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"Thomas"
Sermon at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Easter 2
Jim Hamilton
There is a story that you likely have not heard. It is strictly
legend. It does not appear in the canonized Bible, it is one
of the many Gnostic fables of the apostles’ journeys not
recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. This particular story
was found connected to the Christian church in Syria. I would
like to share it with you, with some theatrical embellishment,
because it is about St. Thomas, the doubter. Or so we often
label him.
Our story starts in an upper room, a meeting place. The disciples,
the new twelve now that Matthias had been added to the group,
had been filled with the Holy Spirit and spoken in tongues.
Jesus has breathed upon them and they are ready to fulfill the
great commission. But, there was a problem. They were trying
to decide who will head in which direction. There was no real
order to this initial movement, no diocese or established congregations.
There were no denominations or even agreed upon doctrine. Everything
was brand new; Christ’s memory was fresh in their minds
and Christ’s message ready to burst from each and every
one of them.
James and John would head up the coast, speaking with the fisher-folk,
the laborers they knew like family. Philip knew of a route down
to Ethiopia, he had an adventurer’s spirit and couldn’t
wait to head to lands unknown. Peter would set up camp in Jerusalem
and nurture the church there, create a home-base. Around the
group all directions were assigned. Then they came to Thomas.
He had hoped to be teamed up with another, maybe Matthew. They
were both practical types, Thomas thought they would make a
good team. But, it wasn’t to be. There was the matter
of India. No one had volunteered for India. Simon the Canaanite
was kind enough to offer his mission field to Thomas, and said,
“Let’s leave it up to the lots to decide.”
They threw the lots and…Thomas lost. Or, that is how he
felt.
That night he headed back to his home outside the city. He
had just found this place; it was property of Joseph of Arimethea.
He was getting a fare rate. He had hoped to stay for a while.
It took him some time to finally nod off to sleep that night.
It was a fitful sleep; his dreams were filled with worries and
obligations. He dreamed that he was Jonah and lots had been
thrown to toss him to the waves. Then, in his dream, the water
went calm and suddenly Jesus was there, walking next to the
boat on the glassy water. “What is troubling you, Didymus?”
Jesus seemed to truly be there with Thomas, he felt his breathing
slow into a sigh. “I am just a Hebrew man, Jesus. How
can I go among the people of India to preach the truth?”
Jesus smiled a bit and replied, “Fear not, Thomas. My
grace will be with you, even in far off India.” “But,
how will I make the journey? I have never traveled so far.”
“There will be a man, a merchant. He will come to your
door looking for a carpenter. He is employed by a great king
in India. You will go with him and build the king a great palace.
That is the way you will make your journey.” Then, Thomas
awoke to a knock on his door.
The man at the door introduced himself as Abbanes, a merchant
for King Gundaphorus. The man told Thomas that he had been approached
in the market by a mysterious man who informed him that he would
find the man’s servant residing in this house and that
this servant was a great carpenter. Thomas agreed to accompany
this merchant all the way to the middle countries of the Indian
continent to build a palace for a foreign king.
The journey took several months. Thomas used this time to learn
from the merchant about his homeland. He witnessed to the man
and to all he met with signs and with stories, until they finally
came to the city of the king.
King Gundaphorus had unified many warring nations. His combined
kingdom covered a good portion of the middle of the Indian continent.
He needed a new palace, one that would serve as a middle-point
in his new kingdom. His wealth was extensive and he wished to
spare no expense. Nearly the entirety of his treasury he gave
over to this foreign carpenter, to create a magnificent palace.
Thomas was in a pickle. He had been a carpenter, true. But,
his largest creation was a plow for a team of oxen. He had worked
with stone, yes; but, nothing of this magnitude. And, what about
the gospel? How was this to be a witness to the peoples of India?
Then he looked around him at the poverty of the poor. His workers
were either slaves or desperately poor. He knew that the king
would be appalled by their living conditions. And, so Thomas
began handing out portions of the treasury to the workers and
visiting with them in their houses, spreading the good news
of Christ.
A year passed, Thomas had shared every last treasure in the
king’s possession. He had given everything of his own
away too. The king returned to the place, expecting to see construction
well underway.
