NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2022
This Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter. It’s also known as “LOW Sunday.” That’s because traditionally before the pandemic, the Sunday after Easter normally records one of the lowest worship attendances of the year around the world. Join us and let’s make this Sunday an exception to the rule, at Covenant.
The assigned scripture text for this Sunday is the familiar story about “Doubting Thomas.” On the evening of the Resurrection, Jesus appears to the disciples, but Thomas wasn’t there. They tell him, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas emphatically states unless I see it with my own eyes and touch Him with my own hands, I will not believe it. Fortunately for Thomas, Jesus was still around and so Jesus appears to the disciples the following Sunday under the same conditions, this time with Thomas present. He invites Thomas to touch His hand and His side and see that it’s true. Thomas then responded, “My Lord and my God.” Thomas was doubting no more!
Preachers and teachers over the years, have and still do, treat doubting as sin. And yet, Jesus does NOT in His interactions with Thomas. Through His earthly ministry, Jesus repeatedly encouraged people to have faith and believe, but didn’t treat doubt as sin, but as an obstacle that keeps us from God’s best for us. In this passage, Jesus simply takes action to alleviate Thomas’ genuine doubt.
In doing so, Jesus helps us (who can’t physically touch Jesus to have our doubt alleviated,) understand what to do when we are in doubt. We must simply follow Thomas’s lead and go to the source that can help alleviate our doubts. Or as one person put it: “When in doubt … doubt your doubts.”
Join us on this 2nd Sunday after Easter, IN-PERSON, by Zoom or Facebook Livestream. I will be sharing, to help us in alleviating our doubts, with my sermon “WHEN IN DOUBT …” based on John 20:19-31.
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