John 20:19-31

Which day is this?

When I was in seminary, I participated in a Spring play about the life of Joan of Arc. She was a simple girl from Domrémy in France who claimed to have received visions from saints, about leading the French army in war against the English. There was this scene when she goes to meet the King Charles the seventh who wasn’t specifically known for his courage (let’s just put it that way) and she tries to convince him to march to Orléans and fight for freedom from the English. And there is a great line that I still remember in which she tries to boost his confidence and she says “come on Charles don’t you have any courage,” to which he answers “I don’t know if I do. On some days I have a little; on others I don’t.” Jeanne D’arc then asks: “and which day is this Charles?!”

‘Which day is this?’ I think it’s funny because it’s true. We tend to think of some qualities as permanent qualities, like when you say someone is brave; you’d think they’re always brave. But that isn’t the case; we all have our good days and our bad days. And sometimes it just depends on what day it is.

Friends, the same applies to faith. It is more like a cardiogram or a wave than like a straight line. Some days we are on the high, some days we are on the low, some days we are going up the hill, yet on others we are going down the slope, and maybe on certain days we are in the middle.

I had to write a statement of my faith the other day, and I thought “it is okay for me to write ‘I am an occasional agnostic;’ I am sure whoever is going to read this statement will be able to identify with it, at least if they were genuine!”

Friends, if we wanted to be honest with ourselves, we are all occasional agnostics. The disciples were no exception. It was all thrown on Thomas’s lap!

Thomas did not ask for anything extreme or excessive, but just wanted to experience Jesus in the same way the rest of the ten disciples did. And Jesus actually affirms his doubt; he does not judge his lack of faith on that day, but in fact Jesus invites Thomas to touch his wounds so he wouldn’t be unbelieving but believing.

Thus, I see in Jesus’s saying: “blessed are those who did not see and believed,” less of a rebuke to Thomas and more of an invitation for him as well as for the other disciples to lean on each other’s faith. It sounds to me more like “blessed are those who trusted each other and believed each other’s testimonies.”

Jesus was not trying to make a statement about blind faith or about believing without experiencing, but he sets a model for communal faith. Friends, that’s why community is important: because none of us will ever be perfect, and Jesus understands and affirms that. But within a community, on the days when you are feeling weak, you get to lean on those who are climbing the hill. On other days they will be going down the slope, and you will get to lift them up. It all depends on which day that is!

Look at this great example with us here today (visiting choir). I just love how these wonderful teens lean on each other for support. I know you guys are great, you are wonderful singers but I’m sure some of you make small mistakes sometimes. But I’m also sure that no one in the audience notices because there are others who would pick up and cover up the mistakes. Despite the glitches, we still hear one voice.

Communal faith is similar to learning to sing one beautiful song while recognizing that none of us is perfect. That is why the church exists. Now it is indeed risky business to commit oneself to others to grow. It may require doing things differently and occasionally being thrown outside of your comfort zone, to say the least. But Jesus calls “blessed” those who are willing to take that risk.

The community still won’t be perfect; no one is, and no one is expected to be. But it still matters, because with all its imperfect parts, it makes up the body of Christ. And this entire body, together, experiences the resurrection; experiences the healing from its brokenness, and rises with Jesus from brokenness to the wholeness of life.

Let us then live the hope of the resurrection, let us live the unity of the resurrection. Allowing ourselves to be in Christ: one body, one mind, one resurrection, one faith, in one Savior and one Lord. To Him be glory. Amen.