2 Easter

April6, 2024

John 20.19-31

+ There’s a book Ireference quite regularly, if you’ve heard me preach for any period of time.

 

It’s Outlaw Christianby a friend of mine, Jacqueline Bussie.

 

There was a quote in thatbook that has stuck with me for several years

 

Bussie quotes the greatGerman theologian Dorothea Soelle (one of my favorite theologians):

 

Bussie writes:

 

“Though a devout, Jesus-lovingChristian, [Soelle} once oddly described herself as a believing atheist.”

 

I don’t know why, butthat description of Soelle really stuck with me.

 

I “got” it in ways Idon’t always get something.

 

But, if you ask me why I“got” it, I would have trouble articulating it.

 

I am not an atheist.

 

I, like Soelle, am aJesus-loving Christian.

 

But, you have to admit.

 

I’m probably one of thefew priests you know who mentions atheism regularly in my sermons.

 

And mention it not in anegative way.

 

I know.

 

It’s unusual.

 

But, I really find itfrustrating when I hear Christians disparage atheists.

 

I always say that we, asthe Church, have to accept the fact that we have probably produced moreatheists by our not-so-wonderful behavior, our self-righteousness, ourhypocrisy than anything else.

 

The Church has done agood job of driving people way, of nudging others toward atheism.

 

As for me personally, asyou know, I actually read a lot of atheist theology.

 

OK. Maybe those words“atheist theology” sound somewhat oxymoronic, but you get what I’m saying…

 

And I have read most ofit.

 

From Richard Dawkins toSam Harris, from Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre to H.L. Mencken and MadelynMurray O’Hare, the notorious founder of American Atheists—I think I’ve readthem all.

 

I enjoy reading atheisttheology because it’s often, surprisingly enough, quite insightful.

 

It challenges me.

 

It helps me develop acritical eye about the Church, about theology in general and about my ownpersonal faith in particular.

 

And none of us shouldlive in a vacuum, certainly not priests.

 

It’s good for all of usto step outside our comfort zone and explore other areas.

 

What disturbs me aboutatheist theology isn’t its anger, its rebellion, its single-mindedness abouthow wrong religion is.

 

What disturbs me aboutatheism is how simple it is—how beautifully uncomplicated it is.

 

And I think in many waysit would be so easy for me to be an atheist.

 

Which is maybe why I ‘clicked”with Soelle’s quote.  

 

Let’s face it—it’s justso easy to not see God anywhere.

 

It’s easy to look up intothe sky and say, I see no God.

 

It’s easy to believe thatscience has the only answers and that everything is provable and rational.

 

(And just to be clear, Iam fully 100%  pro-science, by the way)

 

Atheism in a veryuncomplicated way to look at life.

 

And I don’t mean that tosound condescending.

 

For atheists, there areno ghosts, no demons, no angels.

 

There are no hiddensecrets.

 

There are no frighteningunanswered questions about existence.

 

No one is watching us,looking over us, observing us.

 

There’s no all-seeing,all knowing “Eye in the sky” for them.

 

For atheists, there areno surprises awaiting them when they shed this mortal coil and head into thedarkness of death.

 

There is no hell, and noheaven.

 

There’s no unendingexistence following death.

 

I get that.

 

I almost—ALMOST—envythat.

 

And when I hear any of mymany atheist friends state their disbelief in the white-bearded male god whosits on a throne in heaven, I realize: if that is what they don’t believe in,then…I guess I’m also an atheist.

 

And maybe that is reallywhat Soelle is saying when she called herself an atheist who believes.

 

Any God that I canobserve by looking at the sky, or into the cosmos is definitely a God in whichI don’t believe.

 

I don’t want a God soeasily provable, so easily observed and examined and quantified and…materiallyreal.  

 

I don’t believe in a Godthat is so made in our image.

 

I don’t believe in a Godthat is simply a projection of our own image and self.

 

Who would want that God?

 

For us, however, asChristians, it isn’t as easy.

 

Being a Christian isactually quite hard.

 

I hate to break that newsto you.

 

Believing is actuallyhard.

 

Yes, we do believe in theexistence of God.

