I made the point last week that poor ole doubting Thomas should not be singled out as the only disciple who had doubts about this new “resurrected” reality. Here is the rest of the story – as Paul Harvey would say – to vindicate Thomas. Verse 41 of today’s text clearly makes the point. “While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering…” The point I tried to make last week is that each one of us needs an encounter with the Risen Lord before faith can truly take shape. We saw that happen very vividly last week in Thomas’ life. Now we see it being played out again in this text. To the rest of his disciples Jesus says, “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
I think this week, I want to look a little more closely at the importance of personal encounters and what that means to our lives of faith. I will restate the issue: faith begins with God. It has to begin with God. Without God’s amazing gift of faith we would be unable to believe. Faith is not a matter of effort. We cannot say, “if I just try a little harder, or study a little more, then I will be able to believe.” Faith is a divine gift, freely given to us even though we do not deserve it.
I want to clarify what we are talking about as well. The kind of faith I am describing here is not simply an expanded version of something we already have. This is not a “faith upgrade.” It is not like we are born with faith version 1.0 preinstalled in our hearts and all God has to do is insert faith version 7.0 to make us more complete. An encounter with God is like getting a whole new hard drive! Nor is it like we are somehow born with a “seed of faith” and God simply puts fertilizer to it, thereby making it grow. It is not like that at all. The very “seed of faith” itself is, in fact, planted by God. The growth of that seed is what happens as we mature into the faith God has planted. Neither is faith like some dormant thing that God simply has to wake up. Nor is it like being born with poor “faith vision”, and God simply puts on corrective faith lenses, which enable us to see more clearly. It would be more accurate to say that we are born with no vision at all and God’s work is to give us eyes to see.
The faith that we experience when we have an encounter with the risen Lord is a brand new thing – a new sensation. It is a glorious work of God. So, we have to be careful so that we understand the very origin of our faith. It is purely and completely a gift from God.
In this story, we see the beginning of real faith. It is a gift to the disciples given by the risen Christ. And we can clearly see that faith for the disciples begins with a very real encounter with Jesus. The encounter was essential in order that the disciples be empowered with a real and living faith. The very fact that Jesus came back to reassure the disciples is comforting news to all of us who may still be languishing in disbelief. Jesus does not give up on us just because we may need a little extra encouragement. The encounter is just the beginning of a life of faith – just the beginning of an entire life of discoveries. But it begins with an encounter with the living God.
We often talk about faith as being a journey or a process. It is never complete, not is it ever perfect – at least the way humans go about doing it! And, if it is a process, then there must be growth and work that accompany it – not work in the sense that we work for our salvation, but work in the sense that we try to faithfully discover more about God. Once we have had that encounter with God, our lives should be marked by continual renewal as we try to learn the ways of God, through prayer and reflection…AND through the study of God’s written word.
So along with the very seed of faith itself, an encounter with the living God gives us spiritual tools that we need to discover even more about God. It is clear in this text that this is exactly what happened to the disciples. They had this encounter that gave them a whole new understanding of the scriptures. Verse 44: Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." So God’s appearance to us also serves to open our hearts to the whole breadth of faith as we see it played out in scripture.
Now, scripture is kind of a funny thing. And it is interesting how many different ways people can understand it. To some it is a loose and problematic history book. To some it is a collection of fictional tales told by a people in search of its own identity. To some it is an artistic collection of poetry and songs. To some it is a blunt instrument to bash people over the head. And, to some it is simply unimportant.
But… to those who have had an encounter with the risen Lord…it is the very word of God. It ceases to be simply a book, and becomes a lens through which Christ is seen. As the prolog to the Gospel of John states: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. You see, Holy Scripture witnesses to a God – and a Christ – who has been present in the world since its very creation. So, what John says about Christ lets us know that even from the very beginning, Christ was present and participated in the Creation of the world. This helps us understand the triune God even more; that the Christ who was raised from the dead is also the Christ who “formed us from the dust of the earth.” So, from its opening pages to its closing benediction, scripture reveals the presence of our Lord.
In scripture, we are given a glimpse of Christ, but without the encounter with Christ, all we see are words on a page. But with Christ, the eyes of our hearts and minds are given sight. As this morning’s text says in verse 45, “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.”
But simply understanding scripture is not enough. In this story we also find out that an encounter with the risen Lord calls us to be a different people – a people who are called out beyond ourselves. What we discover in scripture is a mandate for a new life guided by God’s purposes. The fact that we are witnesses to the risen Christ carries with it great responsibility. Christ is the light of the world. It is therefore our missional role as God’s people to spread the good news of what we have seen and heard.
Initially, the disciples huddled in the upper room after the crucifixion, hoping to avoid the world that had been so cruel to Jesus. They did not know what was next – if anything. I imagine they hoped to blend back into their previous lives with very little fanfare.
But that all changed after their encounter with the risen Christ. Now the faith that encountered them, and enlightened them, was compelling them to go into the world that had just rejected them. This radical message of repentance and forgiveness must be told. This secret could no longer be contained. This encounter essentially gave them their marching orders.
So, as we wrestle with our faith today, this brief passage contains some essential guidance for us. It begins with an encounter with the risen Lord. Like the passage, faith finds us where we are. And for each of us it will be different. It may be a blinding experience like Paul’s Damascus Road. Or it may be a gradual and sustained presence. For each of us, faith’s encounter will vary. But God is the author of each and every one of our faith experiences.
Once we have felt God’s presence in our lives, it is essential that we seek understanding. How are we to know God? We seek God in the very word that has been revealed to us. And with the Spirit’s help, we become more and more the people God created us to be.
What then are we to do? Even though we are called a community of faith, our focus should never be primarily on ourselves. We gather together to be nurtured and nourished, but always for the purpose of serving the world.
That leads me to one last observation. When Jesus came to the disciples, one of the first things he did was to have a meal with them. There was a real sense of physical and spiritual nourishment within that small community of believers. They gathered around a table to break bread together in the presence of Christ. He was literally present with them at that moment. That meal was not just about filling their tummies. That meal was about preparing them for the mission that lay before them.
Now, as we gather together in the name of Christ, we too assemble around a table. We too, claim the presence of Christ in this place when we break bread together. We are fed and nourished and empowered for the task of mission.
It really is all about the encounter with Christ – in our personal lives and in this place. We are made new people with a story to tell, and people to touch. I pray that the story of your own encounter will continue to resound from this place and echo into the world. That is where we are called to tell it. I also pray that all of us here will seek to further our understanding of God’s calling; that we will seek to nurture and nourish each other as we journey together.
This story witnesses to the power and the presence of Christ in the life of the church. As the service of worship comes to a close, it means that it is time to take Christ with us into our everyday lives. I hope the people we encounter this week will know that we have been in the presence of Christ. But that is where it counts. Amen
Scripture is quoted from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
