Here something interesting:
The eleven remaining disciples go up on a mountain in Galilee, where they see
Jesus for the last time. Matthew 28: 17 tells us, “When they saw him, they
worshiped him, but some doubted.” They had left their jobs to follow him, had
spent three years with him, heard him preach, witnessed his miracles, saw the
Crucifixion, experienced the Resurrection, spent several weeks being with the
Risen Jesus in a variety of places— but some doubted!
Contrary to both science and
traditional wisdom, seeing is not always believing. Despite this assertion something
besides an informed, reasonable decision is going on here. Some who saw the
risen Christ still doubted. Unlike Thomas, their problem and ours is not simply
a lack of information. This hesitancy to believe is more a product of what we
do know than what we don’t know. Mark Twain said, “Some people worry about the
parts of the Bible they don’t understand. Me, I worry about the parts I do
understand!”
We know that to commit our
lives to Christ and to the way off living that he calls us to, is to commit
ourselves to following wherever that might lead us. We know that this takes a
lot of decisions out of our hands and puts them in the hands of God. We know
that to put our decisions into the hands of God is to risk being called to do
things we would personally rather not do. We know that the one calling us was
crucified. We know that he revealed himself by showing his wounds and suffering
for the world. We know that we may be called upon to show our love for the
world through suffering, as well. We know what it means to believe in Jesus,
and our doubts may be rooted in our own hesitancy to shoulder that cross.
Next thing we know is that
after the Resurrection out comes the troublemakers! Once Jesus appears to the
disciples and gets them out of that locked-tight upper room, they start raising
a holy fracas, a great upheaval in his name. Of course, that disruption to the
religious status quo would then and even today put the faithful before a
Council. In the case of the disciples’ this was the Sanhedrin who had already
ordered them to stop their proclamation. Yet, their hearts are aflame with the
good news of the risen Christ. Peter is bold to confess his faith and share the
story of what God is doing for all people.
As a witness to the resurrected
Jesus and one filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter explains that he and the other
disciples are now subject to God’s authority. We know from history that this
allegiance resulted in the martyrdom of many early Christians, Peter included.
I wonder how willing, as twenty-first-century disciples, we are to be
troublemakers? At least here in Australia we have it pretty easy. Most of us
have shelter, clothing food and friends and family. Most of us live a
reasonably free and peaceful life. No one is threatening to kill us for
proclaiming Christ; in fact, we have trouble getting people to take us
seriously and listen to our message, much less fill our pews. We still report
to God, and we still have the greatest story ever told.
With the women at the tomb,
Peter, Thomas, and the other early witnesses, we too can be bold in our faith
by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we stand in a great cloud of
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