Tom Thumb...

 

“Tom Thumb”

 

John 20:19-31
20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

20:21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

20:24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

20:25 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."

20:26 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."

20:27 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."

20:28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

20:29 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."

20:30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

20:31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

 

It's just a week beyond all the hub-bub of Easter, and already the disciples are in hiding, behind locked doors, “for fear of the Jews.” I often wonder, if Jesus had picked a load of geniuses as those first disciples, if we would be better off? Or would most of us—who aren’t geniuses—would feel left out of the church, and not bother to apply? 

 

Reminds me of the old SyFi Network show, “Eureka,” which I have enjoyed revisiting in retirement. For the uninitiated, “Eureka” is a mythical town created in the 1940s by Albert Einstein and the Defense Department as a haven for scientific geniuses, with the thought that if they were gathered into their own “community” and given abundant resources, they could save the world with technology. The series is set in modern day Eureka, now a bizarre town filled with geniuses of all ilk, and policed by a “normal” sheriff named Jack Carter (played admirably by Colin Ferguson). The brilliant citizenry is quite entertaining, although usually manage to create something that endangers the town, if not the whole world, rather than saving it, and the less-than-genius sheriff manages to save their behinds in each episode. The moral of the story is that excess brainpower is in the eye of the beholder, and a wise person with an average brain is more apt to “save the day,” especially when that person is a quick study, an above-average questioner, and brave enough to act on what they learn. 

 

What if Jesus had picked the geniuses of his day as disciples? WOULD we be better off? Or would he have just had to chase them around saving the world from the advanced folly they might have created, kind of like a divine Jack Carter? Those of you who know me, know I love film, and have taught “Theology and Film” courses in just about every church I have served. I teach folk how to “read” film (or a good TV series), how to watch for the role of evil in the film, who are the “townspeople” who are usually thrown into peril, and who is the “Christ figure” who saves them all? Most good drama incorporates all of these storytelling elements because we respond to them, possibly because it is the God/Satan/human story all over again. “Eureka” is loaded with such symbolism in most of its entertaining stories. Is it a coincidence that the “hero” of the show has the initials J.C.? I think not.

 

If Jesus HAD picked geniuses, let’s imagine what might have happened. Rather than Peter, Jesus could have chosen the father of James and John, who was apparently the head of a large fishing conglomerate—a kind of fish magnate and top businessman. He most likely would have been the treasurer of the disciples, rather than Judas, who would never have been included in this genius pool, given his penchant for being so easily tempted. Andrew was good at inviting others to come meet Jesus, but was probably no genius. Instead, Jesus may have chosen one of the top Human Resources (HR) people of his day, you know, an expert “headhunter,” who could recruit the best people to flesh out the twelve. Jesus certainly would have chosen a medical genius, given all of the sick people they would encounter, from lepers to the blind. Dr. Luke, who was NOT a disciple, by the way, might have made the cut as an early physician. He certainly was good at chronicling accurately the journeys of Jesus and the history of the early church (witness the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts). And rather than a shifty tax collector like Matthew, Jesus’ genius gang might have included a popular and brilliant public official, who would have been helpful in keeping them all out of trouble with the authorities. While we don’t know much about the other disciples, we can be pretty sure they were not the intelligentsia of their age. But if they had been, Jesus may have been able to couple his godly power with quality management and superior technology to take over the known world, ushering in an era of peace, and a well-managed one, at that. Of course Jesus would not have had to face the trial—his public official would have seen to that—and therefore could have avoided the cross. Yes, he could have had a team of geniuses and saved himself a LOT of trouble!

 

If we learn anything from “Eureka,” though, it is that a carload of geniuses usually tow a trailer full of trouble. They either get so caught up in advancing their field that they make earth-shattering errors, or they succeed so thoroughly that it goes to their heads, and they sell out to the first high-dollar investor who happens along. Either way, the “stability” of the world they create is upset or put in jeopardy. When humans “sell out” to the idea that they are capable of fixing and running the world without God’s help, coupled with the shared gifts and sacrifices of the broader community, things can go terribly awry. We have seen it throughout history, numerous times. We’ve even fought World Wars over it. Oh, and if this “new and improved” community bred by a hypothetical band of genius disciples had its way, Jesus would not have faced death. As we understand the Christ Event and the redemption it offers to the human world, this would have been a tragedy for all of us!

