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Growing
in Community
Gospel:
John 20:19-31 It's quite easy for us, when we look at today's Gospel lesson, to focus on Thomas' doubting of Jesus and the resurrection. That's the story that we hear each and every year when this reading comes up. It's easier to preach or talk or hold a conversation on doubting Thomas because, in some form or fashion, we have all doubted something in our lives. Regardless of what it was, we can all think back in our own lives to moments in which we've doubted something that was either very important to us or crucial to the life and faith of the church. We have all had our doubting moments. But there is another element of today's Scripture lesson that we forget about, and that's community. Saint Thomas is entering a new community with old values. He comes into the house where the disciples are, and they begin to tell him that they have seen the risen Lord. He breathed the peace of God upon them and said, "Peace be with you." Thomas, perhaps now thinking that he is the only sane one in the room, says, "You know, you all have lost it. This is ridiculous. I mean, I know you love the guy -- I love the guy also -- but enough is enough. There is no way I'm going to believe a guy whom I witnessed being crucified came into this room and said, 'Peace be with you.'" Perhaps we can imagine what must have entered the disciples' minds about doubting Thomas, yet there is an element of truth to Thomas' statement. There is truth in the sense that, "I'm not going to believe something that seems to be impossible, something that science cannot prove, and therefore, I cannot justify. I refuse to believe that the man we followed for three years, the man who taught us to love one another and love our neighbors as God has loved us, has come through that door alive and risen." The Scripture says that seven days later, Jesus again appears to the disciples in the house, but this time Thomas is with them. Perhaps he is present partly to show the disciples that what they've told him is not true, and partly out of curiosity -- hoping that Jesus will reappear. When Jesus does appear, Thomas begins to acknowledge him. But Jesus says, "Not yet. You must touch my hands, and you must touch my side so that you will believe." Thomas does so, and then he acknowledges the presence of the risen Christ. In a sense, he is drawn into community and fellowship with the other disciples. Remember, Thomas was the outsider. Although he was a disciple, he was an outsider. He didn't believe in the risen Christ at the same moment as the other disciples. So in order for Thomas to enter into communion, he had to be shown. He needed proof that Christ had been raised from the dead. Upon obtaining that proof, Thomas was drawn into fellowship with the rest of the disciples who had been called to new light. He was drawn into communion. He began to understand what his ministry was to be in light of the resurrection. Community - how important is it? A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a dinner sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club of Memphis. Hundreds and hundreds of people were at the event, which was co-sponsored by Backyard Burgers. I know about the Boys Club because I was a member growing up in Galveston, Texas. What I wanted to find out was what the club was doing for the kids here in Memphis. How were they benefiting from that community? How were they being served? Was life different? Were they being shown that they had access to a better life? I went, like Thomas, not out of disbelief but out of curiosity. I wanted to see the power of this community. While I was there, I had the chance to hear Tee Martin, the University of Tennessee quarterback, who told the story of how the Boys Club in Mobile, Alabama, impacted his life. He talked about his grandmother, who gave him a dime each day before school. He would think, "Well, what could I possibly do with a dime?" and his grandmother would say, "Just save it." Since he couldn't do much with just a dime, he would pocket it, and those dimes started adding up. One day a group of his friends said to him, "You really should think about joining the Boys Club." He was a little ambivalent, yet he went to see what the club was about. He found that many of his friends were associated with the Boys Club, and they were having great fun. They played all types of games, received tutoring, attended classes, and went on field trips. It gave them something to do to stay out of trouble, and he realized he wanted to be a member. When he told his grandmother that he wanted to join the Boys Club, she said, "How much is it?" "Ten dollars," he replied. She said, "Well, how many dimes do you have?" He'd saved a little over five dollars, so she said, "You have a few dimes to go." From that moment on he had a goal -- there was a community that he was dying to join, a community that could radically change his life. It was a community worth saving dimes for. When he'd saved enough, he enrolled in the Boys Club, and I don't have to tell you how successful he is today. After Martin's testimony, some of the boys and girls in the room had the opportunity to ask him questions. They were excited to be in the company of a legend, a football player who had gone off to school and done well with the University of Tennessee's football team. The first kid said, "How much money do you think you're going to make?" Martin answered, "Right now I'll