Sermon - John 20:19-31

<p>I love the questions our youth often feel free to ask.  In fact, I wish more adults would feel as free to ask similar questions.  Anyway, on multiple occasions, I have received questions from our young people regarding faith, the life of Jesus, questions about the existence of God, and questions that show they have doubt about many aspects of faith.  I truly encourage these questions because that is how we learn, that is how we grow, and that is how we are taken to new places.  Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, once said, “Live the questions!”  I truly believe that is the best way we learn.  I also believe that as Christians, when we ask questions, we need to be honest about our <strong>doubt</strong>.  Far too often the church has discouraged doubt.  However, doubt is really a healthy aspect of faith.  In fact, theologian, Paul Tillich, said doubt is a very necessary element of faith.  And, theologian, Frederick Buechner, writes these words about doubt, “Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don’t have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep.  Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith.  They keep it awake and moving.” (<em>Wishful Thinking</em>)    In other words, doubt is not only an element of faith, doubt becomes the process through which faith grows and faith is deepened.  Vibrant, living faith is nurtured and born in the mix of a rich environment where we have the freedom to ask questions, voice our doubts, articulate our wonderings about this person we call Jesus, and let go of old even elementary images of God.  For all of us, there is a real need for our old understandings of Jesus and our old understanding of faith to die.  Our old understandings need to be eaten away by doubts so that a new and deeper faith may be born. </p> <p>In today’s gospel reading, questions and doubt come to the forefront in the story of Thomas.  However, the truth is that <strong>all</strong> the disciples were questioning and experiencing doubt.  It is the day of the resurrection