 

No, Jesus chose very, VERY common folk as disciples. Some might even say they were “outcasts,” based on their professions. Smelly fishermen and tax collectors were not exactly the illuminati. While they would later rise up, when filled with the Holy Spirit, and become sacrificial leaders who birthed the church, initially they were just “street folk.” And clearly, Jesus got exasperated with them, from time to time, especially when they just didn’t seem to “get” what he was trying to teach them. I’m sure the teachers out there can empathize with this. But like any great teacher, Jesus loved his pupils, and it was this deep compassion that kept him from killing them, I’m guessing. 

 

Here we are, a week after the resurrection, and all of those “Alleluia, He is Risen” cheers that went up around the stories of empty tombs, and the initial witnesses to the Risen Christ, and where are the rag-tag disciples? Locked in a house, gathered by their common fear, and I’m sure it was of more than “the Jews.” We know the story—Jesus just “beams in” or at least shows up on the other side of a locked door, and tells them to be at peace. Next, he gives them a “free sample” of what will later become “The Great Commission” we read about in Matthew, just before he departs the Earth. He also “breathes on them” and gives them a sample of the Spirit, that will later come in her fullness at Pentecost. One of my favorite lines of this simple discourse is: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Have you ever stopped to ponder this sentence? It was an earth-shaking event for God to birth the Only Son into the world, to commission him to teach the truths and lessons of the Kingdom of God, and to lay his life down on the cross for the sins of the world. And now Jesus is saying that his disciples—and I think the church is included in this—are similarly sent. Later, the writer of John was say they “turned the world upside down,” and history records that most of them died a martyr’s death. What will be the epitaph of the Christian church? And do we act like we have been sent by Jesus in the manner that God sent HIM into the world? Too often it seems like WE are on the other side of a locked door, barricaded in by our fear of many things.

 

Jesus could have gotten really mad at Thomas for refusing to believe until he “saw with his own eyes,” including a desire to touch Jesus to make sure he wasn’t just an apparition. And while he does pronounce an extra blessing upon those who “believe without seeing,” he fully subjects himself to Thomas’s tests. At other times, I have preached on this, calling him “Doting Thomas,” not “Doubting Thomas.” This line of thinking is that Thomas just wanted to SEE and EXPERIENCE Jesus again, “in the flesh.” He just wanted to touch Jesus one more time before things began to move forward. Jesus certainly seemed OK with that. And I can’t blame Thomas—can you? He just wanted to poke his thumb at Jesus and be assured he was real, for this fact would make all the difference, not just to the rag-tag disciples, but to the fledgling church that would soon be under the thumb of persecution BECAUSE of the resurrected Christ. To Thomas’s question, “Is Jesus REALLY alive again?”, the answer was a resounding, “YES!”

There are some wonderful stories and legends about what this “last touch” from Thomas motivates him to do. History says he went as far as India to proclaim what he saw and heard of Jesus. He, too, would one day die a martyr, but before he does, he became the patron saint of India, and launched the Christian mission there. Thomas becomes a hero of the Christian movement. No wonder Jesus was willing to let him put him to the test!

 

Maybe we would do well to poke a thumb into Jesus? Well, while we may not be able to do this physically, we certainly have ways to do it spiritually! The scriptures are a way to grow so close to Jesus, you can touch him. Prayer is like having him right there in the room with you. When you use your faith stories and voice to witness to Jesus, you bring him to life for others. And when we share in the Eucharist, we experience the body and blood of Jesus. Why, when the church is doing its best, it IS the Body of Christ!

 

In choosing common folk to be his disciples, Jesus brought hope to the people who would be called to bear his message and love throughout the ages. There’s nothing wrong with geniuses—the world needs them, too! But anyone can “touch” Jesus and be touched BY him, and it is in this common experience of redemption that we touch one another and others with the timeless love of Christ. Amen!