DOUBT BELONGS
SERMON 4/12/2026
Rev. Vernon Gramling
John 20: 24-29
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
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.”
This is a perfect scripture for the week after Easter. It presents an ordinary man’s questions about the resurrection. It was incomprehensible to Thomas that the man whom he loved, the man who loved him and who taught him so much was dead. He had seen him crucified (probably from afar). Now he was told the impossible. Jesus was alive.
Who wouldn’t doubt?
Yet–at least in my upbringing ,Thomas’ doubt is treated with a side eye.
“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
It sounds suspiciously like there is a grading system for good Christians. ‘Grade A’ believers believe without seeing. Those of us who wonder about the credibility of the resurrection narratives are updated versions of ‘Doubting Thomas’ — perhaps loved by Jesus, but still a bit of a second class Christian.
I don’t believe that.
I do not believe God’s love is conditional.
I believe we cannot help ourselves from thinking God works and thinks like us.
When that happens
I believe we make God in our image rather than letting God make us in his. We are constantly comparing and ranking each other. We try to decide who is a good Christian and who is a bad one. This is a dangerous conclusion.
This turns our faith into an extended guilt trip. Are we enough? Do we measure up. Do I care enough about the hungry? Does my anger and pettiness disqualify me from God’s love? Do my questions and doubts mean I am not blessed? Most of us have all of those questions and see God as keeping score. Life becomes one big entrance exam to get into heaven.
These are the very attitudes Jesus challenged when he loved the impure, the outcasts, the sinners the religious authorities of his day deemed unworthy.
Did ever occur to you — Thomas was far from unique in his doubts. None of the disciples believed the woman. The disciples questioned the first reports of the resurrection. When the women reported their experience of Jesus at the tomb the disciples did not believe them. The disciples had to go see for themselves. According to Luke the woman’s report “ …seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” It seems to be perfectly acceptable to disbelieve the women.
Nobody reported the ‘doubting disciples.” It must have been ok to doubt the women. Thomas may have been singled out because he didn’t believe the men
That bit of provocation aside—Disbelief, uncertainty and doubt are part of being human—not markers for reproach.
In fact Doubt is necessary for faith.
That may sound crazy since we are supposed to believe without seeing but doubt creates room for ideas outside of our certainties.
Anytime we insist on being right, we dismiss other people and other viewpoints. Curiosity is destroyed.
I often say the worst time for me to argue with my wife is when she is right. I am so busy trying to prove my point, I do not listen to hers.
Doubt undermines the implied certainty that I know it all. None of us want to be described as a ‘know it all’ but that is exactly how we act when we insist our way is the way.
I need that doubt in order to listen. The relationship has to be more important than my self righteousness. Jesus never used coercion. Nor did he ever insist that he be believed. He simply offered respect and love. He said I have a better way for you to live.–Try it. But that is a big ask.
Over and over again people routinely injure and dismiss one another because someone has to be right. The antidote to such toxic behavior is DOUBT. It creates room to listen to one another and it creates room for God for us to receive a God beyond our imagination.
I got to see this on a national level when we visited Spain and Portugal.
I knew a bit about the explorers but I did not appreciate that for almost 800 years, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived side by side. That all changed when Christians, in the name of the Lord, drove out the Muslims. The Christians wanted a “pure” country in which everyone agreed they were right.
Then these same Christians, with their same certainties drove the Jews from their homes and began the Spanish inquisition. Be baptized or get out. Agree with what we believe or get out. There was no room for diversity—no room for respect
They used mass deportations, coercive tactics and sometimes torture to create their ‘pure’ society.
As we visited empty synagogues I could only grieve. I realized Christian Nationalism has been around for centuries.
I believe certainty is the enemy of faith.
THOMAS HAD TO GIVE UP HIS CERTAINTIES ABOUT LIFE—AND DEATH IN ORDER TO MEET THE RISEN LORD. For him, and for most of us it is hard to comprehend that two things can be true—–though Jesus died, he lived. This is the very difficult challenge of our faith.
Jesus did not scold Thomas. And Jesus does not reproach us. Jesus loved him. Jesus met Thomas where he was—in his doubt. He offered Thomas a way to check out the words of his friends.
Put your hands in my wounds. See that I am the same man who was on the cross. Find out for yourself that I live.
This is a story about compassion. I do not read it as any kind of judgment. I read it as a story of God’s abiding presence.
