Prove it!

John 20.19-31
"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." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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."
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." 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." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 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."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 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."

Happy Easter! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Yes, it is still Easter in the church, even though all the stores have slashed prices on anything resembling Easter and perhaps you have begun putting away all the Easter baskets, getting ready to get rid of all the uneaten candy, otherwise you will eat it all! On the very first Sunday after we celebrate Easter day we hear about “Doubting Thomas,” making us take inventory of what we believe… our own faith and what proof we need.

Living in the world today, with all its hurts and sorrows, it is easy not to believe, or at least to question the existence of God, to have doubt. This piece written on the front of your bulletin read as it is written is a statement of doubt and disbelief written by David Lose, a professor at Luther Seminary. Let’s read it together, to the break:

Easter is coming But for many of us, this is not the ultimate reality There is too much pain and suffering in the world today Death has the last word It would therefore be foolish to say that The life and death of a first-century Jew named Jesus makes a difference Why? Might makes right Power is superior to compassion and Despair is stronger than hope So I refuse to believe A man can come back from the dead Sometimes the most important facts are the hardest to accept Resurrection is a false hope How can you say An empty tomb changes everything Don’t you see “God loves the world” Is a lie “Money is God” And “The one who dies with the most toys wins” I will tell you what I tell my children There is no more to this world than what you can see, hold, and buy There is no mystery in everyday life, and There is nothing sacred about ordinary things and people Many of us simply do not believe that God can give life to the dead, bring light from darkness, and create something out of nothing

Might makes right. Power is superior to compassion. Despair is stronger than hope. What do you believe to be true? Can God give life to the dead? Can you PROVE IT? Is it important to PROVE it?

"Contact," a 1997 science fiction film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name, rivals science against religion. Jodie Foster portrays the scientist, Dr. Eleanor (Ellie) Arroway, a woman who struggles in her journey of faith, as a young girl she loses her mom and then her father, and now as a scientist looks only for proof, the facts, the scientific reality. In this clip she is speaking with Matthew McConaughey who gives voice to religion, to faith as Palmer Joss, author of the book Losing Faith, he portrays a non-ordained pastor who speaks about belief and the existence of God. He challenges Ellie’s reason for her struggles- her perspective on faith, belief and God, and the proof that is required, or not required. Let’s listen in as Ellie arrives at a party and finds Palmer- as she is challenged to think about her perspective on God, belief and proof.

MOVIE CLIP #21 Requiring Proof (1.12.35-1.14.53)

Ironically the thing that people are the most hungry for- meaning- is the one thing that science has not been able give them…. What if science simply revealed that God never existed in the first place…. What is more likely: that an all powerful mysterious God created the universe and then decided to not to give any proof of his existence OR That he simply does not exist at all but we created him simply so that we do not feel all alone…. PROOF--what would the “simplest explanation” be?

Proof- is what Thomas needs this day- and he asks for it. Thomas literally missed Easter. He was absent when the risen Christ first appeared to the disciples and… because Thomas did not see the resurrected Christ for himself, he would not, could not believe that Christ was raised from the dead. He needed to be in the presence of the risen Christ in order to experience Easter. To see it for himself.
As a scientist in my previous career and now a pastor serving here what continues to surprise me is not Thomas’ doubt- for we all carry a bit of that around. Nor does it surprise me that Christ is willing to prove himself to the doubting disciple. What does surprise me is the evidence for belief that the risen Christ offers. I’m stunned by the way Jesus showed them his hands and his side. I’m shaken by his invitation to touch the wounds. I am shocked by his scars. I can deal with doubt, but these ugly marks of human suffering on the body of the risen Christ overwhelm me.

There are times that I wish I had a different story, times when I would prefer a resurrection in which the power of God massaged away those ghastly reminders of human suffering and pain. I would prefer a Christ whose divinity overrules his humanity- a spiritual being that is not wounded the way that I am- the way that Ellie is… the way that you are.

