Jesus meets Fear, Anxiety, and Doubt
John 20:19 – 21:1 9 ¶ When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 ¶ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.” 26 ¶ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30 ¶ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. -NRSV Bibleworks
Fear…It’s all around us. It’s on our TVs and on our radios and in our
neighborhoods and sadly, it creeps through the backdoors of our churches.
Fear!
What are some of the things we fear? After 9-11, we fear the Terrorists, stock market crashes, recession, maybe losing our jobs, spouse or homes. Some of these fears are normal but our culture feeds on this fear. There is a book by Geraldo Riviera called His Panic: Why Americans fear Hispanics in the U.S. The fear of illegal immigration-some fear the immigrants are bringing in crime or taking their jobs. These fears are the result of propaganda and stereotyping. It’s racism and it is totally against the gospel of Christ. Politicians try to get elected by pushing fear. TV and radio talk shows make a lot of money out of fear. Barry Glasner in his book Culture of Fear says that a majority of Americans are afraid of the wrong things. It is no wonder that T. Bone Burnett of the “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou” movie fame wrote a song called Fear Country. Our culture is in bondage to fear. There are some things that we should be afraid or stay clear from but living in a state of constant fear is not healthy and dangerous to your faith.
Anxiety! Have you ever been anxious about something? The check that you need to cover bills has not come in the mail yet. What about that Job promotion that you were promised? My wife Shelia and I are in a transition this year. Her workplace Concordia University is moving to a new location and I am waiting for my first call to a church somewhere in Southwest Texas. Anxieties and yeah it can make one be fearful.
You can’t get rid of anxiety! Anxiety will come because Change is constant and anxieties will come. However, Anxiety is a dangerous feeling that can make one literally sick even to a point of seeking professional mental health.
Doubt! Well you don’t want to be gullible and believe everything. Testing is a good thing but there is something wrong with always being a doubter. A person that does not want to change because they doubt anything good can happen. This kind of thinking was popular in Jesus’ day with some of the religious leaders saying, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” You doubt that people could ever change or tell the truth. Worse, you doubt yourself. You give up. All hope is lost. It’s normal for us to have doubts but a Christian is not buried there. He or she is buried in baptism. -in the crucified risen Jesus!
You are probably wondering what is all this talk about fear, anxiety, and doubt on the Second Sunday of Easter? In Today’s gospel lesson, the disciples are hiding behind the door of a house locked in fear. The political and religious authorities have crucified Jesus and they feared them. Rome was a very powerful force that used fear and force to get things done. The disciples were afraid for the whole community and they feared that they would be the next victims just like Jesus. You can imagine the fear, the anxiety and yes the doubt of all of the disciples. I know this is considered on the church calendar sometimes as St. Thomas the doubter Sunday but Thomas was not the only doubter. Thomas has been given a bad name because if you remember before this narrative, Mary told the disciples the good news that she has seen the Lord and here they are locked behind a door in fear, anxiety, and doubt.
Jesus comes through the door and gives them the passing of the peace. He doesn’t do it like a lot of us Lutherans do-just to our neighbor to the right or left-or maybe to our spouse. No! He gives them the full hands outstretch and shows them his pierced hands and side. They were not even asking for that because they were in fear and had lost all hope. Then Jesus said Peace be to you and gave them a charge. Jesus them on a mission from his Abba-Father God. We as a church have been given the peace and sent on a mission. Jesus says, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. This is a foreshadowing of Pentecost and the empowering of the Church. The community of faith has the power of the Holy Spirit with you in mission to your community and the world. Jesus tells the disciples and to us disciples today what the mission of our community is to the world. The Peace of Christ’s presence, God’s shalom, God’s forgiveness given for the world. In the word spoken, in the waters of baptism and in the bread and wine-the crucified risen body and blood of Christ is for you. Yes, we are to spread forgiveness not fear, anxiety and doubt. We are to be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters on all borders without fear!
Thomas did not believe what the other disciples told him. He wanted proof. Like I said before don’t be so hard on Thomas. All of us are doubters at heart and sometimes faith requires a doubt. Madeline L’Engle has a great story about a teacher who was doing a seminar with high school seniors when all of a sudden a question was asked by a brilliant young lady from Harlem: “Mrs Franklin, do you really truly believe in God with no doubts at all?” “Oh, Una, I really and truly believe in God with all kinds of doubts… But I base my life on this belief.”
There is a big difference between healthy doubt and skeptical unbelief. Doubt can lead us to seek the truth whereas skeptical unbelief is the attitude of refusing to see the truth and not wanting to know it. So God who only can give us this faith is there with us when we cry, “Lord, help my unbelief!” Doubt in the case of Thomas led him to the risen Christ pierced hands and side. Jesus gave Thomas the peace and invited him to see and believe. Jesus did not condemn Thomas because he was in doubt. Jesus did not condemn the disciples who were in fear and anxiety. Jesus offered himself as a gift.
Theologian Paul Tillich talked a lot about faith as being one’s ultimate concern meaning that one’s whole being is given fully to God. This is trust and relationship with Diosito-God is always with and taking care of us. Tillich believed that sometimes faith requires a doubt but you don’t have to stay that way. He described grace in the words of “You are accepted”! God in Jesus is saying you are accepted for Christ sake alone and not because of your works and in spite of your fears, anxieties, doubts and sins! You are accepted! Jesus is saying, “Peace be unto you!” Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed amen.