This is what the resurrection is about—God’s abiding presence in every corner of our lives.
There are no exceptions. There is nothing, neither death nor life…nor doubt…that can separate us from the Love of God. The God we worship is present in all things.
God loves us in all of our messy humanity. It is not about being a ‘true believer”, it is about our willingness to trust God enough to bring our whole selves to him. That is the way we meet him. That is what happened with Thomas.
Please understand I preach better than I live. In my middle year of Seminary, I was in a class that was discussing the Virgin Birth. Was it ‘real’? Did it matter? The discussion went back and forth for several minutes when my professor, Dr Bruce Metzger interrupted and told us: “Your questions are valid and interesting—but the Christian faith does not rely upon believing in the Virgin Birth. The Christian faith hangs on the resurrection.” All conversation stopped.
I had plenty of questions about the resurrection. Never mind the incredulous claim that a dead man is alive, if you read the accounts of the resurrection, they are filled with contradictions. Sometimes Jesus flits through walls, other times he is so corporeal he is fixing and eating breakfast. Sometimes he can be touched–other times he blocks such touch. Sometimes he is clear and visible. Other times, people standing right next to him fail to recognize him. These contradictions are not reconcilable. What is true? What is real?
I was not, nor anyone else in that room of aspiring pastors, going to raise those questions. When you are planning to be a pastor, voicing questions and doubts about the resurrection felt like a very bad thing to think and feel. I wasn’t about to risk voicing my doubts.
Surely in three years of Seminary, there must have been some open discussion about the resurrection — but I have no memory of it. I knew it was important but I do not remember getting any help figuring out what the resurrection might mean.
Only later did I see The Gospel of John was written for people like us. Most of his listeners were born after Jesus’ death. Neither they nor we will get a chance to touch the wounds. We, like them, must find a way to meet the risen Lord without such opportunities. We must find a way to experience Jesus in the same way he was present to Thomas.
It happened for me last week.
I got to celebrate the birth of a child with a young mother. It was wonderful. But, her mood shifted suddenly when she told me about a work friend whose due date was the same as hers. The two of them shared their pregnancies and looked forward to their children growing up together. But, when her friend went into the hospital to be induced, there was no heartbeat. The baby had been perfectly fine two days before. But her baby had died and she had to give birth to a still-born child.
Joy for her own child and deep grief for her friend’s child were inextricably intertwined. She sobbed as she told me: “If I needed a reason to question God, this was it.”
I do not share her belief in a God that kills babies. BUT
This was not the time for a theological conversation. This was a time to sit with pain, doubt and anger. There is no explaining why one child lived and another died.
She wanted answers she could not have. She doubted the very idea of a good God. She questioned the God who did not make sense to her. This is not a bad thing. It is ordinary and it is excruciatingly painful.
I don’t know how that young mother will get through her grief. I will hold the hope that by sharing her grief, something unexpected and profound can happen. I hope she discovers she is not alone–and what seems impossible becomes bearable. That mother must still grieve. Her child is still dead. But with the help of the people who love her, with the help of the people who become the hands, feet and ears of Jesus, survival, and even new life, is possible.
We can’t find that out if we insist God is created in our image. Jesus does not protect us from death and pain. Jesus meets us where we are. His presence is how he saves. Especially when we are in deep pain. We want things fixed. We want the pain to go away. It can and it will—but not the way we might want it.
Life is full of left turns, terrible disappointments and losses. All of us have times when the ground beneath our feet shakes so badly, we cannot stand. But, whatever heartbreak, doubts or uncertainties you are living through, share them. Speaking them does not make us inadequate Christians. They reflect a deep trust in a God who sees us, who knows us and who Loves us.
A piece of practical advice—When I encounter people in spiritual crisis, I often suggest a very counter intuitive prayer. Begin with however you address God and say: “ I do not trust you —I wish I did —-but I need to talk will you listen?
Many, if not most people cringe at saying such a prayer—even when they know that is exactly how they feel. How can you be a Christian and distrust God? Read your Bible. It is full of such people. We can only start from where we are. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. That is what it means to live by faith.
Ask your questions, rage against the loss, tolerate your confusion and depression. As unbelievable as it may sound, that is where you will meet Jesus. There you will meet the living Lord.
This passage is not about “Doubting Thomas”. It is about a steadfast loving God meeting a “Faithful Thomas” . Let it be so.
