April 14, 2024
Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbus
"Doubt is my trail name"
Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch
April 14, 2024 Based on John 20:19-31
Have you ever heard of trail names?
On long-distance hikes and thru hikes, hikers often take on special nicknames that become a hiker's identity whenever they are on the trail, and it sticks with them for the rest of their life. They can be silly, serious, or somewhere in between. Often, they reflect a funny experience they had or a defining characteristic of who they are. Here’s some examples:
Boxcar: because He used to hop freight trains.
Stick: because when he was on his first hiking trip, he used this hiking stick that his dad carved for him.
Eagle-Eye: because on the trail, she frequently spots items people lose.
Beerman: because He likes beer.
Late Start: because She is always the last person to break camp and hit the trail in the morning.
Trail names are either given to you by other hikers, or they are sometimes a name you choose for yourself, but in either situation you get to accept the name, you get to have some choice in making your trail name permanent.
I heard about a hiker who picked her own name, Valderi, because it was part of the refrain of the song “The Happy Wanderer” which her mom always sang whenever they went hiking as kids, and her grandmother’s name was Valerie which sounded similar.
She was so excited to have come up with her name before her first big hike, but when she went out on the long trail she only ran into 5 other hikers, and none of them used trail names, so she never got to introduce herself to anyone by her trail name.
A couple of years later, she tried it out again on her second thru hike but everyone she met had trouble pronouncing it and had never heard of the song. She could tell how unenthused people were about it and she realized that this name was not meant to be.
Her third thru hike in Florida finally landed her a permanent trail name, a name given to her but a name she loved: Snowshoe. Because she was from Wisconsin and was going back home after her Florida winter hike to lead a snowshoeing event that she could not stop talking about… so the Floridians christened her Snowshoe, and it stuck.
I highly doubt that Thomas, Jesus’ Disciples would have chosen as his permanent trail name "Doubting Thomas"?
Sure it’s the name that history has given him but is it really fair? Is it his defining characteristic? Is this the one thing Thomas would want the world to know about him? I mean this nickname focuses on just a single moment in Thomas' story – his disbelief at Jesus' resurrection. And yet, the nickname almost makes it his whole identity when it’s something that I think anyone of us might have done, something I think I still would do.
And what about all the other parts of Thomas’ story… what about his loyalty as a disciple, all the times he was faithful and believed throughout Jesus' ministry? What about his courage in following Jesus, even when it wasn't popular? What about his life before this story? What about his life after?
When Thomas first speaks in the Gospel of John, it’s when Lazarus has died in Chapter 11. Jesus, Thomas, and the rest of disciples are traveling around away from their hometown where Lazarus lives, and the other disciples don’t want to go back Judea, but Thomas speaks up and says: "Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Why is his name not: Loyalty, or Courageous, or Good Friend?
Or later, in Chapter 14. Jesus had just explained that he was going away to prepare a heavenly home for his followers, and that one day they would join him there. Thomas is the first to speak and says, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
Why can’t this story, where Thomas seeks to understand, and learn, be what defines Thomas? Maybe a name like student, or questioner.
But ultimately, it’s this story of doubt that sticks, and even though it may not be what he would have chosen, it’s the permanent name he’s left with… Doubting Thomas. Which I think is interesting, because in some ways, it’s the most unremarkable part of Thomas’ story. I mean we all doubt, it’s a part of our faith journey.
We’d all love to have certainty and assurance, verifiable proof that we’ve seen with our own eyes in our belief. Thomas’ doubt isn’t a unique part of the story of faith, something worthy of a trail name, in fact, I think it’s what makes him human, I think it’s what makes him like us.
One minute Thomas is in grief at the horrible execution of his friend, his rabbi, his king, his messiah, and the next everyone is talking about how Jesus has been raised, how he appeared to them in a room He wasn’t in, how they got to see for themselves and they knew. His friends were there and he was not… Of course Thomas wants to experience this for himself, it’s only natural especially when you are talking about a mind-blowing reality – the death and resurrection of Jesus. Wouldn't you want some proof too?
I think this is why this story resonates so much with Christians through the years, because Thomas was the first disciple like us. He wasn’t there to see it for himself. He’s the first person we meet who is asked to build a faith off of what others say, what others have seen. He’s the first person asked to believe without seeing. We name him Doubting Thomas, because his doubt allows us to own our own doubt, and his questioning gives space for our questioning. We call him doubting Thomas because it helps us claim our own disbelief as part of our faith story.