“Where is my palace, carpenter?” the king was aghast
at the lack of progress. “I have finished it, your majesty.”
Thomas did not seem worried in the slightest that not even one
stone had been laid for the foundation. “You have done
no work, servant. I will have to find a new carpenter and start
again. You have cost me a year of time with your laziness. Now,
where is the key to my treasury, you are obviously not going
to be needing that anymore.” “Neither will you,
king, because you will find your treasury to be quite empty.”
The king was furious with Thomas. It took all his willpower
to resist executing the man on the spot. But, he wanted to know
where the money had gone. Perhaps he would be able to recover
some of it. He threw Thomas into prison.
That night, the king’s brother fell ill and died. The
brother had listened to the preaching of Thomas and found himself
welcomed by the heavenly hosts. He was ushered into a magnificent
palace, the largest he had ever seen. The brother inquired about
the grand palace, “Whose palace is this?” The angels
replied, “This is your brother’s palace, his carpenter
has been busily preparing it for him.” The brother asked
the angels, “Please let me return to my brother and reveal
to him what I have seen.” They let him visit his brother
in a dream to report of the glorious palace that Thomas had
built for him. When the king awoke, he knew that Thomas had
been true to his task and released him from prison. He listened
to Thomas’ stories of Jesus and immediately believed.
Thomas remained in India, first in the kingdom of Gundaphorus
and eventually traveling south to plant churches and spread
the gospel of Christ.
This is one of my favorite extra-biblical legends. Probably
in good part because Thomas is my favorite disciple. He has
been pegged as a skeptic, and maybe rightfully so. He was the
one who was skeptical about heading back to save Lazarus, when
they found out that he was already dead. He said, “Let
us also go, that we might die with him.” What a pessimist,
eh? And then when Jesus told his friends that he was headed
to a place they could not follow, Thomas was worried about how
they would practically find him if he were to leave. “Lord,
we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
Ever the pragmatist, eh?
That is why I love this story about Thomas so much. The least
likely apostle, the doubter, goes off to the farthest land,
and finds confidence and certitude enough to stand up to a king
and say, “I built your palace, I built it in heaven.”
At the end of today’s reading we hear Thomas proclaim,
“My Lord and my God.” With this affirmation of Christ’s
true resurrection we are witness to the turning of the most
skeptical and pragmatic of the disciples. If you look at the
stories preceding this one, all the other disciples doubted
as much as Thomas, they just couldn’t take Mary’s
word for it when she came delivering the news of Christ resurrection.
And yet, we focus on Thomas. The author focuses on Thomas. Because
it is important to highlight Thomas’ realization. He was
the guy who always wanted to understand all aspects of the situation.
He was the guy who wanted to get the whole story. He was the
guy who wouldn’t let things slide. He was me.
And what is remarkable is that Christ didn’t rebuke Thomas.
Instead, he showed him what he needed to see to believe. In
the relationship of teacher and student, Christ was able to
listen to his student and to adapt what was needed to learn.
The teacher learned from the student. It is as if Christ said,
“You need to see my wounds? You need to touch them? I
understand.” That bodes well for me and all my questions
and doubts.
This tale of Thomas’ ministry gives me hope as well.
He was reluctant to head into the unknown. That sure sounds
like the Thomas from this gospel reading. That sure sounds like
me, afraid and timid to act. But the ministry that he found,
making a palace out of kindness and justice is a ministry that
is the antithesis of practical or skeptical. He found the courage
to be something beyond his doubts. I like to think that this
is a legend based on the true ministry of Thomas. I like to
think that this story can be all of our stories, as we move
from doubts to faith.
But, we should be encouraged that along the way, as we struggle
with each new decision, Christ is there with us. We may shut
the door to Jesus, but even though the doors are shut he will
be with us and say to us, “Peace be with you.” And,
“What is it that you need to do to believe? Do you need
to touch my hands, my side? You are welcome to it; I am here
so that you may believe.”
I am proud to be a Thomas. I know that God wants me to ask
questions. Because, if you stop asking questions you stop learning.
Just think, if Thomas hadn’t asked Jesus, “How can
we know the way?” we would have never heard Jesus say,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know
my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
God bless us, who try to believe even though we have not seen.
Amen
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