take anything. I'm unemployed." The second question was, "Who would you like to play for?" His response was, "I'll play for anyone right now." This was a day before the draft, and you could tell in his responses that those things didn't matter to him. What was most important was that he go into a community that was accepting, a community that gave affirmation, a community that was uplifting and life changing. Looking for money and prestige via a certain team wasn't important. He tried to teach the kids that if you're willing to be successful and you look for the right communities to be a part of, that can change your life. Later, as I reflected on joining the Boys Club back in Galveston, I realized my experience was similar to Tee Martin's. Although I wasn't required to save up dimes, I still had an opportunity to join, and my folks could not afford to give me the money. I remember it was after school one day, and some friends said, "Come play basketball with us," so I went and played a little basketball. The club allowed me to come in for a few days just to get a feel for it. Afterward, I began to say, "You know, I really would love to be a part of this." I got the paperwork from the club manager and went home really excited about my decision to join. I just knew my mother would want me to be a part of this community. Instead she said, "You know, we just can't afford it right now." Being a kid, I had little understanding of the value of a dollar. It didn't look like a lot to me. I thought it was something that she could afford. I remember her saying, "Let's just keep praying about it." But I didn't really want to pray about it. I thought that took too long. I remember hearing those words in church on Sunday, "Just pray about it" -- words spoken in that same community that I've come to love. Today, church and prayer are the things that I've come to believe in and trust. But back then I found myself, like Saint Thomas, saying no. I didn't get the money, so I started standing outside the club after school. After about two weeks, I was standing outside when the manager tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I'm still waiting on your application." Finally I had to be up front and honest with the guy, and I said, "We just can't afford it." And he said, "Follow me." My mother had already signed the application, so I gave him the sheet, and he signed off on it. That day I got a card and was admitted to all of the activities in the Boys Club. I finally joined the community I so badly wanted to be a part of . Communities are important, they shape us. We're allowed to test the waters in community. We're allowed to go after things that the world would say is impossible, unbelievable. The apostle Thomas felt comfortable enough in his environment to say, "I need proof." He was in a community of believers that allowed him to put his faith on the line, to push it to the limits. I would say to you that it's out of pushing his faith to the limit that Thomas grew to be one of the greatest apostles in the church, Somehow by not believing in the resurrection, he has come to be a proponent of Christ and his work. Communities are so important. We grow when we learn from one another in community. They shape us. They allow us to think beyond the box. They allow us to see God in new ways, and to experience the presence of Christ in our lives in new dimensions. I don't know how different my life would have been had I not had the opportunity to join the Boys Club, but I can clearly trace those moments when God was doing something in my life through my involvement in the Boys Club. Tee Martin talked about the Boys Club shaping and changing his life. The story of Saint Thomas tells of a community changing his life. We also talk about community that changes our lives. This community, the church of God, calls out to the world saying, "Yes, you, in the company of Christ, you're free to test the limits of your faith." It's in testing of our faith that we come to recognize the presence of the risen Christ. When we're allowed the freedom to not fear Christ, but to know that through our personal experiences we come to know him in a new and shining light, it gives us hope. It strengthens us when we're a part of a community that's not threatened by questions, but affirmed by them. This was the community that Saint Thomas was a part of, a community of believers that said, "We love you, you're still a part of us, and we understand." A community that allowed Saint Thomas to grow and to expand his own faith. I think part of the message today is that Christ calls us into new fellowship and into a new community. Because of the power of the resurrection, the old community has been thrown down, and a new community has been raised up. God is calling us to new work in this world. Our job, as the inheritors of the risen Christ, is to proclaim that message to the lame, to the sick, to the brokenhearted, to the downtrodden, to those in need, to the homeless, to the hungry, to those in poverty. I would submit to you that that same message is also to be proclaimed to the wealthy, to the CEO, to the entrepreneur. Our job is to proclaim a message of a new community. May God bless you on this Easter octave, and give you peace. Amen. Copyright 2000 Calvary Episcopal Church Gospel:
John 20: 19-31 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 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. (NRSV)
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