Daring to Question – April 27, 2025 – Eddington Presbyterian Church

Psalm 92:1-4, John 20:19-38
April 27, 2025

“Faith and questioning can live side by side!” That’s a quote I heard just this week. “Faith and questioning can live side by side!” In other words, those two things are not mutually exclusive. It’s not one or the other. If you have faith, it doesn’t mean you don’t have questions. And if you have questions, it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with your faith.

I for one am glad to know that, and I hope you are, too! Being the son of an engineer, I’ve always had a very practical way of looking at life. I’ve always been interested in how things work – and how to fix things that are not working! But sometimes that “practicality” causes me to question. And some things in faith can be hard for a practical person. It’s not “logical” to think that a man could come back from the dead – especially after three days!

The very nature of faith can be hard, too. Remember what Paul told the Hebrews. He said, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) That’s very good. But hope and conviction of “things not seen” can be hard to depend on, especially when we’re going through difficult times, or when we feel weak. That’s one of the reasons we need each other! God gave us Christian “communities” so we can encourage each other’s faith. We do that either by something we say to one another, or simply by living our own faith. That’s so important!

Remember the age old question, “Can I be a Christian, but not go to Church?” And my answer to that? “Of course you can! But! It’s very hard to have a meaningful life of faith without the support of a community of believers!” Remember what I used to tell the kids at camp? “It’s easier to be the people of God, when you’re with the people of God!” (I put that out on the sign this week!)

We all need that encouragement and support, from time to time. And we never know when someone else might need our encouragement and support! We never know when someone might need us to be here! That’s the new challenge for the Church in the twenty-first century. Because with streaming services, you don’t have to be present. And it’s good that we can send out the stream, there are those who need that. But that’s never a substitute for Christian fellowship!

So, we all have times of doubt. We all have times that we question! And it’s comforting to me that we’re in good company. Many people in the Bible questioned God! Moses thought he was inadequate for the job God was asking him to do. He questioned God. “Why have you sent me?” Job questioned God, in all of the terrible things that happened to him. “What have I done?” he cried! Habakkuk asked God, “Why do you make me look at injustice.” David – had a lot of questions! He was ever pouring out his heard to God! Even Jesus quoted him from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Yet, all of them were people of faith. We might even say they were people of great faith! Yet their faith and questioning lived “side by side.” And it’s good that those two things are not mutually exclusive, especially since the prevailing themes of the first Easter morning were questioning and unbelief!

The disciples had faith. They had faith, even though it was hard for them, at first, to believe that Jesus had come back from the dead. And like I said last week, can you blame them? Thomas had faith, even though his was a story of doubting and questioning.

And let me get this out of the way right now. If you’ve heard me enough, you know that I don’t believe Thomas was any more of a doubter than the other ten! His skepticism was more a matter of location, than personality. He was simply not there when Jesus appeared to the others that first Easter day. Had it been one of the others, we might have been calling skeptics “doubting Johns,” or “doubting Matthews” for the last two thousand years! Or how about “doubting Peters!” From what we know of his personality, he may have showed even more doubt than Thomas!

So picture this scene. There they were, in that house on Easter day, with the doors locked. As I said last week, their leader, their master, had been taken from them and brutally executed. And they had good reason to think they were next. Can you imagine being in their shoes?

Then, Jesus appeared to them. And what did he do? He showed them his hands and his side. And why do you think he did that? Do you think they were skeptical, too? Do you think they doubted it was really him? Possibly! Or did that just add to the story of Thomas? Because that’s what he said he must see, or he wouldn’t believe. I think it was both of those things!

Well then, Jesus gives them this little “commissioning.” He “breathes” the Holy Spirit upon them, and he gives them authority over sin. Think about that. They are going to be the new leaders! They are going to be the ones to continue his ministry. But did they understand that at that time? I doubt it!

So they saw the risen Christ! But, do you think they still had questions? Did they wonder what was going to be expected of them moving forward? Or, did they think Jesus was back now, and the whole business of “following him around while he preached” would resume? I think they had those questions. And again, it didn’t mean they didn’t have faith. They just didn’t have the full understanding. And that’s the way our faith works, too!

And then there was Thomas – the one who was not there. The others told him what happened, and he showed the skepticism – the doubt – for which he has been famous ever since! And that makes me wonder what our defining statements might be. What things have we said, that have caused people to characterize us in some way? Like Thomas! And do we ever regret it?

So yes, Thomas doubted. And yes, he expressed it in terms of the others’ experience, when Jesus showed them his hands and side. Maybe they told him that part of it. Maybe they said, “Thomas! We saw Jesus! We saw his hands and side!” And notice, Thomas doesn’t doubt them. He doesn’t say, “You were seeing things!” or “You’re crazy.” He just says, “Unless I see his hands and side – and put my fingers in his wounds – I will not believe.”

Have you ever had that kind of experience? Have you ever listened to someone telling you of a great spiritual experience they had? And they were all excited about it! And yet you weren’t in that same spiritual mindset. Maybe you didn’t say anything to them, out of courtesy, and maybe that’s good. Or maybe you did. Maybe you said, “That’s crazy.” Or at the least, maybe you said, “That’s not my spiritual experience.” Maybe you were feeling like Thomas felt when the others told him about seeing Jesus.

But were any of the others still feeling that? They didn’t say it, but could they have been feeling it? And yes, they were there! They saw! But even then, did they fully believe? You know, you can see something right before your eyes, and still stare in “disbelief,” can’t you?

So, do we question sometimes? I think we all do! And I want to say again that, if we do, it doesn’t mean we don’t have faith. It means we’re human. We struggle with things. We have doubts. But our faith and our questioning can live “side by side!” Even though sometimes we don’t think so.

Because sometimes we’re afraid we don’t have faith. Sometimes we feel that, if we doubt the existence of God, God will cease to exist! We need to know it doesn’t work that way! If we doubt the existence of God, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist. It just means we’re having trouble believing it. Let me say that the existence of God is not dependent on our ability to believe it.

We need to be reminded of that sometimes. The people in Isaiah’s time were questioning. And so he gave them some great words in chapter 40, “Have you not known? Have you not heard?” he asked. Do you not believe? “The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth! He does not faint or grow weary, and his understanding is unsearchable.” Then there’s the encouragement! “But he gives power to the faint, and to the one who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted.” And then the great part. “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles!”

So, know that faith and questioning can exist “side by side.” But don’t let the questioning stand alone. Know that it’s ok to question, but take it further. Let it lead you back. Let those questions make you think more about the faith side of it. Then, bring your faith to bear on your questioning. Do that by remembering and relying on God’s promises. Do that by being with God’s people! Do that by seeking God’s presence. Wait on the Lord! Because it is in seeking that we find. And when we knock, the door will be opened. And we can know that we can rely on that “everlasting God.” And, with our reliance on him, our questioning can lead us to an even deeper faith.

Prayer

Eternal God, we do sometimes doubt like Thomas. Help us to know that faith and questioning can live side by side. But strengthen our faith in you so that we can see past our doubts and fears, and so we too can proclaim with Thomas “My Lord and my God!” This we pray in the name of our living Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen!