CMLC 2026-04-12 Sermon

Howdy. Have you ever walked into a room and everyone's

already laughing like something just happened

right and you missed it by about maybe ten seconds

right and you ask what happened and someone says

it's hard to explain you had to be there just

gets you right there or you join a conversation

and just a little too late And they're already

deep into it. They're connecting, they're tracking,

and you're just trying to piece together what

you missed. What are they even talking about?

Or you're with a group of people who all share

something in common that you don't. A story,

a moment, an experience that they all lived.

And no matter how much they try to explain it,

it's not the same as being there. And after a

while, it's not just that you missed something.

It's actually the only one who did. And the more

everyone else seems to get it, the harder it

is to step into it. I remember a time like that.

Several years ago, I was supposed to go on a

college mission trip. And everything was set.

Deposit was paid. Money had been fundraised.

Everything was packed and set to go. Well, mostly

packed, I was a college student. But a few weeks

before... Everything fell through for me, and

I was not able to go. And it was devastating.

While everyone else was there on that trip, I

was not. And when they came back, you could feel

it. The stories, the inside jokes, the way people

had connected, the opportunities that they had

to butcher their poor Spanish skills. Even the

person who went in my place. It felt like they

had stepped into something that I had missed.

Everyone else had shared this experience and

I didn't. And there's just this quiet feeling

of being on the outside of something you were

supposed to be a part of. That feeling, it's

not new. That's where Thomas the Apostle is.

Everyone else has seen Jesus. Everyone else has

the story. There they were when he appeared.

They heard him. They saw him. They can talk about

it because they experienced it and Thomas did

not. And you can almost feel the question sitting

there. How did he miss it? How does that even

happen? I mean, is it as if Jesus were just specifically

waiting for him not to be there? Because this

is not just any moment. This is Jesus risen from

the dead. And somehow, he's not there. And what's

interesting is, we're never actually told why.

Scripture doesn't fill that part in for us. Was

he just maybe gone for a moment? Went down to

the store and got some eggs? And everything happened

while he was out? Just a normal, ordinary absence,

and it turns out to be the one moment you did

not want to miss. Was he maybe pulling away?

emotionally after everything had fallen apart.

He just needed some space, trying to make sense

of everything that had just happened with the

crucifixion. Was he afraid that maybe the disciples

would be next, laying low, not sure if it was

safe to be with the others yet? We're not told,

but whatever the reason, he wasn't there. He

missed it. And we know what that feels like.

to be the one who wasn't in the room when it

happened, to be the one who didn't see what everyone

else saw, to be the one trying to make sense

of something everyone else seems so sure about.

So when they tell him, we have seen the Lord,

and he says, I will not believe. That's not coming

out of nowhere. This is coming from someone who's

on the outside of a moment that everyone else

is inside of, and there are a lot of ways that

that sentence could be coming from him. Because

maybe it's confusion. This doesn't make any sense.

This isn't how death works in the world. People

don't just come back to life like that. Or maybe

it's skepticism. Are they just seeing what they

want to see as the disciples? Are they just trying

to hold on to something because they don't want

it to be over? Maybe it's more personal. Why

would Jesus show up to them and not to me? Why

would everyone else get that moment and I'm the

one who missed it? I was there for all these

other events. Why would I miss this one? and

maybe it's something even deeper, I cannot go

through that again. I cannot let the hope get

built up inside me like that just to watch it

fall apart. We don't know exactly. Maybe, maybe

it was some of all of them. Confusion, skepticism,

hurt, or just not wanting to go through loss

again. Whatever is underneath it, this much is

clear though. This is not just about stubbornness.

It's about saying, when I do not believe, it's

more than about defiance. It's about survival

for one's heart and soul and mind. Because Thomas

is not asking for more than what the others got.

He walked with Jesus. He heard the teaching.

He saw the miracles. He watched the crowds gather.

