In-Between Times

Second Sunday of Easter

John 20.19-31

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

With this being the last Sunday I will be with you for 111 days—but who’s counting?—I find that I view today’s Gospel reading in a new light. We hear this particular story every year on the Sunday after Easter Day. The story that has come to bear the erroneous and unfortunate monicker of “Doubting Thomas.” How many times can one preach on and seek to debunk the implication that Thomas lacked faith? I state emphatically, he did not. On this particular day, which by my reckoning is about the 17^th or 18^th time I have preached this Gospel, I welcome viewing this story through the lens of my—of our—impending Sabbatical. Hopefully giving new insight into what was going on with Thomas and the remaining disciples during those early days following Christ’s Resurrection. And, in so doing, offering a perspective with which we might view this time of Sabbatical we begin as of tomorrow.

 

Ideally, sabbatical times are meant to be unlike any other; unlike everyday life; unlike the time that precedes it and unlike the time that follows. Sabbatical is meant to be an in-between time, set apart. A time of discovery or rediscovery, of reconnecting, of renewal, of re-formation. Specifically with respect to Sabbatical in the Church, this is meant to be a time to rediscover and to reconnect with who we are as God’s beloved children. To discover or rediscover and to reconnect with what it is that energizes us in our lives of faith and in our ministries. With the goal of renewing our relationship with God and with one another as members of the Body of Christ. And through the process, being re-formed into something new, so that we might more fully live into who God has created and calls us to be.

 

At the start of Sabbatical, much of what it means to discover, to reconnect, to be renewed, to be re-formed is unknown. One starts off with hopes that all will unfold as it needs to, trusting that God is in the process, guiding, poking, prodding, and always loving us toward where we are heading, to what and who we are meant to become. For me, that will be through seeking to reconnect with my interests in monastic spirituality and Celtic spirituality, as well as my passion for travel. For St. Gregory’s, it remains to be seen what unfolds for you, individually and collectively, during this time of Sabbatical. Although Mother Sharon will help in discerning and prompting whatever that may be, through the study of the Rule of St. Benedict she will be leading—providing a thematic connection between my Sabbatical journey and yours. And undoubtedly through her preaching, teaching, and pastoral presence. And then, at the end of our Sabbatical time, we will be reunited and have the joy of meeting one another as if for the first time, each of us changed by our Sabbatical journeys, allowing us to continue our relationship as priest and parish in what will hopefully be new and exciting ways. And certainly in whatever way and along whatever path God has led us to as the people of St. Gregory’s and as members of the Body of Christ.

 

This is the perspective with which I find myself viewing our Gospel reading for today. The followers of Jesus find themselves in an in-between time. One as filled with uncertainties, with unknown paths and destinations, as we find ourselves. Perhaps—likely—even more uncertain than we find ourselves. At least we have 2,000 years of history and tradition on which to build whatever it is we will become in our journey. The disciples, on the other hand, have precious little. They have a three-year history with a teacher who has been executed and may or may not have been raised from the dead—Mary Magdalene said he was, but can they have yet to experience the Risen Lord for themselves. They have both secular and religious authorities who are likely seeking to disappear them as surely as they did their beloved leader. They have no one to lead them. What is to become of them? If there is even something for them to become. Right now, they have more questions than they have answers. They have more fear than they have hope. And quite frankly, right now, they have more doubt than they have faith.

 

This is where the remaining disciples find themselves on the evening of the Day of Resurrection. Even if Jesus has been raised from the dead as Mary Magdalene reported, what does that mean for them? What do they do with that? Surely questions they are pondering when “Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’” These are words of commissioning. These are their marching orders. In other words, “get to work. Get on with the ministry I have given you to do. Stop cowering in fear, but go out boldly and proclaim the Gospel. Proclaim the Good News of the Resurrection.” He then breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Even though he will not be with them physically, he is giving them what they need for this work. The Holy Spirit to be his ongoing presence. The Holy Spirit to be an ongoing source of strength, inspiration, and encouragement.

