Locked Doors; Locked Hearts
Dr. Jim Wilson, April 11, 2010 A popular, thought-provoking question found its way into many sermons, church bulletins and newsletters several years ago. It even became material for a drama. Many of you no doubt remember it. The question asked quite simply, “If you were charged with being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” In the church I was serving during that time, our youth group created a courtroom drama based on this question. People played certain roles and were interrogated by a prosecutor and a jury passed a judgment on the evidence. Needless to say, the drama created a bit of a stir. For the religiously sensitive, such a question does give us pause to look at our faith, and that is not always comfortable. A slight twist on this question is at the heart of our text for this morning. This question would ask, “If you were considering becoming a Christian, is there enough evidence to convince you?” On the face of it the skeptics and even non-believers seem to be able to make a fairly good case their point of view. The claims of the Easter faith; that Jesus was raised from the dead; that death has been overcome; that new life in which death has no dominion is given, can seem to be exaggerations at best. Certainly, doubts can be raised, at least initially. Nor do the biblical writers provide much in the way of conclusive evidence. They speak of the reactions to Easter in terms of fear, terror, amazement, an idle tale. John tells us the disciples were hiding behind locked doors out of fear and are riddled with doubt. And Paul tosses a few footnotes of support telling us how Jesus “appeared to Cephas, then to the 12, then to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters, most of whom are still alive…Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” Interesting, but hardly the evidence that convinces, that generates faith. The issue continues to be what kind of evidence proves to be convincing. What do we as Twenty-first Century people need to be convinced that the claims of Easter are true? What kind of evidence would cause us to become persons of faith? While I realize that our standards for convincing evidence probably varies widely depending on our world perspectives, I believe the story John tells us provides some insight to the question about the evidence that leads to faith. I believe the honesty with which John describes these events frees us to consider what it is that convinces. And the outcome of the story speaks to the relation between evidence and faith. So let us hear this story John tells us. It is evening on Easter Day. The disciples are huddle together in a house in Jerusalem. The doors of the house, John tells us, “were locked for fear of the Jews.” These folks are terrified. As followers of Jesus are they now subjects for arrest and possible crucifixion? Or what if what Mary Magdalene told them is true; will the Romans seek them out for pillaging the tomb and making off with the body? Either way, the prospects are frightening. Suddenly, Jesus is standing in their midst. “Peace be with you,” he says, offering the traditional Hebrew greeting. In this situation, however, it takes on a renewed depth of meaning. He is the One they betrayed, denied, deserted, misunderstood, and abandoned. Yet, he greets them with “Peace be with you,” implying forgiveness. And make no mistake; it is him, Jesus, the Crucified One. He shows them his hands and his side. This is no mirage, no hallucination, no ghost. It is the Crucified Jesus, now raised. John tells us, “Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” “To see” Jesus in John’s Gospel is to believe, to trust, that this One is the Lord. What Mary Magdalene had told them that morning is true! Jesus is alive! Again, Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” Then Jesus commissions the disciples: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” To make that commission real, he breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Now the disciples become apostles, followers become messengers, a fearful little band is empowered to continue his work and witness to his presence in the world. What a powerful and fitting conclusion to Easter Day. Yet there is one concern. Thomas is not with them. When he returns, others joyfully tell him, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas, however, is not impressed. Not only does he express doubt and disbelief, he makes demands on what he would consider convincing evidence: “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.” Appearance is not enough for Thomas. He demands empirical evidence. The scene shifts one week in time. Again the disciples are in the house. This time Thomas is present. Again, Jesus comes and stands among them. And once again he greets them, “Peace be with you.” Then he turns to Thomas and says, “Thomas, put your finger here, and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt, but believe.” No censure, no criticism for his demand. Instead Jesus graciously offers Thomas the evidence he says he needs to believe. Now Thomas no longer needs this evidence. He cries out a confession of faith, a doxology of praise, “My Lord and My God!” “Doubting Thomas” becomes “Faithful Thomas.” Jesus responds with a concluding beatitude, one that speaks to us: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have come to believe.” This story offers a number of insights about the relationship between faith and evidence. Note the evidence offered: the appearance of the Risen Lord, a witness to him, a Word from him, empowerment by the Spirit. Note also that the demand for empirical evidence by Thomas by which he says he will be convinced and yet never pursues when it is offered. That is a clue to an issue John is facing in the post-apostolic church, one that applies to us today; namely, can a person come to faith in the Risen Lord without benefit of a resurrection experience? As time passed that became a big issue for the church. The answer