Worship; just in case…
And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Matthew 28:17
What a powerful moment this if for our Lord and for the disciples. This passage, appropriately called the great commission, includes the instructions of our Lord to His disciples. Having fulfilled the scriptures, Jesus begins making appearances, showing power over the grave and removing the victory from death, rendering it a runner up in the contest for finality.
Jesus appears to the 10, minus the 1 (Judas who took his own life), to give them instructions on how carry on in His physical absence. They went to the mountain where he instructed them to gather. I love this! The heard the instructions from Christ, and their faith in what they heard, and whom they heard it from was enough to get them to the meeting place. This is so awesome. Their willingness to go is a testament to their faith. Or I suppose it could also bear witness to their hope. Maybe their faith was at work, but their hope was the driving force. Maybe they wanted to believe so bad that Jesus had overcome the grave that they went to the meeting spot filled with hope?
Sometimes faith in the Word is all you have!
I wonder how many of us have this type of faith in the Word? How many of us are this inspired by the testimony of another? How many of us are this receptive and responsive to the Word of God? Honestly, many times, it’s all we have. We’ve looked for proof! Searched for signs! We have prayed. We have gathered in rooms and comforted each other while we confess our fears. But the Word! The Word, peers through the darkness. The Word, comes into our room. The Word, speaks to our circumstance. The Word, speaks to our doubts. The Word, holds our hand while we walk aimlessly. It shields us from the winds of resistance that extend from the discouragement of the adversary. It was all they had, and is often all we have.
Faith Went Before them, and Doubt Walked with Them!
But the test also discusses something that we all have. The Word says “they saw Him. They worshiped Him, but some doubted.” Isn’t it interesting that the bar for doubt wasn’t set with the 10, but with the 1? In other words, Thomas was labeled the doubter because he wanted to see the nails and place his finger in the nail prints, but the reality is that there were others that were filled with doubt along side him. Some weren’t bold enough to ask for proof or willing to verbalize what he felt, but Thomas did. Now, this is nothing to brag about, but it is something that should be acknowledged. We often make marker and labels by the outer margins, while the difference between the middle and borders are often closer than they appear.
Generally, we love to pile on Thomas as being the one filled with doubt. We love to isolate his requirements for faith, though I believe its worth noting that Jesus met Him, and allowed Him to remove all doubt! If Jesus didn’t judge him, or condemn him? If Jesus was willing to present Him will all He had at His disposal? Why is it that we would feel insulted or anxious about sharing the full extend of our faith with others? Why would we not be willing to research for others? Why would we not be willing to meet others on their terms? neighborhood?
The Church: Open House?
Jesus knew that some would need to inspect before they confess. And so did many of you! Some of you heard the Gospel in a pew, you heard it on a stream, you read it in a book, to found it on a meme, heard it in a song, saw it on a canvas, read it in a blog, and demanded more. Some of you attended science fairs, watched TED talks, Streamed YouTube Videos, while others stood (using stood figuratively) on the boat like Deacon Dan and challenged God at the top of your voice. Some of you knelt beside your bed, while others walked away from a crash site without a scratch. Some of you had Grandma and Grandpa fast and pray through 3 decades, while others had hands laid on them nightly by a praying Fathers or Mother. And some of you still refused to believe!
Thomas was not alone in asking for a personal tour. For most, we attend the church like our child’s school Open House. We want the full tour, and are looking for a reason to doubt more than looking for proof to believe. We walk among the body of Christ as a filthy rag with our white gloves pointing out all that is not up to the standard and refuse to find agreement due to small technicalities.
Leave Thomas alone!!!!
You and Thomas are more alike than you are different. While Thomas request to see the prints, many of us sit in worship and behave like the 10. The text informs us that those in the room, though gathered in faith or hope, had some doubts with them. Yep; they worship Him, but they had doubts about Him!
I feel like opening the doors of the church; “Is there one?” How many of us have criticized Thomas, but have worshiped Him with the same doubts as the one who doesn’t believe or has been overcome with doubt. Now, let us establish that true worship stems from a relationship with Christ, and thus worship should be faith based and driven, but we saw consistently in the disciples the regular presence of the seed of doubt in their midst.
Sadly, I thought of the many people that gather on Sunday mornings to go through the motion without emotion. We gathers with a “Worship; Just In Case” type of attitude. This is when you are filled with doubt, but more grasping at straws that grabbing ahold of the Messiah. Some of us confessed Christ from this perspective. “I’m not sure this is true, but just in case it is…..” How many I thought have a worship experience that is thwarted or hindered because we gather in doubt? Would it be that Jesus would enter weekly worship services and request 1/3 or 2/4 of the people leave? Nope! But, He should!
We should thank God today that He welcomes inspections. Each week He is aware of both the 10 and the 1. He is willing to meet us where we are. He is willing to speak to where we are. He is patient in waiting for us to change. He keeps reaching out to us. He keep presenting and representing to us until we believe. We too must to the same for our brothers and sisters.
#PastorJDO3 #InternestPastor