He followed him day after day. His faith had

been built on actually seeing, actually hearing,

actually being there. So now when all he has

is someone else's word for it, he's not ready

to rebuild his whole life on something he hasn't

experienced yet. And underneath all of that,

there's a question that may be rising. Why not

me? Maybe we need to sit with that one for a

moment. Why not me? Isn't that the question that

comes up so often for people who struggle with

faith when others don't seem to? Why don't I

feel what others seem to feel? Why don't I have

that kind of certainty? Why does faith seem to

come so naturally for them? And it feels like

such a struggle for me. Why haven't I seen what

they've seen? Why haven't I experienced what

they talk about? Why does it seem like everyone

else has a story? And I'm still trying to figure

out mine. And at some point, it's not just about

questions anymore. It starts to feel like maybe

you're on the outside looking in. And it's not

just because religion in general feels vague

or distant. It feels that way with Christianity

too. Why do others seem to have this confidence,

this strength in what they believe? And I'm over

here still asking basic questions. Why am I not

certain the way that others seem to be? In a

lot of ways, that's Thomas. Everyone else has

seen the Lord. Everyone else has this moment.

Why hasn't he? And when you're in that place,

it's not just that it's hard to believe. It's

hard to even know what belief is supposed to

look like. It's not that you're necessarily rejecting

it. You're just not there. You can't help but

wonder, is what they're telling me about Jesus,

is that real? Is that actually what I'm supposed

to hold on to? and then eight days later the

disciples are together the doors are locked but

this time Thomas is with them and Jesus comes

again what must that have felt like as he stood

among them and he says peace be with you just

as they had said and then he turns to Thomas

this is not about trying to correct him or trying

to shame him. It's about meeting him. And you

can tell that he knows exactly what Thomas was

struggling with. He knows exactly what he said.

Because what does he say? Put your fingers here.

See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it

into my side. Do not disbelieve. Believe. It's

like you're saying, Thomas, you said you needed

to see. So look you said you needed to touch

So come and feel for yourself It's not about

avoiding Thomas's questions, and it's not about

dismissing the struggle inside It's about meeting

Thomas exactly where he is Doesn't always happen

right away It doesn't always happen on our timeline

Sometimes we have to wait But it doesn't mean

that it never happens Because the ones who feel

like they need to see, the ones who feel like

they need something more, they're not forgotten.

And it's not that God has no intention of meeting

them. It may just be that there is more to God's

timing than we understand in how and when he

lets us see. Because Jesus had no intention of

leaving Thomas out. The one who felt like he

missed it, is the one Jesus comes back for. But

what happens next says more than we might expect.

See, when Jesus comes back for Thomas, his response

reveals more than even Thomas may have realized.

You know those moments when you catch someone

off guard and they say something that's more

true than even they might have realized? I was

talking with Anna. She's been our our custodian

for decades and we were talking several months

ago when Several people were retiring and I said

I promise it's not on me. I promise I didn't

chase them away But you know I had this feeling

But it hadn't really said it out loud and I wondered

what was she feeling? And in the middle of the

conversation about all the people having recently

retired, I asked offhandedly, so when do you

think you'll retire? And she said, oh, probably

this next year, maybe by the end of the school

year. And then she stopped. And her eyes widened

bigger than mine had. And her hands went to her

mouth. And she said, I've never said that out

loud before. But now that I have, it feels right.

And now, having retired with our Easter celebration,

her heart being full and complete by getting

to spend time with her family and even her son,

who's retired from the military, is that that

moment was a moment where she got to speak what

was more clear than even she knew at the time.

