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A Willingness to Believe
Sermon by F. Robert Tafel
for Sunday, April 3, 2005
Scripture: (New Testament) John 20:19-31
On the evening of the first day of the week, the doors being shut where
the disciples were, ... Jesus came and stood among them and said to
them, “Peace be with you!” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and
his side. The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.... Now Thomas (called
the Twin), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other
disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see
in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the
nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Eight days later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was
with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and
said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and
see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be
faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus
said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who
have not seen and yet believe.”
John 20:19-29
* * * * *
Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared a week earlier. So
they told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I
see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the
nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
It is this insistence upon physical sensory evidence for confirmation
of Jesus’ resurrection by his senses that differentiates Thomas. After all, the
rest of the disciples doubted Jesus’ resurrection at first.
But when the other disciples saw Jesus; and heard his greeting of “peace” and
when Jesus showed them his hands and his side, they were glad.
Thomas just wasn’t there when all this took place, being absent, for
some reason. He simply was not present when Jesus mysteriously and suddenly
appeared 1n their midst while they were behind barred doors.
So because Thomas required physical confirmation, he has earned the
dubious distinction of being forever the archetypal figure of lacking faith.
And to the charge of not possessing blind faith in what other’s said, this is
true.
But Thomas was not so very different from the rest; he simply required and
asked that he might have the same experience the others had of seeing and
touching the Lord.
“Seeing is believing!” 0r, so, Thomas thought. '”Let me see, and then I shall
believe!” And touching would provide even more “proof.” To ground one’s belief
in physical sensory experience is simply to be natural-minded.
Now the most important part of today’s reading is that Jesus did not condemn
this quality. Rather, he simply said: “Put your finger here, and see my hands;
and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but
believing.” Thomas answered him, “My lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have
you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and
yet believe.”
Actually we can be glad that Thomas was the way he was: that he was able and
willing to articulate his need to see and his desire to actually touch the Lord
before he would believe he had risen. That is, we can be glad so long as we do
not believe in external authority (for example, the testimony of others) alone
for our religious beliefs.
We can be glad for Thomas, because, Thomas was not so very different from men
and women of every generation who simply do not wish to be taken in or
deceived. In fact, I’ll bet there is a little bit of Thomas in each of us.
Emanuel Swedenborg, in his concept of biblical correspondences, states that all
the people, events, and things in the Biblical narrative represent spiritual
realities within each of us. In this view of the bible, the disciples represent
the spectrum of guiding principles from affection and love we have for the Lord
and for living a useful life.
Specifically, Thomas represents the sincere element of doubt that precedes
belief. The spiritual need to see clearly and understand a matter before being
willing to confirm it as a matter of belief. In short, a willingness to believe.
From our reading from Swedenborg:
There are those who are in doubt before they deny, and there are those who are
in doubt before they affirm. Those in doubt before they deny, are those who
incline to a life of evil. When that life sways them, they deny things
spir1tual and celestial to the extent that they think of them. But those in
doubt before they affirm are those who incline to a life of good. When they
suffer themselves to be turned to this life by the lord, they then affirm
things spiritual and celestial to the extent that they think of them.
Arcana Celestia # 2568
The seeing of believing, that Thomas so clearly represents is a basic and
necessary element of our spirit. Jesus recognized this and did not hesitate to
show himself to Thomas.
Jesus did not hesitate to give physical confirmation to his resurrection. He
did not hesitate to show people – to show us – how to believe. He did, and
does, so even while challenging people toward a more believing stance. Because
things are never exactly as they seem to be, we are, on occasion, misled into
believing what we think we see.
For this reason, Jesus also kept endeavoring to help his disciples see another
way, another side of life, an element we might call, the believing of seeing. A
believing that takes place prior to seeing. Believing first, and then seeing. A
mental imagery process, which many of us have experienced. A process often
occurring in people healed by Jesus manifested in one way or another. Jesus
many times said: “according to your faith, be it done to you.” he sought to
nurture and strengthen this ability to believe and then see.
Near the beginning of john’s gospel story (chapter 4:46-54) we are told
about an official whose son was ill. Jesus told him: “unless you see signs and
wonders you will not believe.” he wanted Jesus to actually visit his son in
order to heal. But Jesus showed another way. He sent the official on his way
and healed without visiting. To shift his thinking, Jesus sought to move him to
accept and believe Jesus promise. To change from the “seeing of believing” to
the believing of seeing.
“Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” (John 4:48).
To Thomas and to all who will hear, Jesus now declares: “Blessed are those who
have not seen and yet believe.” (John 20:29).
You may recall a man named Nicodemus who came to Jesus in the middle of
the night (so as to not be seen, for he was a ruler and did not wish to
jeopardize his position). Jesus declared that one had to be born anew to enter
god's kingdom. Which confused Nicodemus. So Jesus continued, “Do not marvel
that I said to you, you must be born anew. The wind blows where it wills, and
you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither goes;
so it is with every one who is born of the spirit.” (John 3:1-8).
Spiritual realities, such as love, matters of belief, and one’s
relation to god, cannot be seen or tested by our physical senses. It is
pointless to try. Yet love is no less real simply because it cannot be seen.
For love can be felt. Shown. Love can be manifested and experienced.
Our trust and faith in the lord can be experienced, felt, demonstrated.
The lord invites us to obtain practical proof of his presence in our lives by
recognizing our need for his sustaining presence and by turning to him for
guidance and insight to help us follow his principles in our daily natural life
in this physical world.
Jesus invites is to know him:
“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and
place it in my side; do not be fa1thless, but believing.”
Let our response be like that of Thomas: “My lord and my God.”
Let us pray:
Copyright 2005 by Rev. F. Robert Tafel
Readings from Swedenborg:
NO ONE OUGHT TO BE PERSUADED ABOUT TRUTH IN A MOMENT... THAT THERE IS NO DOUBT
LEFT, BECAUSE THE TRUTH SO IMPRESSED BECOMES PERSUASIVE TRUTH, AND IS DEVOID OF
EXTENSION; AND IT IS ALSO DEVOID OF WHAT IS YIELDING.... HENCE IT IS THAT AS
SOON AS ANY TRUTH IS PRESENTED ... BEFORE GOOD SPIRITS BY MANIFEST EXPERIENCE,
THERE IS PRESENTLY AFTERWARDS PRESENTED SOMETHING OPPOSITE, WHICH CAUSED
DUBIOUSNESS. THUS IT IS GIVEN THEM TO THINK AND CONSIDER WHETHER IT IS SO, AND
TO COLLECT REASONS, AND SO BRING THAT TRUTH RATIONALLY INTO THEIR MINDS....
Spiritual Diary # 468
THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE IN DOUBT BEFORE THEY DENY, AND THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE
IN DOUBT BEFORE THEY AFFIRM. THOSE IN DOUBT BEFORE THEY DENY, ARE THOSE WHO
INCIINE TO A LIFE OF EVIL. WHEN THAT LIFE SWAYS THEM, THEY DENY THINGS
SPIR1TUAL AND CELESTIAL TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY THINK OF THEM. BUT THOSE IN
DOUBT BEFORE THEY AFFIRM, ARE THOSE WHO INCLINE TO A LIFE OF GOOD. WHEN THEY
SUFFER THEMSEIVES TO BE TURNED TO THIS LIFE BY THE LORD, THEY THEN AFFIRM
THINGS SPIRITUAL AND CELESTIAL TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY THINK OF THEM.
Arcana Celestia # 2568
doubting Thomas
One who is habitually doubtful. For example, He was a doubting Thomas about the
coming merger, not believing it would ever happen. The term alludes to the
disciple Thomas, who doubted Jesus's resurrection until he had first-hand
evidence of it (John 20:24-29).
Source: The American Heritage(r) Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright (c) 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton
Mifflin Company.
doubting Thomas
n 1: the Apostle who would not believe the resurrection of Jesus until he saw
Jesus with his own eyes [syn: Thomas, Saint Thomas, St. Thomas, doubting
Thomas, Thomas the doubting Apostle] 2: someone who demands physical evidence
in order to be convinced (especially when this demand is out of place) [syn:
doubting Thomas]
[THE WOMEN WENT TO THE TOMB AT DAYBREAK AND FOUND THE STONE ROLLED BACK
AND JESUS' BODY GONE. AND WHEN THE WOMEN TOLD THE DISCIPLES, THEIR REPORT WAS
DISMISSED AS AN IDLE TALE(Luke 24:110.]
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