is offered in the story. Seeing is no guarantee of faith, as in the case of Thomas. Faith comes for Thomas as it comes for generations since, by hearing the Word and experiencing the witness of the faithful. For John, faith is not a decision made once and for all, but made anew in each situation. Nor is faith fully grown in one dramatic moment. Even these first disciples had to hear the Word and experience the witness several times before they move to faith. What does that tells us about our faith? I would like get at an answer to that question by focusing on locked doors and locked hearts. I think these are informative images and metaphors. John tells us the doors of the house where the disciples were hiding were locked because they were afraid. What a great metaphor. How often does fear lock the doors to faith for us? How often does fear keep hidden, unwilling to step out? How often does fear find expression in all sorts of conditions for us to believe? I believe fear is a major obstacle to faith, whether it is fear of losing control, or of risking new behavior, or of trusting, or simply fear of ambiguity and uncertainty. Faith is a relationship, a relationship with God that finds expression in relationship with others. The fundamental reality of any relationship is trust. To have a relationship there must be evidence for trust in words spoken, in actions that are consistent with words, in a willingness to share oneself, in a growing knowledge of one another. When a couple decides to enter the relationship of marriage, that is a covenant of trust, based on words of promise received in faith, grounded in life experiences shared. Now there is no amount of evidence that will guarantee a successful marriage, nor dispel all fear or hesitancy. What we do have is a Word from God about His intent for marriage and a Witness of those who have live faithfully in the covenant. It is about trusting. So it is with faith in the Risen Lord, It is about hearing the Word of Easter, trusting it, and allowing that Word to set us free for new life. It is about experiencing the witness of the faithful and letting that witness speak to us. It is about that Word and that Witness empower us for mission. That is how faith is birthed and nurtured. Looking for indisputable evidence that removes all fear keeps us behind locked doors, shut up in fear and disillusionment. A colleague tells of a thirty-something member of his church who had not been particularly active in the five or so years he and his family had been at the church. Suddenly a year or so ago, this young man began attending Bible study and became active in several of the church’s outreach ministries. Curious about this rather abrupt change, Bill asked him what had happened. The young man replied, “I saw that movie, The Passion of the Christ, and I felt compelled to get active. I can’t describe what happened. I just knew it was time for me to get involved.” You will understand, I am sure, if I suggest that this was the Word and the Witness to Easter breaking down locked doors. I believe that is the case. The Good News of Easter is that the Risen Lord is both determined and creative in coming to us to set us free, even through locked doors. The other image is “locked hearts,” hearts held prisoner by nagging doubt. Thomas, I believe is more a representative of many rather than a lone dissenter. He represents all of us who at one time or another have had our hearts locked by doubt. Yet, when he hears the Word of the Risen Lord, his heart is unlocked and he moves from being “Doubting Thomas” to being “Faithful Thomas.” What this suggests to me is that honest, creative doubt is not an enemy of faith but an ally. In the words of Tennyson, “There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds.” Both Alfred and I are speaking not of cynical doubt that is closed and unwilling to grow but creative doubt that is open, willing to accept new information, to think, to inquire, to challenge. I would go so far as to say that such doubt is essential to faith that is authentic. I like Frederick Buechner’s description. He says, “Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it alive and moving.” Such faith is not belief that removes all doubt, but belief in the presence of doubt. Much depends, of course, on how we understand faith. If faith is for us limited to believing something is true, absolutely true, then there is no room for doubt. Doubt is incompatible with faith. If, on the other hand, faith is trusting the Word, trusting the Witness, then doubt is an integral part of faith. Trust implies risk. And with risk comes questioning, ambiguity, and yes doubt which never can be completely removed. This is a reality with which I struggled, and at times still do. I grew up thinking faith was belief that something was true, unquestionably true. If I had the slightest doubt, I was not faithful. So I, like Thomas, had my set of demands for empirical data. Fortunately, a pastor helped me begin to see that faith is trust, trusting that God is faithful. I was reminded of that portion of John Bunyan’s PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, where Christian and Hopeful are held captive in Doubting Castle by the giant Despair. Finally, Christian realizes that he has a key that will unlock all the doors and gates of Doubting Castle. The key bears the name Promise. What a magnificent analogy. It is the Word of Promise and the Witness to the Easter Promise that unlocks our hearts to trust, to believe in the Good News. Again the Risen One finds away to unlock our hearts that we may know new life. Such is the evidence for faith---the Word, the Witness, the empowerment, the experience of being set free. Is there any empirical evidence? I think there is at times along the way, but it is more supportive than primary. Just as the tomb could not hold him, so our locked doors and locked hearts cannot keep him from reaching us with his transforming love. That too is the great news of Easter. Thanks be to God! Amen! |