You see, sometimes you say something and only

then you realize it's been true all along. And

that's what happens here is that Thomas sees

Jesus and out comes my Lord and my God. Not just

teacher, not just rabbi, not Messiah, my Lord

and my God. The one who struggled the most is

the one who finally said it the clearest. The

one who questioned the most is the one who names

Jesus the most fully. The others, it's not that

they didn't believe, but here, everything comes

into focus. Not just that Jesus is alive, but

who He is as our God. Because in that moment,

Thomas is not just seeing a man who came back

to life. He had seen that before. He's seeing

the glory of God standing right in front of him,

risen. in conquering death. The one who has authority

over all things, and he says it before he's even

had time to filter it. The one who felt like

he missed it, the one who said, I will not believe,

is now saying, my Lord and my God. And it makes

you wonder though, if what felt like a delay

was actually part of how God was revealing something

deeper. Because in that moment, the one who felt

like the outsider is the one who speaks the truth

that no one else has said that clearly. And that's

where all of this has been leading, but it doesn't

stop with Thomas. Because Jesus says something

that takes this moment and opens it up far beyond

that room and everybody inside of it. He says,

have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed

are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

He's not rebuking Thomas for the experience that

he just had. He's not pushing him away. He's

widening the circle of who this moment is meant

to bless. Because not everyone who would follow

after him was going to be in that room. Not everyone

was going to see what Thomas saw. Not everyone

was going to touch the wounds. And that's where

this becomes hope for us. Because we were not

there. We didn't see Jesus walk through the door.

We didn't hear His voice in that room. And yet,

we're still being invited to believe. That's

why this was written. So that those who were

not there might still come to know who Jesus

is. might still come to trust Him, might still

have life in His name, which means that that

moment was never just for Thomas. His moment

was for you and for me. The one who thought he

missed it became the one who helps the rest of

us see. And that's how God so often works. We

don't all have the same experiences. We don't

all come to faith in the same way or at the same

time. But Jesus is still speaking, still revealing,

still making himself known. And sometimes the

moments where we struggle the most, the moments

where we feel the most unsure, become the very

moments that God uses to reveal something true.

But not just for us, for others who need to see

it too. Because our faith... is never meant to

stop with just us. So the question becomes, what

do we do with this? What do you do when you find

yourself in that place, where you're not sure

that you're rejecting it, but you're just not

there with it? Maybe it starts with something

simple. Being honest. Honest about the questions.

Honest about the doubts. Honest about where you

actually are. Because that's exactly where Jesus

met Thomas. And maybe part of that means not

carrying it alone. Maybe talking with someone.

And hey, I am happy to grab some coffee with

you all. I love it. I will put plenty of cream

and sugar in it. Do not make fun of me, or at

least not to my face. But there are others here

too. Our elders, our deacons, our Stephen ministers.

People, if you see them with the name badge on,

just people who want to care for you. Because

that's exactly where Jesus met Thomas. See, there

are people who have wrestled, who have struggled,

who have asked the same questions. It's not just

you. There are people who would be glad to sit

and not rush you through it. Because maybe it

means those spending more time in God's Word.

I mean, not just what we speak here, but maybe

when you go and open it for yourself, and read

it, and sit with it, and wrestle with it, and

maybe sometimes yell if there's something that

just bothers you. Because even if all you do

is go back to these same verses and ask God today,

show me what I'm not seeing yet. Because maybe

for some of you though, maybe you're in a season

where you have clarity. Maybe you have confidence,

and maybe if that's you, then don't overlook

the people around you who might be where Thomas

is. The ones who are quiet, the ones who are

unsure, the ones who may feel like they've missed

something. Because sometimes what they need is

not an answer. Maybe they need someone who's

willing to stay with them. All of these are ways

that God draws people back. not by forcing belief,

but by meeting them right where they are. Because

in the end, this is not about having everything

figured out. It's about the one who comes to

you, the one who knows what you've said, the

one who knows what you're struggling with, the

one who knows why you're so hesitant, and still

comes to you because he loves you. Not to push

you away. not to shame you, to meet you. The

one who says, peace be with you. The one who

meets you in the middle of your questions and

doesn't leave you there. Because Jesus did not

just rise for all those certain people who act

like they have it all figured out. He rose for

those of us because we struggle. He rose for

the ones who question. He rose for the ones who

feel like they missed it. And the same one who

came back for Thomas is the same one who comes

for you so that you may believe and have life

in his name. In the name of Jesus, amen.