Writings: Questions Lead to Faith

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal

Thomas is often called "The Doubter"; and, it is true that, of all the disciples, Thomas is usually the one who asks questions or expresses skepticism. For instance, on the occasion where Jesus was about to head to Bethany in order to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas spoke up and said: “We might as well go with Jesus, so we can die on the road too.” His negativity was occasioned by the fact that the journey would be a dangerous one, with bandits along the way that would attack unwary travelers. On another occasion, after Jesus finished explaining about the end of life, Thomas speaks up and asks: “We don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” A question that set Jesus up for his famous: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” remark. Thanks, Thomas!

To this day, when someone is skeptical about matters of the faith, they’re sometimes called a “Doubting Thomas.” That’s Kade. When I first met him, he was always asking questions, always curious, always doubting, always challenging ideas, thoughts, concepts, and ways of doing things that, quite frankly, I had come to take for granted. I loved that about Kade. From the very beginning, his questions challenged me. Indeed, so piercing were his questions that they forced me to take a fresh look at myself, to ask questions again, to see things through a different set of eyes, to see more than I had seen before … or, at least, not for a very long time. We often get "stuck in our ways," and so it's good to take a step back, ask fresh questions, and consider matters anew. Kade has helped me to do this in the context of my ministry.

Growing up, I always asked “Why” Why is the sky blue? Why are people so rude to each other? Why is the world round? Why do dogs and cats not like each other? Why do Democrats have a donkey but Republicans an elephant? Why is there a God? Why does God love us? Why? Why? Why? Why? Sometimes my parents would tell me to do something, and I would ask “why?” Usually, they’d give me a reason, and I would sometimes ask “why” about that, as well. I’d often get an additional reason and, usually, if I questioned “why" a third time, I’d get the classic: “because I said so.” And, if it were Mom, she’d quickly add: “And don’t ask me why to that!” Questioning things, including especially authority, is a GOOD thing to do. Sorry, parents, but it is.

Thomas is something of a hero to skeptics and thinkers in the Church because he had the courage to question even the resurrection:

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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.” (John 20:24-25)

That’s pretty gutsy of Thomas. They’re all saying that they’ve seen Jesus alive, but he doesn’t believe it and sets a high threshold for proof. Evidence! Give me evidence! Show me! Thomas could have been from Missouri … the “show me State!” Good for you, Thomas. He wanted not only to see … he wanted direct, tangible, physical, undeniable evidence of the resurrection of Jesus. And that’s what Jesus provided him.

A week after the resurrection, when the Disciples were gathered again and this time Thomas was with them, Jesus appears among them and says: “Peace be with you” before turning to Thomas and saying:

“Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” (John 20:27)

Jesus presented himself to Thomas for the test! Look at Thomas’ response:

"Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 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.”" (John 20:28-29)

Kade has taken a long time to get to that point of faith; and it's not been easy. When Kade and I first met he, hadn’t been baptized; not as a child, not as a youth, not as an adult. Churchgoing simply hadn’t been part of his family’s experience. Oh, now-and-then he’d been to a Baptist church with friends, and he had attended occasional Easter and Christmas worship services at a Nazarene Church with other friends; but, for the most part, Church just wasn’t his “thing.” Even after meeting me, churchgoing wasn’t something that he was all fired up about doing. And, when I’d ask him if he wanted to be baptized, his answer was always a resounding: “no.” But over time, and after numerous questions and many conversations, that began to change.

At first, Kade wanted to be baptized in private: nobody else needed to see it, and he certainly didn’t want to do it in a church, in front of a lot of people. Then, Kade wanted to be baptized with just a few people …a few close friends and his family ... as an expression of his openness to God's grace. Then, we came here – to Lakewood – and as you welcomed us into your church family, Kade expressed his desire to be baptized right here.

In order to see Jesus, Kade had to see … well, YOU: your love, your welcoming grace, your acceptance, your inclusion, your affirming spirit. Through you, and in your midst, like Thomas among the other Disciples, Kade saw Jesus. Right here, with you, Kade experienced the love and welcoming acceptance of God that the church is called to offer to all.

In 1784 John Wesley sent Thomas Coke to America to establish The Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the denominations that preceded the UMC. Wesley went down to see Coke off on the ship, and as the boat was about to depart Wesley said to him: “Offer them Christ, Thomas … offer them Christ.” Not rules or regulations, not judgment or condemnation, but Christ … who is the manifest presence of God’s love for all.

By offering others Christ, we’re offering God’s incarnate love to all. Indeed, that’s what the resurrection of Jesus reveals to us: God’s accepting, life transforming, never-failing, always-present love. That’s what you have expressed to so many others over the years as a reconciling community of faith; that’s what you expressed to me, as your pastor, when I came to serve among you last year; that’s what you expressed to Kade, as he joined me in ministry in this church. And that’s what is expressed to us by God in the Sacrament of Christian Baptism: God’s accepting, life-transforming, never-failing, always-present love ... a love that doesn’t fear questions or doubts, but transcends them all with faith and hope.

© 2022 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
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