 

And by doing so, we areessentially taking the word of a pre-scientific (dare we say “primitive”) groupof people who lived at least two thousand years ago.

 

We are now in the seasonof Easter—a season in which we celebrate and live into the reality of theResurrection of Jesus,

 

But event that is basedon some incredible evidence.

 

We are believing what agroup of pre-Enlightenment, Pre-rational, superstitious Jewish people from whatwas considered at the time to be a backwater country are telling us they saw.

 

But we believe because weknow, in our hearts, that this is somehow true.

 

We know these thingsreally did happen and that because they did, life is different—life is better,despite everything that happens 

 

We believe these thingsin true faith.

 

We didn’t see Jesus whilehe was alive and walking about.

 

We didn’t see him afterhe rose from the tomb.

 

We don’t get theopportunities that Thomas had in this morning’s Gospel.

 

Doubting Thomas, as we’vecome to know him, refused to believe that Jesus was resurrected until he hadput his fingers in the wounds of Jesus.

 

It wasn’t enough thatJesus actually appeared to him in the flesh—how many of us would only jump atthat chance?

 

For Thomas, Jesus stoodthere before him, in the flesh—wounds and all.

 

And only when he hadplaced his finger in the wounds, would he believe.

 

It’s interesting to seeand it’s interesting to hear this story of Doubting Thomas.

 

But, the fact is, for therest of us, we don’t get it so easy.

 

Jesus is probably notgoing to appear before us—in the flesh.

 

At least, not on thisside of the Veil—not while we are still alive.

 

And if he does, you needto have a little talk with your priest.

 

We are not going to havethe opportunity to touch the wounds of Jesus, as Thomas did.

 

Let’s face it, to believewithout seeing, is not easy.

 

It takes work anddiscipline.

 

A strong relationshipwith God—this invisible being we might sense, we might feel emotionally orspiritually, but we can’t pin-point—takes work—just as any other relationshipin our life takes work.

 

It takes discipline.

 

It takes concentratedeffort.

 

Being a Christian doesnot just involve being good and ethical all the time.

 

Atheists do that too.

 

Atheists are ethical,upright, good people too.

 

Atheists are committedthe same ideals most of us are committed to here this morning.

 

And they are sometimeseven better at it all than I am, I’ll admit

 

But, being a Christiandoesn’t mean just being ethical and “good.”

 

(Though we should allstill be ethical and “good”)

 

Being a Christian meansliving one’s faith life fully and completely as a Christian.

 

It means being areflection of God’s love, God’s Presence, God’s joy and goodness in the world.

 

It means that we mightnot touch the wounds of Jesus as Thomas did, but we do touch the wounds ofJesus when we reach out in love to help those who need our love.

 

Remember last week, whenI talked about us being “another Jesus?”

 

Well, we make Jesus realwhen we embody him.

 

When we act like Jesus, andthink like Jesus and love like Jesus.

 

By embodying Jesus, weembody the God of Jesus and make that God real in this world.

 

And by being an Alleluiafrom head to toe, we must be an Alleluia to others too.

 

“Blessed are those who believe but don’t see,” Jesus says this morning.

 

Weare those blessed ones.

 

Weare the ones Jesus is speaking of in this morning’s Gospel.

 

Blessed are you all.

 

You  believe, but don’t see.

 

We are the ones who,despite what our rational mind might tell us at times, we still have faith.

 

We, in the face of doubtand fear, can still say, with all conviction, “Alleluia!”

 

“Praise God!”

 

We can’t objectively makesense of it.

 

Sometimes all we can dois live and experience the joy of this resurrection and somehow, like sunlightshining in us and sinking deep into us, we simply bask in its glory. 

 

Seen or unseen, we knowGod is there.

 

And our faith is notbased on seeing God here in front of us in the flesh or proving the existenceof God, or finding scientific proof for the Resurrection.

 

Because we actually haveknown God, right here, right now.

 

God has been embodied inus.

 

We know God throughlove—love of God and love of one another.

 

Blessed are we whobelieve but don’t see now.

 

The Kingdom of Heaven istruly ours.

 

Alleluia!