(John 20:19-31)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked in fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the father has sent me, I am sending you.”  This is how today’s scripture begins. Jesus is bringing peace to bunch of scared disciples. Can you imagine the storm in their minds and hearts? Some of them betrayed Jesus, most of them left him alone when he needed them the most and on top of all this Mary and the other women told them, they had seen the Lord, which his body they thought has been stolen. What they needed in that moment was peace and that is exactly what Jesus gave them. Peace that came with his presence, and after that, he sent them as the Father had sent him.

How wonderful and comforting is to know that Jesus did not criticize or judge the disciples for what they did to him; he did not complain about their fears and doubts. Instead, He loves them and reassures them. He sent them the same way His Father sent him. The presence of the risen Christ turned their confusion into friendship, their fear into trust. Everything they did; everything they felt is now part of the past, the risen Christ is offering them a new beginning free of fear, free of doubts.

I love this relate of the first encounter of the risen Christ with his disciples because is full human emotions. Emotions considered negative for many try to hide. No one likes to look scare or confess doubts. But not the writer of the gospel, he does not hide them, he shares with us how they felt, and I am glad he did not hide them because we can identify with them. Later the apostle Paul talking about weakness he said in 2 Corinthians 12: 9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Jesus’ grace made the scared disciples strong and confident once more.

Fear and doubts my sisters and brothers are weakness God can used to show his grace; they are part of our journey of faith. from Abraham to Jesus fears and doubts were present. Jesus confessed his fear of the cross when he was praying in Gethsemane. Abraham feared Pharaoh will try to kill him and lied about Sarah being his sister.

This morning let me share with you some thoughts about doubts.

“Life is doubt, and faith without doubt is nothing but death.” Said Miguel de Unamuno the Spanish writer. “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” Said Paul Tillich the German American philosopher and theologian.

Dealing with doubt is a fundamental fact of our human existence — a fact for Christians, even for the Apostles, no less than for unbelievers. The classic doubter is Thomas. Thomas was the one among all the apostles who was skeptical and confessed his doubts when the other disciples told him that the risen Christ had appeared to them. He was the one who looked them in the eyes and honestly said, “Unless I see the mark of the nail in his hands and unless I put my finger in the place where the nails were, and my hand in his side, I will not believe it.”

These words from Thomas had created a negative image of him and about doubting. Nearly everyone who read them is hard on Him. As a result, many of us have grown up thinking that it is not good to be a doubter. We reason, “Thomas must surely have been one of the least of the Apostles because of his doubting, because of his hesitancy to believe.” However, maybe there is another way to see the whole story of Thomas and his doubt.

You see, when the risen Christ returned, and Thomas was there, Christ did not criticize or belittle him for his doubts. Rather, as he did with the disciples a week before He affirmed Thomas in his doubting and helped him move beyond it to faith. He understood Thomas’ initial skepticism. Perhaps Christ was saying to Thomas, “Doubting is nothing to be ashamed of; doubting is okay; doubting is a part of our journey.”

Doubt is true for us too. Having doubts about our faith or about anything is nothing to be ashamed of. For us, in our uncertainties Thomas is one who can give us courage to face our doubts. Despite what we may hear from TV and radio preachers, we don’ t need always to be sure about everything. God does not require from us to be doubt-free Christians. God is calling us to be people who will stop to listen, to question, to learn, to grow. God is calling us to be people who know our need and continue to acknowledge and discover what it is that we don’t know.

That means that God is calling us to face our doubts, honestly and openly as Thomas did. We need to have courage and good sense enough to understand and deal with our uncertainties and doubts. The kind of doubt that makes us aware of our own limitations and keeps us on the path of discovering the journey of faith in Christ.

Thomas had the courage to doubt and not try to hide it or be ashamed of it. He tested the truth of what he had been told. He did not let his doubting stop him. He used it to discover the true meaning of the Risen Christ in his life. Thomas did this, -I believe- so he would not have to believe what he did not know, so he could believe in his own, unique way of believing.

In a similar way, we can make a positive use of our doubts. In no way should we simply ignore our doubts or sweep them under the carpet. We should examine them and let that examination led us to a deeper, stronger, and more lasting faith. I like the relate of Jesus descending from the mountain after His transformation and he found the father who brought his son to be heal. Jesus complained about the lack of faith and this man told Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24.

Times of doubt do come and will come for all of us -as they came for Thomas and many others. Will I be healed? Will my loved one be healed? Will I get out of this problem? Will I meet my needs? Will God ever answer my prayer? Is God with me?

The Good News is that doubting can become positive and helpful. As growth can come through pain, so faith can come through or get stronger with doubt. Like Thomas, we are called to move through times of doubt to moments of decision. And if we have been honest in our doubts, our decisions of faith that come after, will be more honest and firmer and more certain. After Thomas got over his doubts, Jesus was not only his Lord, but He was also his God. The only disciple who expressed his doubts was the first disciple to call Jesus “my Lord and my God.”

Faith is never based on a totally blind decision, but it is something reached by a process that moves beyond emotional connection. It is reached by reason and personal experiences, by  a search that often includes doubt.

My prayer this morning is that each of us Christians may have the courage to accept and face our doubts so that we may at last, come to the decision of our faith like the decision reached by Thomas and with the presence of the risen Christ will discover a new level of God’s grace. And that each of us may reach anew the decision that Jesus is indeed the Risen Lord who has never left us and that His truth may be actively affirmed in our lives, renewing, and transforming us into the Easter people God intends us to be, even with our doubts.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ let me close this reflection this morning with the words of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.”

When you are facing doubts just pray, God “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

May God Bless you.