Howdy. Have you ever walked into a room and everyone's
already laughing like something just happened
right and you missed it by about maybe ten seconds
right and you ask what happened and someone says
it's hard to explain you had to be there just
gets you right there or you join a conversation
and just a little too late And they're already
deep into it. They're connecting, they're tracking,
and you're just trying to piece together what
you missed. What are they even talking about?
Or you're with a group of people who all share
something in common that you don't. A story,
a moment, an experience that they all lived.
And no matter how much they try to explain it,
it's not the same as being there. And after a
while, it's not just that you missed something.
It's actually the only one who did. And the more
everyone else seems to get it, the harder it
is to step into it. I remember a time like that.
Several years ago, I was supposed to go on a
college mission trip. And everything was set.
Deposit was paid. Money had been fundraised.
Everything was packed and set to go. Well, mostly
packed, I was a college student. But a few weeks
before... Everything fell through for me, and
I was not able to go. And it was devastating.
While everyone else was there on that trip, I
was not. And when they came back, you could feel
it. The stories, the inside jokes, the way people
had connected, the opportunities that they had
to butcher their poor Spanish skills. Even the
person who went in my place. It felt like they
had stepped into something that I had missed.
Everyone else had shared this experience and
I didn't. And there's just this quiet feeling
of being on the outside of something you were
supposed to be a part of. That feeling, it's
not new. That's where Thomas the Apostle is.
Everyone else has seen Jesus. Everyone else has
the story. There they were when he appeared.
They heard him. They saw him. They can talk about
it because they experienced it and Thomas did
not. And you can almost feel the question sitting
there. How did he miss it? How does that even
happen? I mean, is it as if Jesus were just specifically
waiting for him not to be there? Because this
is not just any moment. This is Jesus risen from
the dead. And somehow, he's not there. And what's
interesting is, we're never actually told why.
Scripture doesn't fill that part in for us. Was
he just maybe gone for a moment? Went down to
the store and got some eggs? And everything happened
while he was out? Just a normal, ordinary absence,
and it turns out to be the one moment you did
not want to miss. Was he maybe pulling away?
emotionally after everything had fallen apart.
He just needed some space, trying to make sense
of everything that had just happened with the
crucifixion. Was he afraid that maybe the disciples
would be next, laying low, not sure if it was
safe to be with the others yet? We're not told,
but whatever the reason, he wasn't there. He
missed it. And we know what that feels like.
to be the one who wasn't in the room when it
happened, to be the one who didn't see what everyone
else saw, to be the one trying to make sense
of something everyone else seems so sure about.
So when they tell him, we have seen the Lord,
and he says, I will not believe. That's not coming
out of nowhere. This is coming from someone who's
on the outside of a moment that everyone else
is inside of, and there are a lot of ways that
that sentence could be coming from him. Because
maybe it's confusion. This doesn't make any sense.
This isn't how death works in the world. People
don't just come back to life like that. Or maybe
it's skepticism. Are they just seeing what they
want to see as the disciples? Are they just trying
to hold on to something because they don't want
it to be over? Maybe it's more personal. Why
would Jesus show up to them and not to me? Why
would everyone else get that moment and I'm the
one who missed it? I was there for all these
other events. Why would I miss this one? and
maybe it's something even deeper, I cannot go
through that again. I cannot let the hope get
built up inside me like that just to watch it
fall apart. We don't know exactly. Maybe, maybe
it was some of all of them. Confusion, skepticism,
hurt, or just not wanting to go through loss
again. Whatever is underneath it, this much is
clear though. This is not just about stubbornness.
It's about saying, when I do not believe, it's
more than about defiance. It's about survival
for one's heart and soul and mind. Because Thomas
is not asking for more than what the others got.
He walked with Jesus. He heard the teaching.
He saw the miracles. He watched the crowds gather.
He followed him day after day. His faith had
been built on actually seeing, actually hearing,
actually being there. So now when all he has
is someone else's word for it, he's not ready
to rebuild his whole life on something he hasn't
experienced yet. And underneath all of that,
there's a question that may be rising. Why not
me? Maybe we need to sit with that one for a
moment. Why not me? Isn't that the question that
comes up so often for people who struggle with
faith when others don't seem to? Why don't I
feel what others seem to feel? Why don't I have
that kind of certainty? Why does faith seem to
come so naturally for them? And it feels like
such a struggle for me. Why haven't I seen what
they've seen? Why haven't I experienced what
they talk about? Why does it seem like everyone
else has a story? And I'm still trying to figure
out mine. And at some point, it's not just about
questions anymore. It starts to feel like maybe
you're on the outside looking in. And it's not
just because religion in general feels vague
or distant. It feels that way with Christianity
too. Why do others seem to have this confidence,
this strength in what they believe? And I'm over
here still asking basic questions. Why am I not
certain the way that others seem to be? In a
lot of ways, that's Thomas. Everyone else has
seen the Lord. Everyone else has this moment.
Why hasn't he? And when you're in that place,
it's not just that it's hard to believe. It's
hard to even know what belief is supposed to
look like. It's not that you're necessarily rejecting
it. You're just not there. You can't help but
wonder, is what they're telling me about Jesus,
is that real? Is that actually what I'm supposed
to hold on to? and then eight days later the
disciples are together the doors are locked but
this time Thomas is with them and Jesus comes
again what must that have felt like as he stood
among them and he says peace be with you just
as they had said and then he turns to Thomas
this is not about trying to correct him or trying
to shame him. It's about meeting him. And you
can tell that he knows exactly what Thomas was
struggling with. He knows exactly what he said.
Because what does he say? Put your fingers here.
See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it
into my side. Do not disbelieve. Believe. It's
like you're saying, Thomas, you said you needed
to see. So look you said you needed to touch
So come and feel for yourself It's not about
avoiding Thomas's questions, and it's not about
dismissing the struggle inside It's about meeting
Thomas exactly where he is Doesn't always happen
right away It doesn't always happen on our timeline
Sometimes we have to wait But it doesn't mean
that it never happens Because the ones who feel
like they need to see, the ones who feel like
they need something more, they're not forgotten.
And it's not that God has no intention of meeting
them. It may just be that there is more to God's
timing than we understand in how and when he
lets us see. Because Jesus had no intention of
leaving Thomas out. The one who felt like he
missed it, is the one Jesus comes back for. But
what happens next says more than we might expect.
See, when Jesus comes back for Thomas, his response
reveals more than even Thomas may have realized.
You know those moments when you catch someone
off guard and they say something that's more
true than even they might have realized? I was
talking with Anna. She's been our our custodian
for decades and we were talking several months
ago when Several people were retiring and I said
I promise it's not on me. I promise I didn't
chase them away But you know I had this feeling
But it hadn't really said it out loud and I wondered
what was she feeling? And in the middle of the
conversation about all the people having recently
retired, I asked offhandedly, so when do you
think you'll retire? And she said, oh, probably
this next year, maybe by the end of the school
year. And then she stopped. And her eyes widened
bigger than mine had. And her hands went to her
mouth. And she said, I've never said that out
loud before. But now that I have, it feels right.
And now, having retired with our Easter celebration,
her heart being full and complete by getting
to spend time with her family and even her son,
who's retired from the military, is that that
moment was a moment where she got to speak what
was more clear than even she knew at the time.
You see, sometimes you say something and only
then you realize it's been true all along. And
that's what happens here is that Thomas sees
Jesus and out comes my Lord and my God. Not just
teacher, not just rabbi, not Messiah, my Lord
and my God. The one who struggled the most is
the one who finally said it the clearest. The
one who questioned the most is the one who names
Jesus the most fully. The others, it's not that
they didn't believe, but here, everything comes
into focus. Not just that Jesus is alive, but
who He is as our God. Because in that moment,
Thomas is not just seeing a man who came back
to life. He had seen that before. He's seeing
the glory of God standing right in front of him,
risen. in conquering death. The one who has authority
over all things, and he says it before he's even
had time to filter it. The one who felt like
he missed it, the one who said, I will not believe,
is now saying, my Lord and my God. And it makes
you wonder though, if what felt like a delay
was actually part of how God was revealing something
deeper. Because in that moment, the one who felt
like the outsider is the one who speaks the truth
that no one else has said that clearly. And that's
where all of this has been leading, but it doesn't
stop with Thomas. Because Jesus says something
that takes this moment and opens it up far beyond
that room and everybody inside of it. He says,
have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
He's not rebuking Thomas for the experience that
he just had. He's not pushing him away. He's
widening the circle of who this moment is meant
to bless. Because not everyone who would follow
after him was going to be in that room. Not everyone
was going to see what Thomas saw. Not everyone
was going to touch the wounds. And that's where
this becomes hope for us. Because we were not
there. We didn't see Jesus walk through the door.
We didn't hear His voice in that room. And yet,
we're still being invited to believe. That's
why this was written. So that those who were
not there might still come to know who Jesus
is. might still come to trust Him, might still
have life in His name, which means that that
moment was never just for Thomas. His moment
was for you and for me. The one who thought he
missed it became the one who helps the rest of
us see. And that's how God so often works. We
don't all have the same experiences. We don't
all come to faith in the same way or at the same
time. But Jesus is still speaking, still revealing,
still making himself known. And sometimes the
moments where we struggle the most, the moments
where we feel the most unsure, become the very
moments that God uses to reveal something true.
But not just for us, for others who need to see
it too. Because our faith... is never meant to
stop with just us. So the question becomes, what
do we do with this? What do you do when you find
yourself in that place, where you're not sure
that you're rejecting it, but you're just not
there with it? Maybe it starts with something
simple. Being honest. Honest about the questions.
Honest about the doubts. Honest about where you
actually are. Because that's exactly where Jesus
met Thomas. And maybe part of that means not
carrying it alone. Maybe talking with someone.
And hey, I am happy to grab some coffee with
you all. I love it. I will put plenty of cream
and sugar in it. Do not make fun of me, or at
least not to my face. But there are others here
too. Our elders, our deacons, our Stephen ministers.
People, if you see them with the name badge on,
just people who want to care for you. Because
that's exactly where Jesus met Thomas. See, there
are people who have wrestled, who have struggled,
who have asked the same questions. It's not just
you. There are people who would be glad to sit
and not rush you through it. Because maybe it
means those spending more time in God's Word.
I mean, not just what we speak here, but maybe
when you go and open it for yourself, and read
it, and sit with it, and wrestle with it, and
maybe sometimes yell if there's something that
just bothers you. Because even if all you do
is go back to these same verses and ask God today,
show me what I'm not seeing yet. Because maybe
for some of you though, maybe you're in a season
where you have clarity. Maybe you have confidence,
and maybe if that's you, then don't overlook
the people around you who might be where Thomas
is. The ones who are quiet, the ones who are
unsure, the ones who may feel like they've missed
something. Because sometimes what they need is
not an answer. Maybe they need someone who's
willing to stay with them. All of these are ways
that God draws people back. not by forcing belief,
but by meeting them right where they are. Because
in the end, this is not about having everything
figured out. It's about the one who comes to
you, the one who knows what you've said, the
one who knows what you're struggling with, the
one who knows why you're so hesitant, and still
comes to you because he loves you. Not to push
you away. not to shame you, to meet you. The
one who says, peace be with you. The one who
meets you in the middle of your questions and
doesn't leave you there. Because Jesus did not
just rise for all those certain people who act
like they have it all figured out. He rose for
those of us because we struggle. He rose for
the ones who question. He rose for the ones who
feel like they missed it. And the same one who
came back for Thomas is the same one who comes
for you so that you may believe and have life
in his name. In the name of Jesus, amen.