O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
Today's gospel lesson from John tells us about the first appearances of Jesus to his disciples after his death and resurrection, about how Jesus appeared in their midst on the first evening of that first Sunday when they were huddled together in fear and greeted them with words of peace - and then showed to them the wounds in his hands and his side so that they might believe what their eyes and their ears were telling them.
At that time, that first resurrection night, Jesus gave his disciples his Spirit and the authority to go and forgive the sins of people around them, the authority to remove from them the weights that prevent them from living a whole and fruitful life.
The disciple Thomas was not there that first night, but the Scripture records that the other 10 told him about how Jesus had come to them and how they had seen him and heard him.
The scriptures too record his reaction to this news:
"Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
A normal reaction for a normal kind of person. Give me proof - give me something I can touch and see - and I will believe.
And the Scripture goes on to record that Thomas' demand for proof was satisfied - that Jesus appeared again, a week later, to the disciples in the upper room - and Thomas was there, and Jesus after greeting them all with words of peace called to Thomas and told him to look at him and touch him and to believe - and Thomas did so - he believed what he saw and said to Jesus when he believed - "My Lord and my God"
Sometimes I think that the disciples had it easier than we did. How easy it is to believe when you can see and touch - as did they all in one way or the other.
What an advantage that is!
But then I think - about Jesus's words to those disciples and to Thomas in particular:
"Do you believe because you see me? Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."
Blessed are those who believe without seeing me....Why is that?
Why is it blessed to believe without seeing? Without touching? Without hearing first, from the Messiah's mouth as it were, for ourselves?
I think that the answer lies in the nature of seeing and in the nature of faith.
Many people say that seeing is believing, but that is far from true, in fact the opposite is more often the case - believing is seeing - believing something opens up to us the possibility of experiencing it - of seeing it come to pass in our lives - and of having that which we believe produce in us many kinds of blessings.
If you wait to see something before you will believe in it - then you may never see what you want to see come to pass.
I remember some years ago reading about a most interesting person who had an interview on TV - the PBS network carried an interview with H. Ross Perot.
Mr. Perot, for those who may not remember, was a wealthy Texan who has emerged out of nowhere to become a candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America.
He was a candidate without a party and without any party support, and if he was to be elected, people in every state of the Union would literally have to write his name in on the ballot sheet.
That, I read, hasn't happened in over 100 years in the United States - but what was so fascinating about Mr. Perot was that he believed that it could be done, that he, with the support of the American people could not only get elected without any support whatsoever from any political party machine, but that he could successfully pull the United States back from the brink of ruin, by stressing personal responsibility, ethical behaviour, kindness to one's fellow man, and love for those whom you work with and whom you serve.
Apparently his belief in these things turned the American election into something worth watching that year - I understand that every day, as Mr. Perot talked, he gained more and more support for what - if it was not for his belief - would be a totally impossible dream.
His belief brought into being something that no one alive had ever seen before - and, for quite the longest time, it seemed that it might lead to a new kind of presidency and a new kind of America.
Mr Perot's belief, his conviction about things neither he or anyone else had seen, produced a new political situation in the United States at that time, it made it possible for him, and for many others, to see as possible, what was before thought to be impossible, namely a truly independent Presidential candidate whose only debt would be to the American people rather than to special interest groups, lobbies, and back room boys.
I do envy the disciples their experience of being able to see Jesus after the resurrection, of being able to touch his wounds and put their hands in his side, and hear him say "Peace be with you".
What an incredible experience to have.
But while I envy them that particular experience, I do not require that experience, and neither do any of you require that experience, to have faith in Christ and his resurrection, and to receive from him the blessings of the power that God has given him.
All we require is a decision to believe the reports that we have heard, and to commit our lives to Jesus as our Lord and our God, and all the rest will come out of that..
Paul writes: "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your hearts that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.".
He also writes: "Whoever believe in Him will not be disappointed"
Think of all the people who have believed in Jesus, without ever having seen him as the disciples saw him, and who, after a number of years of believing have claimed that many have been the times since they first believed that they have - felt Christ's presence in their lives - seen their prayers and the prayers of others answered - and been helped through hard times because of their faith in God's promises.
It was once said - and not so long ago- that no one could build a ship out of iron and have it float, because iron is heavier than water - but someone believed that it could work, without ever having seen it work, and now iron and steel ships abound.
What is true for ships is doubly true for aeroplanes, and even more true for those, who without having seen, have had faith in the risen Lord.
Happy are those who believe without seeing. Happy are those who have made a decision to assert that life is stronger than death, that goodness is stronger than evil, and that love is stronger than hate, despite all that they have seen that might suggest the opposite.
They are happy because when they have come to believe in the Lord of life, the Lord of goodness, and the Lord of love - they see and experience all that they believe in and they are saved - they experience goodness from God, a goodness that always conquers the evils that they may face in their daily lives.
Paul says that: "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
And faith my friends has moved many a mountain, healed many a sick person and overcome many an obstacle.
As the book of the Acts of The Apostles shows, when the disciples finally believed in Jesus, when they were convinced that he truly rose from the dead, they went from being people who hid in fear, fear of the authorities who had crucified their teacher, to being people who like that teacher not only healed the sick and did many mighty works, but who actually, despite being imprisoned by the authorities, were able to stand up before them and proclaim the name of Jesus.
Their faith gave them courage and peace - the peace that Jesus kept praying upon them. It gave them power to help people who were lost in their own sin and despair. And it gave them invulnerability to the criticism and negativity of the world around them.
As Peter says to the authorities in today's reading from Acts, it gave them the Spirit of God - the Spirit which is given to all who believe in and do God's word.
I have sat down with many a sceptic and have then got up and gone away feeling that I have been drained of life of hope, and of joy. But I have never sat down with a person who truly believes in God and then got up with any other feeling than one of hope, and renewed courage and faith.
The gospel message is very simple - Belief comes first and sight then follows - that when you believe - you become, and you live.
This is how it works in the world of science and invention, and this is how it works in the realm of the Spirit and the law, the realm of Christ and of God our Father and our Creator. AMEN
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