Do We Really Not See

Reflection: Do We Really Not See? In 2006, Rev. Dr. Lynne Holden gave me the very best set-up to a “Doubting Thomas” sermon a preacher could ever receive. At both Easter Sunday services at Second Congregational Church UCC in Attleboro, MA, she ate part of a daffodil. Naturally, the following week, the first question I asked the congregation was, “How many of you believe that Rev. Lynne ate a daffodil last week?” Those who had seen her at one or both services enthusiastically raised their hands with quite a bit of laughter. Those who hadn’t seen her do so were, to put it mildly, skeptical. “And now you understand why Thomas didn’t believe what the others told him about Jesus visiting them in the Upper Room,” I said. “If you think it’s improbable that Lynne ate a daffodil — which I assure you she did – then imagine how impossible the story his fellow followers of Jesus told Thomas sounded.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but that sermon was part of my own journey toward understanding doubt as an essential part of faith. I have since adopted Thomas as my disciple of choice because even in his doubts and fatalism (“Let us also go, that we may die with him,” John 11:16), Thomas stays close to Jesus until the moment everyone else flees. I have a pet hypothesis about why Thomas wasn’t in the Upper Room that Easter Sunday night: I think he was standing guard outside the house, an act of caring for his friends that speaks to his faith in their need to continue, even if he’s not yet aware of the “why.” I also think Christ’s purpose in appearing when and how the Bible records is so this story about Thomas would be included. Thomas does not, apparently, put his hands into the wounds. The invitation is enough; an affirmation that the inevitable crucifixion actually happened as well as proof of the impossible resurrection. I believe that what we take as a rebuke of Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe,” (John 20:29b), is not so much that as a call to the disciples to be faithful witnesses to what they have encountered and faithful actors on the teachings of Jesus that lead to human thriving. They answered the call and from then on, right through until today, people have “seen” Jesus in the Church. Not in resurrection bodily form but as the Body of Christ working to help all humans thrive. In this Easter season, which is so fraught with the anxiety of our political moment and feels so dangerous as the world watches wars in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East go on seemingly without hopeful resolution, I hope that we can look to the places and spaces where our work as Christians does help others thrive. More important, I hope we can find our voices, spoken and written and signed, to say why we do what we do. The story of Doubting Thomas is a both/and, after all. He heard, then he saw, then he believed. Some will see, then hear, then believe. Either way, the Body of Christ grows. PRAYER God of resurrection possibilities, may our actions match our testimony that others may believe, just as Thomas believed when he was told and then saw the resurrected Christ. Amen. New Prayer Requests: We ask churches and church leaders to join us in the following prayers either by sharing them during worship, printing them in bulletins, or sharing them in some other way. To add your prayer to a future edition of this newsletter, please contact Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane at cochranem@sneucc.org. Prayers of Intercession: For the people of Ukraine and the Middle East whose lives continue to be shattered by war, as well as the many landscapes that are currently embroiled in conflicts. (Read A Call for Peace) For those grieving or suffering due to the ~3,800 gun violence deaths that happened in the US since the start of the year. Prayers of Joy and Thanksgiving: For for church musicians and choral and handbell choir members. For those seeking to be a green congregation. For those who believe without seeing. For opportunities to regroup, including praying together. (You are invited to participate in Pause for Prayer, Wednesdays @ 12:30, Live on Facebook. Add your prayers through the chat feature, and recordings can be found on the SNEUCC Facebook page or our webpage.) This Week in History: April 4, 1968 (56 years ago): Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is fatally shot while standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. [History] “Study the past if you would define the future.” — Confucius reshaver_03-27-23.png Ruth E. Shaver The Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver is the Old Colony Association Moderator, Bridge Interim Pastor of Lakeville UCC (Lakeville, MA) and North Congregational Church UCC (Middleboro, MA) and a member of Second Congregational Church UCC, Attleboro, MA.