What about you? Wouldn’t it seem better if the risen Christ were a divine Superhero- faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Coming to earth disguised as Clark Kent- fighting the never-ending battle for truth and justice- and winning- always winning- never a bruise on his body… or, using a more current image- to be the divine avatar who enters another world to save its inhabitants from destruction.

That may be the Christ I want- but the Christ I get- the Christ we get- in the gospel is recognized by his scars- his wounds. And it is by his scars- and ours that we come to know him- to experience him more deeply.

Scars. Here at Our Savior’s we are experiencing “scars” in life- we are a wounded and hurting body- three funerals in the last two weeks, others struggling with terminal illness, with disease, distress, despair, uncertainties, broken relationships and promises- life and death questions becoming real- it is here that we descend into the valley of the shadow of death, and it is here that we cling to the promise, claiming the promise of a God who in Christ descended into hell, we face the dark and uncertain places in our lives with the assurance that we have no superhuman High Priest, for Jesus himself has fully shared in all our experiences, the proof is in his wounded hands and side.

Those shocking scars were enough for Thomas on that first Easter evening, they were enough for him to overcome his doubt and fear and to awaken his faith, to change his perspective, saying, proclaiming, professing, believing: My Lord and my God. Are they enough for those who have not seen and yet have come to believe? Jesus says- blessed are they…

Perhaps Christ’s invitation to Thomas to touch the scars on his body is the invitation to each of us to experience the presence of Christ by touching the scars in our own lives, experiencing them, facing them, touching them- embracing them. In the movie- Ellie makes “contact” with another world… I’m not going to give the whole thing away, but she touches a hurt, a scar from her past, and in doing so her perspective is changed… changed from doubt to faith. Let’s listen in on her testimony:

MOVIE CLIP #39 Not Alone (02.13.04-02.15.58)

No evidence… only a story… we should just take this all on faith?- asks the judge. Have you experienced Easter? Or do you still need more proof to believe? To have faith?

(Rolf Jacobson says) Faith, part trust, part knowledge, part following, faith can’t be reduced to a few steps; it is a way of life, the walk of a lifetime, one day at a time, through good times, through bad times. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could produce and improve faith in the same way that scientific research produces and improves just about everything else? You know: ask a questions, develop a hypothesis, draft a procedure, conduct experiments, arrive at conclusions. Faith is about the stuff in life that you can’t measure with a dipstick, test with a thermometer, or see through a microscope.
Today we come to the Lord’s Table- First Communion for many of our young people, we come with open hearts and a belief, a faith that God will meet us there, a place where we will be invited to touch and taste his presence in the bread and wine, and there we will receive forgiveness and peace.

But what if the testimony of the women at the tomb was true? Then…

Then… that changes everything.

Faith, a perspective, perhaps a changed perspective, and sometimes it is perspective that makes all the difference. Let’s go back to the front of your bulletin again, for a changed perspective, follow along from the end as I read as we view this UTUBE video of this statement of doubt and belief:

God can give life to the dead, bring light from darkness, and create something out of nothing/ Many of us simply do not believe that/ There is nothing sacred about ordinary things and people/ There is no mystery in everyday life, and/ There is no more to this world than what you can see, hold, and buy/ I will tell you what I tell my children/ “The one who dies with the most toys wins”/ And/ “Money is God”/ Is a lie/ “God loves the world”/ Don’t you see/ An empty tomb changes everything/ How can you say/ Resurrection is a false hope/ Sometimes the most important facts are the hardest to accept/ A man can come back from the dead/ So I refuse to believe/ Despair is stronger than hope/ Power is superior to compassion and/ Might makes right/ Why/ The life and death of a first-century Jew named Jesus makes a difference/ It would therefore be foolish to say that/ Death has the last word/ There is too much pain and suffering in the world today/ But for many of us, this is not the ultimate reality/Easter is coming…It is here - Christ is risen- he is risen indeed- alleluia! Amen