Rachel Held Evans was an Christian author, speaker and blogger, who died at the very young age of 38. Her writings are notable, and attracted a great deal of attention, as she artfully described some of the shifting in her spiritual life. When she was fourteen, Rachel and her family moved to Dayton, Tennessee, the setting for the 1925 Scopes Monkey trial. In this trial, a high school science teacher was accused of violating state law by teaching evolution to his students.
Rachel’s own home was deeply fundamentalist, and early in her adult life, this was the theological path she followed. But a few experiences started to lead to deep questions for her. To name just one, she travelled globally, and saw firsthand intense poverty and suffering. She could not understand how a loving God could send a woman to hell, who was combing the streets of her town trying to get food for her baby. Experiences like this ushered in a time of deep questioning, and inevitably, profound doubt. But as she continued to seek, she found a faith that was much more reliable, openhearted and openminded. “In the end”, she would say, “it was doubt that saved my faith.”
Sunday’s Gospel lesson is the well known story of one disciple of Jesus who is commonly referred to as “doubting Thomas.” Thomas was not with the disciples when the risen Christ first appeared to them. When they told him their news, Thomas was incredulous, claiming that unless he saw the wounds of Jesus, and touched them, he would not believe. Stories like Rachel’s press the point: Is Thomas a warning that we should be concerned about our doubts? Or, instead, is Thomas one whose story can encourage us to explore our doubts and questions openly? Was Shakespeare’s character Lucia correct in saying, “Our doubts are traitors.”? Or is Frederick Buechner closer to the mark when he said, “Doubt is the ants in the pants of faith.”
We’ll work with this in the service this week, the second Sunday of Easter. The sermon is titled, “Doubt Will Save the World: Heresy or Saving Grace.” The sermon flows from John 20: 19-31, to be read by Laura Baich and Bill Matthews. We’ll be led musically by the Chancel Choir, accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. We’ll sing, pray and have a moment for children. We hope you join us.
If you have been a part of the St. Mark’s community for years, or if you are just discovering us, we look forward to connecting with you on Sunday. To join the 10:30 service online, visit www.smumc.church, and click on the Live Stream banner.