme of events throughout the year. We hold services every Sunday, and especially at festivals; we run Alpha courses and seek to live the Christian life in the streets and roads where we live. But let us also be expectant and observant: God is at work in our community, but we sometimes miss him, or do not realise what is going on. When you pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done”, you are asking God to do things, in your life, and in the lives of your family, your neighbours, your colleagues and your friends.
We interpret the event in the light of God’s revelation to us. Peter on the day of Pentecost was asked to explain the speaking in tongues and new life in the Spirit. He does this by going to the scriptures, what we call today the Old Testament. He has just had 40 days with Jesus, who I am sure had been explaining how the scriptures referred to him. He may therefore have been guided by Jesus to read the psalms of David as referring to the resurrection, or he may have been prompted by the Holy Spirit on that day. The point is he started from scripture.
When Jesus appears to his disciples in the Upper Room, he does this by revealing himself, the living Word. John adds that his whole purpose in selecting and presenting these stories about Jesus is so that we “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name.” Time spent reading the bible is never wasted. Even something that seems obscure or difficult may come gloriously to life under the impulse of the Holy Spirit.
Of course we are aware that many of our friends and acquaintances seem to have no interest in reading the word of God. They may not see any relevance between the written accounts of those living between 2000 bc and 100 AD and our lives today. What our friends want to know is the difference that believing in Jesus makes to us. How we are different because we have encountered him for ourselves. Thus Thomas becomes the only one in scripture who actually uses the words “My Lord and my God” to Jesus. Thus Peter, having gone on about how David had talked about resurrection but was himself mouldering in a grave, and so he must have been talking about someone else – Jesus, points to the clincher as far as he is concerned. He himself has witnessed the resurrected Jesus.
Note how important experience and eye witness accounts are. People today are less interested in objective proofs, and want to know if things work, and what it feels like. So Peter says God has raised Jesus to life, “and we are all witnesses of the fact”. The scriptures that we point to are the written accounts of their life changing events. They are important in and of themselves. Based on those, we also need to be aware of our own experiences of God. To encounter God and Grow in Him .... What stories can you tell of God at work in your life? Are there events, perhaps, that when seen clearly or interpreted properly reveal God’s love and care in the world today?
Look for the work of God in our world today. Look for the presence that builds community and fellowship. Look for the presence that brings joy and peace.
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