The Second Sunday of Easter

 1^st May 2011 9:00am  Sung Eucharist

 Preacher: The Dean

 Readings: Acts 2:14a, 22-32; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-end

Sight and Belief

‘My Lord and my God.’ – This is an acclamation of Thomas after he has seen the mark of the nails in Jesus’ hand. It is Thomas’ sight changes his attitude towards the Risen Christ.

Sight is something that is vital to us all for everyday life. We rely on seeing things for most of our activities in life; just think, for example, of all the different actions we have used sight for this morning – looking at the alarm clock, seeing where the floor is to get out of bed, finding the flannel and soap and toothpaste and so on. As we consider how many times a day we have to rely on seeing things, it becomes evident what a deprivation it is to be blind, and what a wonderful gift sight is.

Yet for knowledge we need more than sight. Indeed, sight is not strictly necessary for knowledge; we often have to rely on the word of others who have been present and seen things, people and places which we have not. We believe, for example, in the real existence of Africa, South America and North Pole/ South Pole, even though we may not have been there for ourselves; we rely on the word of those who have themselves been there.

Again, in the case of historical events, we believe the First World War happened between 1914 and 1918, even though we may have not seen it for ourselves. We believe it because historical records and sources like the Bayeux Tapestry show it to us as having taken place and we have no good reason to doubt those records. We believe, both in regard to places and to historical events, without seeing for ourselves, on the strength of reliable reports.

Moreover, even if we do see things, sight is not enough to give knowledge. In the first place, the thing seen needs to be tested to make sure that our sight is reliable. Rainbows, for example, do not have a material presence but are due to a combination of sunshine and rain. Certain stars which we see in the sky have already ceased to exist – it is due to the time their light has taken to reach us that we get the impression that they are still giving out that light when in fact they have ceased giving it. So we need to consider what we see in connection with other factors, to discover whether what we see is reliable or not.

Secondly, it is not enough to see things – we need to draw a conclusion from what we see. It is not enough when using a clock to see one hand on the clock pointing to seven and the other to twelve – we need to draw the conclusion, ‘it’s seven o’clock.’ Again, for this to be of any practical use we need to draw a further conclusion, ‘It’s time to get up’. Similarly, the scientists will not just observe – they will draw conclusions from his observations. They will see things falling downwards, and draw from this a conclusion – there is a force of gravity. So both in everyday life and in science, we not only need to see things – we also need to draw conclusions from them.

So it was with Thomas. He had not been with the original disciples when they saw the risen Christ, so he demanded to see the risen Christ before he would believe. But then the risen Christ did appear to him. He saw – and he not only saw, he drew a conclusion from what he saw. That conclusion in fact went beyond what he had first sought. Thomas’ conclusion went beyond what he could see, beyond the sight of Jesus alive again. He saluted Jesus with the exclamation, ‘My Lord and my God.’ He realized what Jesus’ victory over death and evil must mean with regard to his person. He accepted Jesus as the master of his life, and as divine. Such was the depth of his faith that, according to a strong tradition, he was willing to journey as far as India to found a church there. So Thomas and the other disciples not only saw – they believed, both that Christ was alive and that he was their Lord and divine master.

As regards the resurrection of Christ, we have to rely on reports, in this case those contained in the gospels and in St. Paul’s letters, as people have to do in connection with all historical events. There are nevertheless particularly strong grounds for believing these reports – there are a large number of different reports, and one report speaks of over five hundred people being present and seeing together the risen Christ. We have therefore good grounds to believe that Jesus was seen alive after his resurrection, and to conclude, like Thomas, that he is triumphant over evil and death, and our divine Lord and master.

But in our church life today we still need to follow the example of Thomas; we need to note what he saw and draw conclusions from what he saw; in this way he saw can become the means by which we can draw a conclusion similar to the one which he drew – that Christ is our Lord and God.

The principle of seeing and then drawing a conclusion is indeed one which can be related to other features in our church life. I want, in fact, to single out three other ways in which what we see today in our Christian lives can draw us beyond sight to belief.

The first is in the sphere of Bible reading. This practice, which I would very much like to commend both in private reading (for example by using the Bible Reading Fellowship notes which are available on the bookstall) and in following the Church lessons during the services, involves seeing the words written on the page. But we need to think about them, we need to let them sink home into our hearts; then we can draw conclusions from them, such as that Christ is alive, that he is our Lord and divine.

The second way in which we can be drawn through sight to belief is in connection with the pictures, stained glass and carvings in the church. They can be seen, but to understand them we need to look carefully, to think about them and let their meaning sink in. Then, if we think about what they represent, we can move from seeing them to believing in what they represent.

The third way in which we can be drawn from sight to belief is through the sacraments. In Holy Communion, for example, there are actions we can see – bread and wine being brought and offered, thanksgiving being uttered over them, the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the consecrated bread and wine by all. But there is more to the actions than that. As the bread and wine are offered to God, it represents the offering of what God originally gave and was later possessed by us; moreover, it represents the offering of our lives and all that we have to God. The thanksgiving unites earth and heaven; we are united with the risen Christ, invisibly present, and with the hosts of heaven. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross is recalled and made present, as the risen Christ acts as the true celebrant of the sacred feast. The bread and wine are consecrated and filled with the power of Christ’s body and blood, in order that the divine power which was present in Jesus himself may be taken within us. Here indeed are signs which convey a deeper meaning than outward sight gives; in the words of a famous hymn,

Faith, our outward sense befriending

Makes the inward vision clear .

Sight, then, is important, but sight alone is not enough. Like Thomas, we need not only to see but also to draw conclusions from what we see. In connection with realizing the significance of the risen Christ, and also in connection with Bible reading, art and the sacraments, sight needs to lead on to a further conclusion. When we receive reports of what has been seen and when we see these things in the Church’s life today, we need to go further and see the true status of the one to whom they point. Jesus’ message to us in the same as that to Thomas: ‘Do not be faithless, but believing’. Let our reply then be the same as that of Thomas, ‘My Lord and my God.’