Sermon -- Festival of St. Thomas, Apostle (December 21, 2025)

FAITH BELIEVES WITH THE EARS, NOT THE EYES.

JOHN 20:24-29 

In the name + of Jesus.

    Joseph, the guardian of our Lord, was a man of great faith.  When he learned that his betrothed, Mary, was pregnant, he decided to terminate their relationship.  He had no desire to publicly shame her or to demand any kind of punishment for her, but neither did he want to become her husband.  Perhaps she loved another, and her pregnancy was the result of that.  If so, let her go to the one she loves.  I don’t think anyone would blame Joseph for his conclusions. 

     But then the Lord intervened.  God sent his angel to Joseph in a dream to inform him what was really going on—something Joseph would have never known or even guessed if left to his own devices.  The Lord revealed to Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).  Experience taught him that the angel’s words were nonsense.  Joseph knows how women become mommies.  But Joseph believed the word of the Lord.  Faith believes with the ears, not the eyes.

     Fast forward thirty-three years.  Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.  The eyes were not fooled by these events.  His back was ripped open by the scourging of Pilate’s soldiers.  His wrists and feet were nailed to wooden beams.  He breathed his last and then was pierced with a spear for good measure.  The Romans, utterly successful at death by crucifixion, maintained their sterling record.  Pilate had that confirmed before he granted Joseph of Arimathea permission to take Jesus’ body.  The lifeless body of Jesus was wrapped in cloth and sealed in a tomb.  The death of Jesus of Nazareth was undeniable, publicly witnessed by disciples, soldiers, Pharisees, priests, and passers-by.

     Jesus’ apostles were devastated.  They were scared.  They were also wallowing in guilt for having abandoned their Lord in his most crucial hours.  Even though Jesus had told them explicitly three times that he would rise from the dead on the third day, they did not expect that they would see him again. 

     “On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews.  Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.  So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19-20).  They were overjoyed to see Jesus.  Even more, they were overjoyed that Jesus did not come to pass judgment on them.  He did not bear a grudge because he had to endure torment for their sins.  He declared peace.  All was forgiven—not just their failure to remain by him, but all.  All is forgiven—for you, too.

     The apostle Thomas was not there to hear it.  No doubt, he was consumed by the same fears, despair, and guilt that his fellow apostles had experienced.  Ten apostles had been relieved of their guilt, but not Thomas.  He was still scared, still sorrowful, still devastated.  His fellow apostles were eager to pull him out of it.  “The other disciples kept telling him, ‘We have seen the Lord’” (John 20:25)! 

     It is hard to know why Thomas did not consider the persistent testimony of his fellow apostles reliable.  Thomas demanded proof.  Surely, his experience would not deceive him.  His friends?  Maybe.  But not his own senses.  He would not believe words.  For this, he has been given the name “Doubting Thomas.”  Today, it is applied to people as a rebuke or an insult.  I am surprised that Thomas has not become a hero for skeptics.  Thomas would only believe what he could see with his eyes; he would not accept what he heard with his ears.  He is not unique.

     We constantly seek proof of God’s love and care, but we dictate how that love and care should be proved.  It should be by the end of war and strife.  It should be by the end of sickness and disease.  It should be by crime-free streets and drug-free communities.  It should be by families that are no longer fractured or fighting.  It should be by a robust economy where luxuries are common and all the bills are paid.  It should be by winning the Power Ball lottery.  I suppose you have your own criteria for what would prove that God loves you and cares for you.  If any of our criteria is not met, we may doubt that God loves us or that God is even real.  To paraphrase Thomas, “Unless I see the blessings in my life and in this world, I will not believe.” 

     Repent!  For, the Creator is not answerable to what he has created.  The one who grants life does not take orders from those who live because of him.  Nor is the evil in the world proof that God does not love or care for us.  The holy God is not the author of evil that men do.  God does not sponsor mass shooters.  God does not approve of the murder of babies in their mothers’ wombs.  God does not commission drunk drivers or encourage political violence.  These are the evil acts of sinners.  What you see and what you experience tells you more about this sin-fallen world than it tells you about God.

     The writer to the Hebrews wrote, “Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).  That does not mean Christians live in the land of make believe.  And it does not mean that Christians are so gullible as to believe anything.  Faith believes with the ears, not the eyes.  God declares what is true.  God’s people take those words to heart.  We believe what our Lord tells us, even if our senses suggest something else.  The Bible is full of promises that seemed impossible but were fulfilled by our Lord, nonetheless.  When God says so, it is so.  Just because we don’t see the Lord’s goodness does not mean that the Lord is no longer good.  You don’t see the sun at night, either, but it still shines.

     Faith believes with the ears, not the eyes.  That was not enough for Thomas.  The words of the prophets were not enough for him.  Jesus’ words were not enough for him.  The eyewitness testimony of Thomas’ colleagues was not enough for him.  Thomas demanded more: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25).

     Jesus did not owe Thomas a special revelation.  In fact, Jesus could have remained hidden from Thomas and let that be an act of judgment upon him.  Instead, Jesus graciously appeared to Thomas and said, “Put your finger here and look at my hands.  Take your hand and put it into my side.  Do not continue to doubt, but believe” (John 20:27).  His wounds were proof of his death.  His body was proof of his resurrection.  His words were proof of his mercy.  For, when Jesus appeared to his disciples again, he declared, “Peace be with you” (John 20:26).  He could have turned to Thomas and said, “Well, not with you,” but he did not.  He spoke to him with tender mercy.  He bestowed his peace, even to Doubting Thomas.

     Jesus has mercy on those with questions, with skepticism, and with doubts.  But he does not address these questions with dazzling displays of power.  When our Lord did display miracles in the past, it did not prevent people from dishonoring and disobeying his word.  Rather than proving himself with what we see with our eyes, our Lord consoles us with words for our ears.  God’s goodness is revealed in promises which are fulfilled.  God’s mercy is proclaimed to console troubled hearts and minds.  Faith believes with the ears, not with the eyes. 

     Our Lord Jesus Christ entered our world at a time when there were not cameras to log video footage.  While some consider that a negative, it shows the wisdom of God.  Videos on YouTube, TikTok, or other media platforms are mostly staged.  Increasingly, videos are becoming AI, so you can’t be sure what is real.

     In his wisdom, the Father sent his Son into the world when we were forced to rely on eyewitness accounts and records passed down to us in writing.  The Bible is overwhelming reliable with these accounts and records.  The Bible is far better attested than any other piece of ancient literature, and it’s not close.  We have more testimony about Jesus than we do about Confucious, Socrates, or Nebuchadnezzar.  It is not living in the land of make believe to trust the words and works of Jesus.  It was all done in public.  It has been recorded, preserved in copies, and proclaimed around the world.  The apostles, even under torture and sentenced to death, never changed their testimony.

     Faith believes with the ears, not the eyes.  Jesus had invited Thomas to touch the nail marks and to inspect his wounds.  St. John does not record if he did or not.  St. John did record Thomas’ confession, declaring Jesus to be God and Lord.  Tradition tells us that Thomas did not continue in his skepticism.  Instead, he preached about the Savior who paid for the sins of all, even for skeptics like him.  He travelled as far as India to preach about the Savior who died for sinners and who rose from the dead.  The way to heaven is not by the Ganges River, but by faith in Jesus.  Thomas testified to the wounds that bore witness to God’s love.  And for that, Thomas himself received wounds that killed him.  In the end, Thomas willingly died for the faith.  He did not die as a skeptic, but as a faithful witness who was sustained and saved by the word of the Lord.  The living Savior is greater than a dying world. 

     Faith believes with the ears, not the eyes.  What you see and experience in this world may be heart-breaking, frightening, or infuriating.  But God’s love and care—and certainly his salvation—are not determined by what you see with your eyes.  His love and care, his mercy and forgiveness, are made known in words.  In that word, he reveals how he left the glories of heaven to come to this sin-riddled world.  In that word, he reveals how he did the work to deliver you from all of life’s pains and sorrows, and that he will bring you to the glories of heaven.  In that word, he soothes your troubled hearts with words of peace and forgiveness.  This world is deceptive.  God does not lie.  When God says so, it is so. 

     Faith believes with the ears, not the eyes.  But faith in his word always results in seeing his glory with the eyes.  Joseph saw it in Mary’s child.  Thomas saw it in the wounds of Jesus’ risen body.  And you will see it in the resurrection to life everlasting.  He who has ears, let him hear.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.