It is still Easter as the Gospel opens today. The disciples are huddled in a room behind locked doors fearing the Roman authorities who executed Jesus just three days ago. Suddenly, there he is, standing in the room with them, showing them his wounds, speaking to them, breathing on them, proving he has risen and is somehow physically alive! Until now Mary of Magdala is the only one who has seen him. Now they all do, all except Thomas, that is. He isn’t there. Because he needs the same tangible experience of the risen Jesus the others have had, he will forever be known as “doubting Thomas.” It’s interesting no one seems to recognize the other disciples also needed ‘proof,’ or that Jesus appeared to all of them for precisely that reason! Thomas wasn’t satisfied with simply going along with what others reported, even though they were presumably his circle of friends. He needed to see for himself and to ground his faith in personal experience. When you think about it, he isn’t asking for anything unusual. It is our personal experience of Spirit, of Divine energy, of Mystery, that is the source of our spiritual lives. So when Jesus returns a week later to speak with Thomas he doesn’t criticize. He simply says “Touch me.” “Believe what your hands tell you, and what you see.” Jesus respects Thomas’ need for a relational, numinous experience.
Our physical senses are doorways to faith. This is why we have sacraments. When mysterious claims are made it is only natural to want evidence. We can’t always trust what we are told, nor should we. What we can trust is what we ourselves experience as we live into the deepest questions of our lives. Those of you around my age may remember bumper stickers in the 60’s and 70’s that advised us to “Question Authority.” In the West we’ve come a long way in that department, to the point that almost every iteration of authority is either suspect or actively refuted. How do we discern what’s true? Who and what do we trust? How can we build a just and caring society, the reign of God, if we trust no one and, at the same time, can’t trust ourselves or our own experience? The Spirit within us calls us home, requiring that we be faithful to our inner truth. Call this conscience. Call it integrity. We know what it is. Thomas directs our attention there.
As a community we trust the guidance of Spirit. We are rooted in a tradition that searches for God’s activity in the world, believing the Divine suffuses all of reality. The Holy is present in each of us and therefore present in community. We name this ‘the Body of Christ’ and recognize its animating life-force as the Holy Spirit. She dwells within and among us fostering courage, wisdom, right judgment, knowledge, reverence, understanding, and awe. These are her seven gifts. This faith has been passed down through generations of believers, and we have received that torch. Sometimes we have doubts like Thomas and sometimes troubling questions. Faith faces into those questions with courage trusting the Spirit is there. Life is our teacher. Faith is rooted in personal experience.
It is an awesome responsibility to receive ancient beliefs and practices and filter them through our own life experience testing their validity for ourselves. And it is not a responsibility everyone accepts. Some simply conform to what they have received without thinking, questioning or ever trying to understand. That would not be the way of Thomas, or Mary or any of the early disciples. The Spirit’s gifts of Knowledge, Right Judgment, Understanding and Wisdom are given to help us grow. They are dynamic and call us into living, searching, reflecting, discerning. The doubt introduced by Thomas is an aspect of faith. It is a stepping stone to growth, to deepening and broadening our spiritual lives and our relationship with God. It is the Spirit within us that prods us to think, to move beyond the familiar into unknown territory where our minds and hearts can be opened more fully to the awesome Mystery that is God.
We are here today as believers in Mystery, believers in the power and presence of
Spirit within and among us that infuses all of Creation. We come to encircle you, Josie, and to confirm you as a full member of this faith tradition by celebrating the Sacrament that both invokes and witnesses the Holy Spirit. Confirmation reminds us of God’s Spirit blowing across the waters at the outset of Creation and of the Dove descending on Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan. It reminds us of Jesus breathing the Spirit upon his disciples Easter evening, then sending them into the world to heal and to forgive. And it reminds us of Pentecost with its mighty wind and tongues of fire and the spine-tingling AWE the event generated in all who were there. These Scriptural references give us language and open windows into the realm of mystery.
As a community we wrap our arms around you, Josie, as you take this profound step on your spiritual journey. We ask you to be true to yourself, to live with integrity and stand up for what you believe. We agree to do the same. You are claiming this faith tradition as your own and we, your community, warmly and joyfully celebrate you and the choice you are making. When you are “sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” in a few minutes, the Spirit more fully and more deeply becomes your Helper and your Guide. Don’t be afraid to wonder, to search, to hope, to believe and question.
Thomas is a helpful role model for Christians everywhere. He wanted to experience for himself the awesome presence of the Divine. Jesus heard that need and appeared at his side. Far from rebuking Thomas, Jesus made a statement of fact: “You have become a believer because you saw me.” Those of us who haven’t seen but believe are blessed, Jesus says, but we are still expected to think and to feel, to use our minds and our hearts. In this way we become more and more able to receive the subtle communications of Spirit, who is our constant companion in these mysterious waters called life. The blessings and gifts of the Spirit abound. We are here as channels for their entry into the world. May all of us receive them today, especially you, Josie, with deep joy and gratitude.
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