NEW TESTAMENT THEMES—WHY JESUS?
John 20:26-31
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
All too often doubt is viewed as lack of faith. This story is used countless times to identify the ‘true Christian’. But another way to view doubt is to see questions and uncertainty as an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and of our place in God’s creation. We are creatures with very limited vision and a very short life span. Humans have a long history of being wrong about things. We are loath to admit that there are always things we do not see—because the only vision we have is through our eyes. That means, no matter how certain we are, it doesn’t mean we are right. Doubt leaves room for possibilities we do not see. Living in faith should always include doubt. That does not mean God is not present, it just means that our knowledge of God is always incomplete. That is a dose of humility we could all use.
We believe that Jesus provided major course corrections to human conventions and understanding. The first century writers and theologians had spent 2000 years compiling their understanding of God. Jesus built on that foundation and redirected the search for God. The question I asked our Faith in Real Life group was: How has our understanding of God changed because of Jesus? Here are the high points of our discussion:
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God saves us by being steadfastly present in our lives. “Nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God…” This is a theme repeated over and over in the Old Testament. Jesus made such presence personal. There is nothing more intimate than seeing through someone else’s eyes and living in someone else’s skin. It is the gift of Love. That companionship and profound empathy is lived out in the Word made flesh. We needed to see God in human form to begin to discern what it means for us to be made in God’s image—instead of insisting upon making God in our image. We needed to see, in everyday personal form, how God loves in order to learn what love means.
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The Chosen people had crossed a line to become the exclusive people. Rules and traditions defined who was good enough—who was acceptable to God. Jesus blew up those rules. He consistently showed love and regard for the person in front of him. He consistently ignored the secular and religious stratification of people. He demonstrated that love is always a gift. It cannot be earned. That is the Good News. It is welcome and it is disturbing.
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Jesus revealed that obedience was not the requirement of God to be accepted by God. Obedience is our grateful response to the discovery that we are deeply loved. We love because we are first loved—not as a way to earn that love.
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Human suffering was understood as something we deserved. The history of the Hebrews was frequently explained as God showing favor and God withholding favor. Personal and national hardships were explained as a function of ‘faithfulness’. Jesus revealed that there is nothing about our faith or belief that protects us from suffering nor from unjust treatment. “Why do bad things happen to good people?” is an ordinary, common and very human question. It is also absurd. “Good” people have no special collision insurance. If the Son of God could be betrayed, abandoned and killed, what makes any of us think we should get a pass? Life is hard. Do not think otherwise. AND God abides, His steadfast love endures forever.
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The Messiah did not come to eradicate our travails. He came to share them. That makes for a very unsatisfactory Messiah. In part, Jesus was killed because he was not the Messiah that was expected. He disappointed people. How dare he suggest God was different from the God we had imagined God to be? We still try to make our faithfulness transactional. But we are the ones making the deal. It wasn’t God’s idea. Jesus revealed a God far different than we imagined.
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Jesus redirected our search for God. God isn’t just ‘up there’. God is also to be found right here—across the table and face to face. When we discover God in the ordinary encounters of life, we begin to trust God’s presence. That is how we can see Jesus 2000 years after his death. Our faith is not based on historical video tapes. It is based on the shared experience of peoples of every era discovering God in the faces of the people we meet.
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Finally, Jesus redefined life as more than our beating hearts. Though he died, yet he lives. We will die, yet our love matters in ways we cannot see. Ultimately we live in the promise that love will prevail.
Jesus loves us. Jesus shows us how to love. Jesus shows us the way to life. Let it be so.
