Easter 5A John 14:1-14

This Fifth Sunday of Easter always catches us by surprise, doesn’t it? We are settled in for some more of the Easter joy of the Resurrection and here Jesus is talking about dying again. It’s in that part of Saint John’s Gospel where Jesus is beginning his last discourse and teaching his disciples about his death and its meaning. And with a jolt we realize that we may have heard this gospel passage most recently at a funeral. In fact it would be easy to argue that this scripture must be prescribed for funerals because it seems to be used for most of them. It is also true that bereaved families take great comfort from this many mansions passage, as the King James Bible puts it.

But this is the Easter season and even though the shadow of the cross might fall across it today, we are here to celebrate. In terms of comforting words for any time of year there are also these that rank high on the scriptural top ten:

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ….For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Mt 11:28-30)

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. (Ps 23:1) And many others, as Bible readers know.

And the other thing I want to talk about today is a little bit more about one of my favorite saints, Saint Thomas the Doubter. Down through the centuries, two views of Thomas have held sway: one that that his doubt – and therefore the doubt of any Christian about Jesus is the antithesis of faith; the other that such doubt is the mother and nourisher of faith. For many of us, Thomas’ honesty and straightforward questioning is comforting and encouraging in our own faith journeys.

Let’s take another look at Thomas. Thomas is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament, all in the four gospels plus Acts of the Apostles. He is named in the lists of the disciples chosen by Jesus. But it is in Saint John’s Gospel that Thomas is revealed more l=clearly.

The first instance takes place around the death and raising of Lazarus. As soon as Jesus and his disciples learned that Lazarus had died, Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’ (Jn 11:14-16) This suggests that Thomas was an earnest seeker after the faith with a string desire to be a good disciple.

The second instance is the one in today’s Gospel reading. When Jesus told the disciples that they know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Thomas is satisfied with Jesus answer. It is Philip who demands more proof and a fuller explanation from Jesus.
The last instance concerns Thomas and two of Jesus’ resurrection appearances. It is this passage which gives Thomas the reputation of being a doubter. We read it on the Sunday after Easter. When 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.’

Doubting Thomas is a bum rap. None of the others believed either until they personally saw Jesus. And the two on the road to Emmaus took a long time to realize that it was Jesus with them.

To question matters of faith is healthy as long as our basic faith remains strong. When little children begin to learn about Jesus and God and other things of faith they have questions. That is how they learn.

And so do we.

AMEN