Children generally want to know they have a base of security and safety. They want to hide behind their parents’ legs until they have gained the confidence to go play – and they want that base to run back to.
As adults, we are often this way with God. When we hear from God and feel the touch of God it gives us the confidence to take the steps of faith He has called us to.
That’s where the disciples are in this story, and Thomas in particular. Thomas gets something of a bad rap as “doubting Thomas” but in fact Thomas is no different than the rest of us who doubt and yet are loved deeply by Jesus. He gives Thomas the gift he needs in that moment – he provides the leg for Thomas to wrap his arms around.
But of course we don’t see Jesus like Thomas did. We don’t see thousands fed by a few loaves and fishes, miraculous healing, storms calmed and dead raised. And yet, they doubted. That must mean it is ok if we do as well. We are real people like they were, with normal reactions, and like them the Holy Spirit can take us and redeem even that doubt and use us to do His work.
Back in the passage, in verse 19 it is still the same day that Mary discovered the empty tomb. The disciples are still hiding in fear behind closed doors, even though Peter and John saw the tomb empty as well. Why is this? This is a moment we can reflect ourselves. What are the closed doors we hide behind? What is it we fear? The disciples hid in fear of the authorities, both religious and secular, the very real fear of torture and execution. What are our fears? Where do we need Jesus to touch us?
In the passage, He appears among among them and says “peace be with you.” In fact, He says that three times in this passage. What did He mean by peace? The opposite is war, violence, anxiety, rage. Where do we need peace? On the road, at work, in our family?
Imagine Peter in that room, having denied Jesus three times, hearing “peace be with you” three times. We also can hear from Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, the word and believers around us.
On that note, Jesus here breathes on the disciples, breathing the Holy Spirit into them. It’s recalling the story of creation, when Adam is formed but does not live without the breath of love breathed into them; or in Ezekiel, when the army of bones is raised but does not truly live until the four winds breathe the breath of God into them.
Then Jesus empowers then further, passing along the same authority to forgive sins that He claimed for Himself. We as the church have that same authority.
Back to Thomas – he may have been an analytical person, naturally skeptical, or a visual or tactile person. And Jesus meets him where he is at, just as He meets us – “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”
It’s not like there are tiers of faith. In fact, we have a huge advantage – we have the Holy Spirit. However, we also find that the Holy Spirit is marginalized in today’s church, treated as a second-rate member of the Trinity. It may be because the work of the Spirit is by its nature egalitarian, empowering the young, women, the marginalized in ways that can be deeply threatening to entrenched power structures.
But the deeper power of the Spirit is available to us, even in our fear, even in our doubt. Thomas himself is the first person to declare the deity of Christ and ultimately becomes the Apostle who goes farthest, bringing the truth he encountered on that day as far as India. We never know what God will do or who He will do it with.
— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 23, 2023