The journey of faith is a messy, complex, nonlinear thing. There will always be moments of doubt, of questioning. And that's okay. The important thing is, like Thomas, to not let that define you, but instead, to keep seeking, to keep asking questions, and to remain open to the possibility of transformation.
That’s exactly what happened to “Doubting Thomas” and there is good news here in the rest of his story for us doubters, questioners, and disbelievers. Thomas says, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and touch his wounds with my own hands, I won’t believe.” And a week later what happens? Jesus reappears, he shows up for Thomas in exactly the way he needs in order to believe. He comes with no words of judgement or condemnation, and in love Jesus presents him with the evidence he needs, and immediately this Doubting Thomas says:
"My Lord and my God!"
His journey through doubt leads him to a powerful transformation. His questioning leads him to belief and faith. This, friends, is the true Thomas – a man who questioned who sought answers, who struggled to believe and ultimately, through that journey of doubt, found faith.
So maybe we should celebrate the name “Doubting Thomas” maybe this was the permanent trail name he chose. Because it serves as a reminder that doubt isn't the enemy of faith. In fact it can be the exact catalyst we need to find faith, a starting point for a deeper understanding, and a deeper meaning.
May we all be like Thomas, courageous enough to question honestly, open enough to believe, and, may we all be transformed when Jesus' love and resurrection shows up in our own life in undeniable ways.
May it be so, Amen.
WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE
PRELUDE “I Think When I Read that Sweet Story” Leah Ashton Lloyd
arr. Terri Hutchings
WELCOME Rev. Trip Porch
One: This is the day that the Lord has made
All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it
*INTROIT “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” Ludwig van Beethoven
*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: How good it is for us to come together in kindred spirits.
All: Hallelujah! we feel the presence of Christ,
and without fear of judgment, can bring our doubts and questions.
One: The risen Christ speaks to us and gives us peace.
All: Hallelujah! Let our worship be the sign of our belief.
* HYMN 253 “Alleluia! Christ Is Risen” (¡Aleluya! Cristo recusitó) SANTO DOMINGO
*PRAYER OF CONFESSION adapted from a prayer by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell Rebekah Gayley
Creator God, we confess that at times we are skeptics. At times, our faith in you waivers, other times our doubts define our belief. We have just seen too much evil plaguing the world. Oppression, marginalization, war, greed and just plain hate. It all makes it so hard to see your love and light. And then, even those of us who bear Your name do not walk in Your ways….
Silent confessions offered
One: Faithful One,
All: Help us to see You and Your goodness in this world. Help us to know Your love, even if we have to touch it to believe it. Fill us with Your love and goodness, so that we might love one another, and lift up one another in faith. Amen.
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*RESPONSE OF PRAISE 243 “Be Not Afraid” BE NOT AFRAID
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
All: And also with you.
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
ANTHEM "Holy, Holy, Holy" Franz Schubert
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE John 20:19-31
It was still the first day of the week. That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.”
Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”
After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”
Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”
Then Jesus did many other miraculous signs in his disciples’ presence, signs that aren’t recorded in this scroll. But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name.
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word
Thanks be to God
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE Jeremy Carroll
SERMON Rev. Trip Porch
WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD
*HYMN insert “When Thomas Heard from Jesus” AURELIA
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE followed by The Lord’s Prayer
TIME OF OFFERING online giving is available at www. indianolapres.org/give
OFFERTORY
*OFFERTORY RESPONSE 609 “Praise God, from Whom All Blessing Flow”
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION written by Jeff Shrowder
Gracious and holy God, accept what we offer today:
our money, our time, our energy
But also our faltering steps, our brokenness, our leftovers,
our hope, our risking, our lives.
Bless and transform all that we offer
and all that we hold back,
that new life may be ours,
to celebrate and share in Jesus’ name. Amen
*HYMN 817 “We Walk by Faith and Not By Sight” DUNLAP’S CREEK
TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
CHORAL RESPONSE “Lord Dismiss Us With Your Blessing” 18th century Sicilian melody
POSTLUDE “Great is Thy Faithfulness” William M. Runyan
arr. Lily Topolski
Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452