Easter 2 sermon

Here we are, the Sunday AFTER Easter. Often called Low Sunday because attendance is lower than last week, the height of the celebration is over, the preacher is usually still a bit tired after last week…

So, with lower attendance and lower energy, what a great time to bring out someone we all know about, someone we don’t necessarily like. Someone who seems to confuse us. Doubting Thomas.

So here’s my question for you this week – have you ever been a Doubting Thomas? Have you ever questioned your faith?

I expect that you have. I expect that somewhere along your faith journey, you have had questions, and queries, and doubts. And perhaps you turned away from the church or even from Christ for a while because of these. Maybe you had these questions and queries and doubts before you wanted to fully give yourself over to being a Christian. Maybe something happened that caused you such grief that you found yourself uncertain. Maybe the logical and rational parts of our brains gave us hesitation about the un-proveable promises that God makes us.

Whenever it was, whatever the circumstances, we’ve all been there. I’d bet we’ve all had a moment, at some point in our lives, where we were a Doubting Thomas. There have been times where the person standing in front of you know was a Doubting Laura Marie.

So when you were the Doubting Thomas, what happened? How did you return to God? How did you set foot in the door of the church again? What was it that made a difference for you, so much so that your faith could be restored?

For me, there was always someone else. Sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle. Sometimes someone I knew well, other times a stranger. But there was always someone – I was never alone in my journey, on my way to belief.

And that is what we celebrate today – the community that we belong to.
We are Christians – Christ followers. Because we believe in God, we try to follow his commandments for us – to love God with all that we are and all that we have; and to love our neighbours as ourselves. We’re assured that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets – that is to say, that everything else is dependent on these two rules.

So it would be impossible for us to try and journey along without others from the community. It would be impractical for us to try and be on this route as alone.
We, as Christians, simply cannot be without community. We cannot be SBNRs – (people who identify themselves as “Spiritual But Not Religious”) – because SBNRs don’t gather in community. They try to muddle through their spiritual journey without any help. They have no one to turn to when they have their own Doubting Thomas moments.

The community is important. Our Christian community is there for us, in the good times and in the bad. The community is our strength, our support, our opportunity to give support. It’s our extended family; it’s people that we love, people that we sometimes inadvertently hurt, people who forgive us without our even asking for that forgiveness. It’s the group of people that we surround ourselves with that give us what we need, when we need it. The community are those people that are journeying with us; alongside us, sometimes in front of us to guide, sometimes behind us to be led. But always together.

One of the best things about being part of a Christian community, and celebrating that reality, is knowing that anywhere we are, at any time, in any language, we can join in with any Christian community – and be equally welcomed. And supported, and cared for, and ministered to, and celebrated like a long-lost relative. The Christian community is profound in how it is lived out.

And the community will give us one other very particular thing. It will give us exactly what we need, when we need to have our faith strengthened. When we are having those Doubting Thomas moments, someone from the community will show us some proof of God’s love and grace, some glimpse of the Kingdom. It will be unique, we may not want to see it, we not be ready to see it just at that moment, but God will provide it for us. God gives us what we need for our faith to continue and grow; and God often gives us these things through our community.

Thomas had doubts. He wanted to see the risen Christ in the same way that his friends had. And so, in that community, his need was met – and what a great response – “My Lord and my God!” And his faith was restored.

The sense of community is so powerful in the readings that we have today, that we see extreme examples of living together. The Apostles determined that the best way for them to support one another was to live together and not have common goods, making sure that whoever had need was provided for. This lifestyle is still carried out from time to time in monasteries and convents; there are also less extreme houses where people choose to live in intentional community, sharing space and some belongings while maintaining some personal effects.

The Psalm acknowledges the goodness when community exists in harmony.

We are strengthened in our faith by our involvement in our community. When we share our joys, our struggles, our delight in the Lord – we are sharing the faith, and giving God an opportunity to work through us to give what is needed to whoever is needing it. The letter to John is a declaration of faith – and who knows how many people it has supported in it’s time – who knows how many Doubting Thomases there were that needed to hear those words to bring them back to the light.

Who knows how many Doubting Thomases are among us now who have need to hear the Good News of God. But they are there – and they do need a sign. These signs will, I am certain, come from the community. From us. From our willingness to be boldly Christian as we enter the world, going about our daily lives. God will use as when and how God needs to use us, when we’ll allow it. It may not be what we need, but it will be what God knows needs to be done for another of God’s children.

After all – we’re told that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book” – and God is still working His signs through us. These are written in the book, and in our hearts, and in our community – so that we might all pass through our Doubting Thomas moments, to return to the faith with renewed vigour, to proclaim in our hearts “My Lord and my God.”