 

By the time Thomas returns later that evening, the disciples are transformed. Energized for the work they have been commissioned to do. The circumstances have not changed. There are still a lot of unknowns as to what needs to be done. There is still the threat to their very lives. This is still very much an in-between time for them. They are no longer who they were, and they have no clear idea of who they will become. All they know is that they have been commissioned to carry on Jesus’ work. And they have been assured that they are not alone. They know they have Christ, through the Spirit, with them. And even in the midst of the uncertainties, the unknowns, and the accompanying fears, this is enough. They excitedly tell Thomas what has happened, seeking to bring him up to speed and on board. “We have seen the Lord.”

 

Thomas isn’t so sure about this. Sounds too fantastical. They are surely delusional in their grief. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the marks of the nails and my hands in his side, I will not believe.” And lest we be too hard on Thomas, we need to remember that he is right where they were just a few hours before. When Jesus initially appeared to the ten disciples, saying “Peace be with you,” they too were uncertain. He had to show them his hands and his side. Only then were they able to recognize him and to rejoice. Thomas is only asking for what they have already received. Nothing more and nothing less.

 

In this story, we have traditionally focused on Thomas having doubts, implying a lack of faith. As if he is not willing to believe, as if in an intrenched state. But doubting does not mean an unwillingness to believe. It does not equate to a lack of faith. Doubt is merely questioning or uncertainty about a belief. Implying a more fluid state, with the possibility of moving from unbelief to belief as more is revealed. Faith is the openness to possibilities and the willingness to work through the unbelief. Even in expressing doubt, Thomas also demonstrates faith. Demonstrates that he is open to the possibility that Jesus might indeed be resurrected. In fact, that he welcomes the possibility. It’s just that he needed a little more to go on.

 

Which is precisely what happens when, a week after the Resurrection, the Risen Christ comes to Thomas. “Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Jesus meets Thomas where he is at, in his doubts, in his uncertainty, in his need for more to go on. He addresses Thomas’ concerns, expressed to his fellow disciples the week before, point by point. Seeking to give Thomas what he needs to help him move to a place of belief and acceptance. Which is what happens. Without even having to put his fingers in Jesus’ wounds, without having to put his hands in Jesus’ side, Thomas is able to proclaim, “My Lord and my God!” The mere offer was enough.

 

Rather than being a story about Thomas having doubts about Jesus’ Resurrection, this is really a story about Thomas demonstrating faith, about him being open to possibilities. About being willing to change his mind and his heart to accept and to live into those possibilities, no matter how far-fetched they may have initially seemed. It is a story of Jesus coming to Thomas in his time of doubt, in his time of questioning, giving him precisely what he needed to shift his perspective. And it is a story of Jesus coming to his disciples in their time of questioning, in the uncertainty, in the unknown, of what would become of them, of what they were to do. Giving them the Holy Spirit as an ongoing presence and guide in their lives and ministry. Giving them what they needed to begin to answer the questions, to face the uncertainty, and to explore the unknown. This is what Thomas needed. This was what the other ten disciples needed. And isn’t that what we all need at one time or another in our own faith journeys?

 

What happened in the accounts of the Resurrected Christ coming to the ten disciples and to Thomas was to help them live into the Resurrection themselves. Breathing on them and giving them the Holy Spirit. Just as God breathed life into the first human at the beginning of Creation, so was new life being breathed into the disciples, so they might live a new life empowered by the Resurrected One. In which they were able to move from a place of inward-looking fear to outward-looking possibilities. Willing to step into the in-between time that would be the formation of the Jesus Movement. Laying the foundation for the Church that we know today. A Church that 2,000 years later is still questioning, exploring, and seeking possibilities of how we as individuals, and how we as faith communities, might more fully live into Christ’s commission, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” How we might more fully live into the Resurrection in our lives and ministries. As, our Collect for the Day invites us: “that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith.”

 

Just as the Risen Christ came to Thomas, giving him what he needed to navigate the in-between time he found himself in, just as the Risen Christ commissioned the disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit to help them navigate the in-between time they faced, so too will the Risen Christ meet us where we are in this in-between time called Sabbatical. Providing us what we need, individually and collectively, so that at the end of this Sabbatical time, we will emerge, formed into who God wants and needs us to be in the time that follows.

 

May we all, as was Thomas, be open to possibilities and to receiving whatever Christ offers, as we step into this in-between time.

 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia!