That you may come to believe
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue gave this sermon
on a Diocese of Georgia livestream
from his home on April 19, 2020.
That you may come to believe
John 20:19-31
This morning, I want to focus not on Thomas’ doubts, but on John’s certainty. For the author of the Gospel just told us in our lesson why he wrote the book saying, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
The Beloved Disciple had seen many thousands of people who had never seen Jesus come to believe. The Gospel of John was written so that yet more people will come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. So, I want to take this brief time this Sunday to spell out succinctly why I while I know what we teach cannot be proved in the same way one can demonstrate that the world is round, faith in God as known in Jesus is not irrational.
First, no one doubts the fact of Jesus in that historians of various religious backgrounds and perspectives all agree on some basic information on his life. Besides the Bible, we have records of Jesus from other sources, especially from people who were not Christians. Both the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius wrote about Jesus, as did the Jewish historian Josephus.
Even skeptics can agree that:
- Jesus was a Palestinian Jew lived and died in present-day Israel and had a ministry that was connected to the also well-documented prophet called John the Baptist;
- The Romans executed Jesus by crucifixion; and,
- Jesus’ disciples continued following Jesus after his death, teaching that he was the Son of God.
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In order to say that Tutankhamen was a Pharaoh in Egypt or that Julius Caesar was assassinated by Roman Senators we rely on the same sort of evidence that tells us that Jesus was a real man. Of course, making claims about divinity is another order of statement all together. But let’s take this one step at a time.
After all, I can say that I know there is an Outer Banks of North Carolina and I know there is a Kathmandu, Nepal. I just don’t know those two facts the same way. I know there is a Kathmandu as Victoria and I spent two months there on our honeymoon. It’s not too much of a statement of faith to say that the city continues to exist even though we haven’t been there for 34 years. The same sources of information that told me the place existed before I visited, tell me of its continued existence.
On the other hand, I have never been to Outer Banks. But I do know people who have and I believe the things I have both heard and read about the place and feel like I know something of that place as well.
John’s Gospel was written to be an authoritative text pointing toward the truth of Jesus being God made man who death and resurrection are both historically true and theologically significant. Can one come to trust the authority of scripture as fully we trust a map of North Carolina showing the Outer Banks out in the Atlantic?
Certainly, we all know that through the ages and around the world a belief in a God is such a universal human experience that many find that awareness of God alone to be proof of God’s existence. Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that this universal human idea of God could be nothing more than a universal projection of our minds to fill a need in our lives.
This is where belief comes in. If you accept that reason can bring you to the point of knowing that what Christians proclaim about Jesus could well be true, then you take the step of saying “I believe, help my unbelief.” In the process, you become not a skeptic seeking proof, but a believer seeking confirmation that your faith is based on something real. And I can say that billions of people who have taken that step have found the ground firm.
But this question of whether what we claim by faith is true is never an academic question. I remember Cathy, a very dear woman, hurling words at me in frustration and anger saying, “How do you know the things you are saying are true? You’ve never been to heaven!” I had just come from officiating and preaching the funeral of Cathy’s friend, Jody. I could see in her eyes that Cathy knew her funeral would be next. Jody had been courageous, so full of faith. Cathy was facing death. She wanted certainty. Cathy was angry because she knew I didn’t have any more proof of heaven than she did.
As the parish priest of a church in Kingsland, Georgia, I felt like lightning struck three times in rapid succession when three wonderful women in our church discovered they had ovarian cancer. Angela, Jody, and Cathy took to the terrible journey together as they entered into treatment. I remember going to St. Vincent’s hospital to see Angela after a surgery to remove what they could of the cancer. Next, I visited Cathy in the chemo room. We talked as the not quite deadly cocktail of drugs dripped steadily into her bloodstream. Surrounded by balding, gray-faced patients, Cathy was luminous. Realistic about what she faced, she would do anything the doctors asked to fight off the disease, even as she spoke about the odds stacked against her. But more than that she was concerned about Angela. As we chatted, she hatched an idea for a gift basket that I was to get to her, to let Angela know she was not alone. Jody called Cathy’s cell, and the two talked for a moment, checking in to let Cathy know she was praying. The three faced the same demon, frightened, but unbowed in their faith and in their concern for each other and for others as well. But shortly after the new year’s arrival, we buried Angela. Now eight months later, I had just come from Jody’s funeral. Cathy’s doctors no longer held out hope for a cancer-free future for Cathy.
Her question about the afterlife was personal and urgent. The same is true for so many questions of faith. That afternoon sitting in her darkened home right after Jody’s funeral, I told Cathy she was right. I couldn’t and didn’t know about heaven in the way I knew many things. This is one of those times when words fail. I knew what mattered most was being with her in the grief of dealing with Jody’s death as the end of her own life neared. But she wanted words and so after a long pause, I added that there was one odd thing I had noticed again and again in an unexpected grace given to the grieving. Many times, when someone dies those who love her or him are given a sign that all is well. I told her some examples. They are small stories that prove nothing in themselves, but their ubiquity is worth noting. They seem to be incidents of the veil between this life and the next being pulled back to give comfort to those who mourn that are so odd they feel like more than wish fulfillment. She did know what I was talking about and it seemed to give her some comfort in her distress. I suspect being with her mattered more than the words I used.
I have found that when I face obstacles in life it is easier to see the obstacle than the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence. Seeing the obstacles ahead is like looking out the windshield of your car. Yet, when I look back at my own life through the rear-view mirror as it were, I see the fingerprints of God all over my life. Even in times when I felt alone, I see how God was present.
Cathy died less than three months after Jody and by that time God had answered her prayers with a peace about her death. She wrote her own moving obituary. I spoke with her husband John some hours after his wife died. She had been in the hospital. Her mother was with her. John was at home with their kids. When he woke early, he began to look for Angel, Cathy’s dog. Angel had been by the bed earlier and was usually there when he woke. In fact, Angel was always around. John got up and looked around the house. He finally found Angel outside, looking up at the sky. Angel could not be distracted from looking up. No, this is no proof of an afterlife that any skeptic could use to give faith. You can’t take the evidence of a dog looking at the early morning sky to a scientific lab and prove the existence of God. It feels trivial even as I say these words. And yet, in that moment of Angel looking up and not turning away when called, John finally also felt at peace about Cathy. When the call came that Cathy had died, John was prepared for it. These experiences are not universal, but quite common. They may not prove God’s existence, but it sure gave comfort to a grieving husband.
The real proof of the resurrection comes in your own experience of God’s presence. I am talking about something way more reliable than your feelings. For you should know that that you will not always feel Christ in and with you, that’s where the analogy of the rear-view mirror is helpful. But if you try Christianity, you can see whether or not it works as described. In the words of scripture, “Taste and see that God is good.”
With whatever it is you are facing now, ask Jesus to touch your wounded life with his hands that still bear the marks of what we humans did and yet remain open, reaching out in love. Patiently trust God’s abiding presence in these times of loss and suffering and when you look back over time, you will see all the evidence you need of the presence and power of our Triune God.
You will know if the peace was beyond you or the healing or the sense of release with forgiveness. You can know that your desire to show love to others is supported by more than you own willpower. In the end, I don’t believe because the historic facts about Jesus, but because I have experienced God showing up in my life and in the lives or others, not always how and when I wish, but with a dependability that has led me to put my trust in God and to encourage others to do the same.
Amen.
