Sermon Sunday April 15th

Touch

The cartoon above got me thinking in the middle of last week - why do we keep Thomas doubting? I wonder whether it is because we rather need him to doubt - because his doubt makes our doubt, somehow, OK.

You see, in John, Thomas is the model disciple. Earlier in the Gospel it is Thomas who has figured out what is going on and has, as it were, his finger on the pulse. Thomas is selfless and ready to die for Jesus. So, for John, if Thomas has doubts, doubts must be a part of being a great follower of Jesus. I think we really like Thomas' doubt.

I was brought up in a tradition where I was told that doubt was so normal it was not a sin - and it was important to know what was a sin because you needed to make a list of those to confess them!

One of the other readings this morning is the beginning of the First Epistle of John. We really don't know whether the same person wrote the Gospel and the Epistles. We really don't even know whether he (or she) was called John but we know that whoever wrote these books thought very similarly to each other and, that without them, we would be impoverished in our theology. Especially in our theology of the Trinity.

The beginning of both this Epistle and the Gospel of John mention "the beginning". We are probably all familiar with the Gospel - in the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. It is big and expansive and beautiful. The Epistle is different - this is a story told by those who have experience of faith in Jesus - we are telling you what we have seen and heard, what we have looked at and what we have touched - what we have touched.

This reference to touch should clue us in to who we are in all of this - we are not a set of brains in jars, we are real people, all five, wonderful senses. We live and breathe, see, hear, smell, taste and touch. God comes to us sensually.

It was touch, ultimately which removed Thomas' doubt. He placed his hands in Jesus wounds, he touched His side. Our faith is tactile.

How? How do we touch? Well, most obviously perhaps each time we come to the Eucharist in bread and wine - we are touched by God. It is the most reliable sort of touch, because it is a touch which only gives, which only offers, which only loves. God's touch wants what is best for us and understands when we are not able to reach back with any enthusiasm.

But then there are those days when Jesus rejoices, as He rejoiced with Thomas, as that gift of touch removes doubt and fear and we are able to say with unclouded vision and firm resolve,

"My Lord and my God."