The scripture reading this morning comes from John – Chapter 20, Verses 19-31 – this reading picks up where we left off last week. Jesus has been crucified and laid in the tomb. Mary Magdalene returned to discover the tomb empty. She ran to get Simon Peter - they returned and assumed that Jesus’ body had been moved…Mary in her distressed state stoops to look in the tomb again and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had laid. From behind, Jesus – now risen from the dead – asks her why she is weeping – Mary does not recognize this is Jesus, instead she assumes that he is a gardener and the one responsible for moving the body..she asks where Jesus has been taken?…it is not until Jesus shouts out Mary’s name ….that the truth of the moment is revealed - that Jesus has risen from the dead.

Now believing in the resurrection, Mary is sent to tell the disciples of the good news. Shortly thereafter Jesus appears before the disciples at a gathering they were having saying "Peace be with you. As the father has sent me, even so I send you." This was obviously quite a remarkable moment for them…unfortunately someone missed the party

Missing from the gathering was Thomas - known as the twin – he arrives later and is told by the disciples what has occurred. He refuses to believe. He says, "Unless I see in my hands the prints of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nail, and place my hand in his side, I WILL NOT BELIEVE.

As I read the actual scripture this morning, I invite you to consider the phrase – that we have all used before - SEEING IS BELIEVING- , and more importantly, consider how much of your life is built upon the need to see to believe. And, how you might (how we might) have it backward.

The scripture reads as follows:

Reread last line: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.

Doubting Thomas

Commentary:

When I first entered the field of education I learned about something called the Pygmalion Effect…In 1968, Robert Rosenthal, a Harvard University professor, and Leonore Jacobson, a principal of an elementary school, conducted an experiment. They gave an intelligence test to all the students at the beginning of the school year. Then, they randomly selected 20% of the students (without any relation to the test results) and reported to the teachers (told the teachers) that these 20% of students were showing unusual potential for intellectual growth and could be expected (let me rephrased that - could be BELIEVED) to bloom in their academic performance by the end of the school year. Ten months later, the students were retested. Those students labeled as intelligent children (the students the teachers believed in – the ones they believed were special) had higher test scores then the rest of the students. Think about that for a moment…the teachers’ beliefs (expectations) regarding the potential of these allegedly "special" children had led to an ACTUAL change ( a measurable change) in the performance. These were not the brightest students – but they believed it – and it changed the outcome.

Now play along with me here…

As a group, let’s consider an alternate version of the experiment. What if we all attended the St John’s Reformed Preparatory School. And, what if we were all tested at the beginning of the year to determine our level of Christianity? A sort of Christianity meter… And what if God randomly selected 20% of our congregation (without any relation to the test results) and He told the teachers (Pastor Ryan, Desiree and others) that this group of congregants…is showing an unusual potential for spiritual growth and we could expect them to bloom in their Christianity by the end of this year…If we believe in the Pygmalion effect – and I do – we could expect that our random group of congregants would be off the Christianity Meter by the end of the school year.

My point in taking you through this thought exercise is that WHAT WE DON’T SEE. WHAT WE CAN’T TOUCH (GOD’s EXPECTATIONS AND BELIEFS – OUR EXPECTATIONS AND BELIEFS) are what can make all the difference to our lives as Christians. It STARTS with BELIEVING and it ENDS with seeing. Thomas needed to see to believe. He had it all backwards he needed to see to believe. How many of us have it backwards?

We all have our moments when we become a Doubting Thomas…when we get it backwards. When Trisha and I lost our second child…you can bet I became a Doubting Thomas. I needed to SEE God save our son.. Well..it didn’t happen. In that hospital room I literally stopped believing.....he wasn’t there…there was no making sense of this senseless event..in that moment…there was no making sense of the senseless event…and yet somehow things changed..I can’t tell you when or how for that matter – but I began to see the world differently..all things differently..I looked at Benjamin (and now Matthew).. through new eyes. Through the eyes of a person (a father) who now understands the precious gift of life far better than before.

A father whose belief is stronger than ever. You see I think I figured it out…it wasn’t a matter of seeing what I wanted to see (my son saved)..it was a matter of believing that God had a plan and that this was part of the plan for me and for my family…I believe God loves us all and that there is a plan for us all…believe it and you will see it.

After Sermon Prayer

Let us pray…Dear God...we all have our moments as Doubting Thomas’. We all have times when we feel we need to see to believe. Please give us the strength to recognize that we might have it backwards. We need to believe to see the hand of God at work in our lives and the world…He believes in us…and through our belief in him…we will be renewed - better Christians tomorrow than we are today..… Please help us to remember your words…Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. In Jesus’s name we pray…Amen.