2 Easter

May 1, 2011


John 20.19-31

+ Some of you received an email from me last night asking your support. I asked your support to stand up and protest the increasingly rampant anti-Muslim sentiments going in our country, especially over these last several weeks, which have included the burning of the Muslim holy book, the Koran. I sent off the email with a petition that, since Jesus called us to love our neighbor as ourselves, we too, as Christians, need to stand up and say that it is not all right that people, calling themselves Christians and claiming to speak for us as Christians, are committing such acts.

I am shocked and amazed—not to mention appalled, as I said—when I hear such things. The fact is, faith in God is difficult. We all know how difficult it can be. We all struggle with it. We all struggle with doubt. We all struggle in our attempt to do right.

Which is why, I guess, it bugs me so much to hear about anti-Muslim sentiments. I am not, at any point, saying we need to accept Islam. But we do need to respect it, just as we respect any other religion that is not our own.

We should respect other religions because we should be able to recognize that they, just like us, are struggling as well. They, just like us, are dealing with issues of doubt and uncertainly and, the majority of these others religions, just like us, are striving to do right in the way they see right.

To be burning Korans and calling anyone who happens to be a Muslim a terrorist is appalling. And, it is un-Christian. This is not what Jesus called us to do. This is not what a follower of Jesus should be doing.

Whatever Muslims have done to Christians elsewhere—and yes, I am fully aware of what they have done—our job as Christians is not fight to deny them their rights as Americans. And I can tell you that is definitely not our job as followers of Jesus to be burning their sacred books, whether we believe in what those books say or not.

Our job, as Christians, as fellow seekers after God, is to love them. That’s all. That’s Jesus has ever told us to do. And that’s all we should be doing.

Yes, we struggle with these issues of belief in our lives. Let’s face it, we don’t get the opportunities that Thomas had in this morning’s Gospel.

Doubting Thomas, as we’ve come to know him, refused to believe that Jesus was resurrected until he had put his fingers in the wounds of Jesus. It wasn’t enough that Jesus actually appeared to him in the flesh—Jesus, was no ghost after all. He stood there in the flesh—wounds and all. Only when he had placed his finger in the wounds, would he believe.

In Rome, you can actually go and see what is believed to be Thomas’ incorrupt finger. This finger that touched Jesus in such a way is now supposedly perfectly preserved, in a glass case in the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. It’s interesting to see and it’s interesting to hear this story of Doubting Thomas.

But, the fact is, for the rest of us, we don’t get it so easy. Jesus is probably not going to appear before us—in the flesh. At least, not on this side of the Veil—not while we are still alive. And we are not going to have the opportunity to touch the wounds of Jesus.

Let’s face it, to believe without seeing, is not easy. It takes work and discipline. Look at us this morning. More likely than not, we can all think of at least one or two things we’d rather be doing this Sunday morning than being in church. We could sleep in. We could have a nice long breakfast with out families. We could be reading the newspaper. We could watch TV while lounging on the couch, or we could be sitting at the computer.

But instead, we made the choice to come to church. We made a choice to come here this morning, and worship a God we cannot see, not touch. A strong relationship to God takes work—just as any other relationship in our life takes work. It takes discipline. It takes concentrated effort.

And I am sure that our Muslim sisters and brothers—and yes, they are our brothers and sister, as fellow human beings and as children of the patriarch Abraham—would tell us as well, faith of God is hard. It does take discipline and it does take concentrated effort.

Being a believer in God does not just involve being nice on occasion and smiling. It means living one’s life fully and completely as a believer. And being a Christian is even more refined. As Christians we are committed to follow Jesus. And more than just that, we are also called essentially to be the Presence of Christ in this world. It means being a reflection of Christ’s love and goodness in the world. The key words here are “love” and “goodness.”

More often than not, especially in the theology classes I teach, I will be asked: So what does one have to do to be a Christian? And I always say: “Jesus said, Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” And the response to that is usually, “Well, that sounds easy enough.”

The fact is, it isn’t that easy. It isn’t easy at all. Loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves isn’t easy at all. Loving a God who is not visible—who is not standing before us, in flesh and blood, is not easy.

And I’m sure I don’t have to tell anyone here this morning: loving our neighbors—those people who share our world with us—as ourselves, is not easy by any means.

At no point does out “neighbor” mean just our Christian neighbor. Our neighbor is everyone we share this life with . And to love these people is hard. It is REALLY hard. It takes constant work to love. It takes constant discipline to love as Jesus loved. It takes constant work to love ourselves—and most of us don’t love ourselves—and it takes constant work to love others.

But look at the benefits. Look at what our world would be like if we loved God, if we loved ourselves and loved others as ourselves. It was be ideal. It would truly be the Kingdom of God, here on earth. It would be exactly what Jesus told us it would be like.

But to do this—to bring this about—to love God, to love ourselves, to love each other, is hard work. Some would say it’s impossible work. Certainly, it seems overwhelming. It seems too much for us to even consider in times when the world seems out of control, when hatred and violence seem to reign supreme.

It is difficult to be the conduit of the Light and Presence—the love and goodness—of Christ when others are shouting in hatred in the same name of Jesus. It seems impossible when we realize that what we are asked to do is love and serve even those other Christians who are acting so un-Christian.

This morning, in Rome, Pope John Paul II was beatified, the final step—and a big one—before he is canonized and made a saint. A lot of more progressively minded people condemned Bl. John Paul the Great in his life—and sometimes for good reason. But despite his views on some areas, he did say this in regard to Islam:

"For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness from the Almighty and to offer each other forgiveness.”

On a visit to Syria, he even kissed the Koran.

I think this is what we are called to do as the Presence of Christ in this world. Not necessarily kiss the Koran,. but to respect the worth and dignity of all people and their religions and to recognize in them that they too are strivers after God, they too are strugglers in their relationship with God and that the God we are all striving after is the same God who, for us, remains cloaked and invisible.

Now, for Thomas, he saw. He touched. It was all clear to him. But we don’t get that chance.

“Blessed are those who believe but don’t see,” Jesus says this morning.

We are those blessed ones. All of us. Christians. Muslims. Jews. And people who don’t fit into any of those religions but who are still seeking and striving after God. We are the ones Jesus is speaking of in this morning’s Gospel. Blessed are you all. You believe, but don’t see.

Seen or unseen, we know God is there. And our faith is not based on seeing God here. Because we have faith that one day, yes, we will see God. Because Jesus was resurrected, we too will die and be resurrected. We too will live a life of unending perfect sight in God’s presence. We will, on that glorious day, run to God and see God face to face. And in that moment, our faith will be fulfilled.

Blessed are we who believe but don’t see now. The Kingdom of Heaven is truly ours.