Can I Get a Witness?

What do we do with the doubts that we have about our faith? And what do we do about the doubts that OTHERS have about our faith? In particular, what do we do with doubts that Jesus is risen? If you choose to read my sermon, you may find an answer to that.

Poor Thomas! We all look down on him. We sneer at him for doubting the reality of the resurrection (John 20:19-29). We shake our heads at him and say to ourselves, “Wow! He sure didn’t have much faith!” In fact, his doubts have become part of his name. We call him “Doubting Thomas.” With the exception of Judas, no disciple is more criticized than Thomas. And I think that’s a little bit unfair! After all, Peter denied Jesus three times; and we remember Peter as being a pillar of the early church! But unlike Peter, the New Testament doesn’t tell us anything about Thomas after he met the risen Lord, so our last glimpse of him features his doubt. We hear him insist on seeing the risen Jesus for himself; and after he does just that, he exits stage left and is never heard from again.

But let’s think this though for a minute. Are doubts really all that bad? I’m convinced that doubts can be a very good thing. If we are honest about our doubts – if we name them and are willing to face them – we can work through them and end up with a faith that is truly our own: stronger, more thoughtful, and more authentic. If, when the disciples brought news of the resurrection to Thomas, he had said, “Sure, sure, Jesus is risen. I’ll believe that just because you say so,” his faith would have been second-hand at best. But because he named his doubts, Jesus acknowledged them and put them to rest once and for all. Doubts, in fact, are the things that spur us on to greater investigation and continuing achievements! If Columbus had not doubted that the world was flat, he would never have sailed west to go east. And if the Wright brothers had not doubted that “man was never made to fly,” we wouldn’t be able to fly all over the world today. Doubts are a good thing when they lead us to test the claims that people make. As the old saying goes, “Don’t believe everything you hear!” (That’s especially true in these days of political campaigns.) Is it really true that Bruce Springsteen has cancelled a concert in Greensboro, North Carolina in protest over a controversial new law that allows discrimination of gays and lesbians? Yes, it’s true. But how about claims of a newly-discovered planet that could crash into the earth and wipe out all life? Nope. That one is a figment of someone’s overactive imagination.

The statement “I doubt it!” is a healthy one; and it can be especially healthy when we can test what we doubt. Not sure about the claim that a Mississippi bill would allow church goers to kill other members of the congregation if they felt threatened? We can check Mississippi legal records, newspapers published in that state, or go to Snopes.com (a well-known fact-checking site for doubters). If we do, we’ll find that the bill actually provides for security personnel in churches, and allows for the armed defense of worshippers. Can church goers in Mississippi kill other folks whenever they want to? Of course not! But there are some claims that we just can’t check out – at least, not using our usual methods. What about our claim as Christians that Jesus is risen? We can’t check a newspaper report to find out about that one. We can’t look for the bones of Jesus in a Jerusalem tomb. We can’t even rely on the writings of the New Testament, because they were written at least 15 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. So if we doubt that Jesus is risen – as Thomas did – what do we do with that? It’s not as silly a question as you might think it is. I imagine that all of us here in this congregation believe that Jesus is risen; but there are lots of people who don’t. When we go to church on Easter Sunday, they don’t understand what all the fuss is about. One of my atheist friends is convinced that the resurrection never took place; and that Christians are only deluding themselves into believing that it did. And I can’t offer him any hard evidence to convince him otherwise. I can’t point to archaeology. I can’t point to historical records. I can’t even point to the Bible! He has a very reasonable objection to everything I say. What can I do about his doubts? What can any of us do to counter the argument that our Christian faith is built on a fantasy? The answer is that we can offer our experiences. We can be witnesses.

There is a tradition in many African-American churches for the preacher to ask for affirmation of his personal testimony. After sharing an experience, a preacher will often ask “Can I get a witness?” and the congregation will clap or shout “Amen!” as a way of agreeing with what the preacher is saying. It’s the congregation’s way of saying “You betcha, preacher! I’ve felt that way, too!” In our faith tradition, worshippers don’t usually shout “Amen!” during a sermon; and that’s OK. But sharing our experiences of the risen Christ is the only proof that we have to offer doubters that the resurrection is a reality. We don’t have Jesus here with us any longer. We can’t put our fingers in the nail holes or touch the wound in his side. We can’t look into his eyes and listen to him say, “Stop doubting and believe!” All we have is our witness – our own experience of the presence of Jesus in our lives.

Let me ask you this: have you ever felt God’s presence in a powerful way; and you are absolutely certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is standing right next to you? I know that I have. (Can I get a witness to that?) Have you ever felt the love of Jesus through the love of another person who accepted you, helped you, and encouraged you? I know that I have. (Can I get a witness to that?) Have you ever been wrestling with a problem, and you suddenly experienced a flash of insight into the solution to that problem that must have come from the Holy Spirit because it sure didn’t come from your own head? I know that I have. (Can I get a witness to that?) We have all experienced those things, in large or small ways; and we don’t usually share them. But you see, sharing them might be the only way to start doubters on the road to faith! Otherwise, we don’t have much to offer them.

Now, if you’re still doubting the reality of the resurrection, that’s OK. Even preachers doubt it now and then. After we’ve had a difficult week; or while we are planning the funeral of a child; or when we hear news of yet another suicide bomber, we wonder if this story that we tell every week is so much hot air. But most preachers have experienced the living Christ in such a powerful way that we remember that experience and live with our doubts. If you’re still doubting, I pray that you, too, will experience Jesus in that kind of way. And if you have no doubts at all – hallelujah! You hold on to that faith, because if you haven’t needed it already, you will certainly need it one day. And I pray that you will become a witness to those doubters who are all around us. Christ is risen! Can I get a witness to that? Amen, indeed!