Rev. Mary Michael Leahy presiding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rev. Leahy preached on Doubting Thomas. John 20:19-31 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While I speak about the readings for a few moments, let yourself imagine that you are a modern day apostle and Thomas is someone in your life that used to have faith, or wants to have faith, or maybe needs to have faith. Which person in your life right now is craving \u2026. That Something? [short pause]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the first day of the week, the day on which Jesus rose from the dead – the first day of the newest creation, it was a day full of incident: from very early in the morning when the women go to the tomb, until very late at night, when Jesus finally arrives in the upper room again – this time to comfort his closest friends. However, Thomas was not with them. Remember, Thomas is the Apostle who once said: Let us go too and die with him. <\/em>Filled with the deepest joy of seeing their Risen Lord, the Apostles would have looked for Thomas throughout Jerusalem on that very same night that Jesus appeared, or in the next days. As soon as they found him they would not be able to tell him quickly enough: We have seen our Lord. <\/em>But Thomas had been deeply affected by what his own eyes had seen – he would never forget the Crucifixion and Death of his Master. He had followed Jesus for three years, slowly but surely building a confidence in his faith that this was the Son of God. He had witnessed miracles and conversions. His certainty was complete. And then Jesus was beaten, tortured and died. Like a slave or a criminal, the lowest of the low. Thomas’ heart was shattered – yes, because his beloved friend was dead, but also because he felt deceived. If Jesus was God He would not have died. So he doesn\u2019t give the slightest credence to what the others have to tell him. Thomas\u2019 trauma was complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Medical statisticians report that 50% of people living with trauma never even get diagnosed and the key theme of trauma inducement is the unexpected or violent death of a loved one. Amongst us, just this past week we had to wonder if an entire civilization would be annihilated\u2026.and if retribution for that crime against humanity would harm us. It\u2019s easy to turn on the television or listen to some soothing music to put stress out of our mind, at least temporarily. But it still stays with us in our unconscious\u2026 and we can carry that worry and stress in our bodies forever. In addition to the daily worries of putting food on the table, paying bills, having a sick relative, aging creeping up on us, the climate crisis, crime, LIFE IS A LOT!!!!, especially now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eight days later the Apostles were again together in their gathering space but this time Thomas was with them. I believe that they had gently persuaded him to join them in greeting the Lord. They understood his faith had fractured, so they coaxed Thomas to drop his anger, his fear, his emotional dissolution and pain. They encouraged Thomas to allow himself to get close to Jesus, again. To believe. And Jesus even allowed Thomas to touch his wounds. His reply of My Lord and my God<\/strong> is an act of faith, adoration and self-surrender. His faith springs not so much from the evidence of seeing Jesus as from an immense sorrow. It\u2019s not so much the proof that he needed but his love for Jesus that leads him to adoration. Thomas knows to his core how deeply Christ is bound to us in the flesh. In this deeply emotional scene, we see Thomas weeping before Jesus, torn between love, grief, and questions he cannot answer. Jesus doesn\u2019t turn away from his questions. He meets them in our heartbreak, sits with our tears, and reminds us that even when we don\u2019t understand, His love has never left us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These days, for many men and women ~ our brothers and sisters, Christ is dead because He hardly means a thing to them. He counts for almost nothing in their lives. How traumatized have they been, repeatedly, in life? I truly believe that trauma spurs and seeds doubt, especially when untreated. We have to grow into our modeling of the Apostles faith statement: We have seen the Lord<\/em>. Let\u2019s let our faith in the Risen Christ impel us to go to those people, to tell them in a thousand different ways that Christ is alive, that we unite ourselves to Him by faith and love every day; that He guides and gives meaning to our lives. That’s how we make the truth known ~ with our example and word like those first Christians did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The preliminary doubts of Thomas have served to confirm the faith of those who were to believe in Him later on. Do you think it was by chance that this chosen disciple was missing in the first place? No, this disciple, who actually touched the wounds (the wounds that represent the reality of faith and doubt in life) became a witness to the reality of the resurrection. His disbelief and faith\u2026 belong to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If our faith is firm, then that of many others will be supported by it, too. It is essential that our faith in Jesus grows over time, that we learn to look upon happenings and people as He looks on them. That our activity in the middle of the world is animated by Jesus. Then we can reach out to our traumatized brothers and sisters and let them touch our wounds. And believe that faith can regenerate and grow in them again, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus said Have you believed because you have seen me<\/em>? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. <\/em>The Resurrection of Jesus is a call to us to show with our lives that he lives. The deeds of a Christian should be the manifestations of their love for Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the early centuries the spread of Christianity was brought about mainly by the personal testimony of Christian converts. It was a straightforward preaching of the Good News: person to person, family to family, among people with the same kind of job, between neighbors; within a given area of a city or town, in the market palace, in the streets. Today, too, Jesus wishes that the world, the street, the workplace and the family be the same channels for the transmission of faith. The next disciple is right next to you in your life. We sit in the Resurrected Life and thus the promised Kingdom of God becomes known. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sean MacMahon’s interlude was “right on” as usual.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We hav Seen the Son”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sean McMahon, Nov. 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is only one true good<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither angels, stars, nor men<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the One whose firstborn Son,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus, is his image<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reprise: Alleluia , Alleluia <\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ our Life, the Light long hidden til this hour, Alleluia<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have seen the Son, and so we\u2019ve seen Our Father, Alleluia, alleluia <\/p>\n\n\n\n Seen by none, nor ever heard<\/p>\n\n\n\n Til stripped-down and speaking came<\/p>\n\n\n\n He in His own Holy Word<\/p>\n\n\n\n whose Flesh unveiled his Holy Name<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reprise<\/p>\n\n\n\n He for freedom set us free<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raising Adam\u2019s fallen race<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ending Sinai\u2019s slavery<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zion\u2019s love revealed His face<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reprise<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus, rule over our hearts<\/p>\n\n\n\n That our Father\u2019s love be known<\/p>\n\n\n\n You our candle in the dark<\/p>\n\n\n\n Light the way that saves our souls<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rev. Mary Michael Leahy presiding. Rev. Leahy preached on Doubting Thomas. John 20:19-31 While I speak about the readings for a few moments, let yourself imagine that you are a modern day apostle and Thomas is someone in your life that used to have faith, or wants to have faith, or maybe needs to have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-worship-and-teaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8932"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8936,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8932\/revisions\/8936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}