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The scripture reading for this glorious Easter morning is the Gospel according to John, the 20th chapter. I begin the reading at the verse which is numbered 19. "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and

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said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I send you.' And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy

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Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.' Now Thomas, one of the twelve called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and

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place my finger in the mark of the nails and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.' Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands and put

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out your hand and place it in my side. Do not be faithless, but believing.' Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God.' And may the same Spirit who inspired these words incline our hearts to their understanding. Pray with me. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

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General Omar Bradley was flying from Washington DC to Los Angeles, California. He was not in his military uniform but wearing civilian garb. He seated himself in the plane, took his briefcase, removed some papers, and began to do some important work. A young Air Force private got on board the plane and came and sat

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down in the seat next to him. And being very much the extrovert, the private said to General Bradley, 'Well sir, we're going to be seated beside each other for a few hours now. I think it would be nice if we would become acquainted. From the look of you, I would say that you are a banker.' Bradley was not amused and so looking at

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the young man, he said, 'Young man, I am General Omar Bradley. I am a five-star general. I am chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I run the Pentagon in Washington DC in the United States of America.' It was a moment's pause and then the young boy said, 'Well sir, that's a very important job. I hope you don't blow

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it.' I think of that story every Easter Sunday morning because I come before you and the members of our radio and television audience and I have glorious news. Jesus Christ is risen and with his victory comes victory over depression and discord and death. And I've got to get that news out. I have no right to

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expect you to come here and then send you away empty. And I'm always terrified that I'll blow it. [Pause] I call on one of the most interesting personalities of the New Testament to

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help me. We call him Thomas but Thomas was not his name. It was his nickname. There are two places in the scripture where Thomas is referred to. He is referred to by name in both of these places, not in terms of his real name but his nickname. At one point the Aramaic word teoma appears, which means twin, and

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in another place the Greek word didymus appears, which also means twin. Now we know that there were other people in the fellowship of the disciples named Judas, at least two of them. And we also know from some ancient Syriac documents that it's very likely that Thomas's real name was Judas. So it's easy to understand why

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he was not called Judas since there were two others by that name, but rather was called simply the twin. I'll call him Thomas this morning or the twin, but you'll never hear me call him Doubting Thomas. That's the epithet, of course, that has stuck to him across the years, but I find him, quite frankly, a man of

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remarkable courage and conviction and certainty. Easter for him became a magnificent reality, and I say today three cheers for Thomas. I cheer him initially because he displayed courage in the face of depression. Jesus and his group from Galilee had been ministering around Jerusalem and things became very

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hot there. The force of the opposition was growing, so they crossed the Jordan River for a time of rest and recuperation, and they'd no sooner gotten there when word came from Jerusalem again that Jesus' friend Lazarus was desperately ill. Now actually, Lazarus did not live in Jerusalem but in a suburb

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called Bethany, and Jesus announces that he's going to go back immediately to be with his friend. And the disciples are very upset. This is the place they've just escaped. This is the place where danger is. This is where menace and thunder-laden opposition is to be found. There's virtually a mutiny grows up

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amongst the master's men about going back to Jerusalem, and then in the midst of the argument, a calm voice is heard, and the Scriptures say it was the voice of Thomas, and his words were these, "Let us also go that we may die with him." No cheap optimism here. Thomas was not naive about the circumstances back there in

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Jerusalem and Bethany. He knew they were walking into what was the most depressing of circumstances, but his word was simply this, "The master is on the move, and therefore we must follow." Now it's been my experience that when I look at most people who are depressed, I do not see them showing that kind of

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confidence in following Christ. I was reading about a woman in Galveston, Texas who was cleaning out the bottom of her parakeet's cage with her sweeper hose, and the telephone rang, and when she reached for it, the hose slipped and whoosh, the bird was sucked right into the sweeper. Well, she immediately opened the

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bag and took the little creature out and took all the lint and the dirt away from it and put it back on its perch in the cage, but she reported in the article that the bird doesn't sing anymore. He just sits there and stares. Well, it seems to me that most people, when they are confronted with the depressing and

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the dangerous circumstances, the risky adventures of life, oftentimes just sit there and stare. There's no singing. Thomas, on the other hand, is ready to march. It may be a funeral march, he acknowledges that, but he's ready to go with his Lord. And I have seen people who demonstrate that same kind of Thomas

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spirit. I think this morning of a girl named Wilma. She was born prematurely. She had polio when she was a very young child. She also suffered from scarlet fever and had double pneumonia. All of this while very, very young. As you can very well imagine, this had horrendous effect upon her health. But this youngster,

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even at an early age, showed a very real and dynamic faith. Now, when she was 11 years old, she got tired of wearing her polio braces. So she asked the doctor if she could take them off. He said, "If you will exercise some every day, you may be able to take them off someday." Well, she figured if a little exercise would do it,

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a lot of exercise would do it even faster. And she exercised and exercised so much that her mother became angry and disturbed about it. But the girl said, "I feel that God is calling me to do this and I'm going to do it." And within one year, she was freed of those braces. And then she got the idea that she'd like to

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play for the girls basketball team. Her sister Yvonne played on that team very successfully. So she tried out for the team. At this time, she was six feet tall and weighed only 89 pounds. But she tried out for the team. And the coach came to the house one night. She was in the bedroom and listened as the coach was

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talking to her father. And the coach said, "I want your daughter Yvonne, but I don't want your daughter Wilma." And that father had enough sense to say, "If you want one of my girls, you've got to take both of them." And so the coach took the strong Yvonne and also the still awkward and ungainly Wilma. Well, she was resented on

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the team. All of the players had black and gold satin outfits, but she wore an old green cotton one. She asked the coach if he would give her some extra time each day in coaching. He said he would. Ten minutes, only ten minutes. And that was not out on the floor. He would simply sit in his office and tell her what she was

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doing wrong. But she got two young boys to come with her and listen. And then they would go out on the floor and work on the things that the coach had talked about. And when the coach asked her why she was so determined, because he could see no possibility of her ultimate success, she said, "I believe. And I

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believe if I try hard, God will bring out of this either that which I want or something even better." About a year later, she was warming up before the game and the guest referee was a fellow named Ed Temple. And he happened to be the coach of a girls track team called the Tiger Bells. And he thought to himself that

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Wilma might be quite a runner and asked if she would give up basketball and start running. And so she did. And within one year, she held three state records. In 1956, she went to Australia to participate in America's Olympic team. She wanted to bring home the gold, but she didn't. She brought back a bronze

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medal. But she said, "With Christ, all things are possible. And the fact that I haven't won at this time does not mean that I won't win at the next time." She went to Tennessee State University. In those days, they had no scholarships for women athletes. And so she had to work to keep herself in school. She also carried

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18 hours of class and maintained a B average. She spent six hours on the track every day in addition to her study and her work. And in 1960, she went with the American Olympic team again, this time to Rome. She was to participate in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash and to be the anchorwoman on the

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400-meter relay team. She won all three events, three gold medals, three world records. The first woman to ever do such a thing in all of Olympic history. And her comment when she had achieved this was, "To God be the glory." Her name, of course, is Wilma Rudolph. And today, she heads up the Wilma Rudolph Foundation,

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whose purpose it is to bring young people to the place where they so give themselves to Christ that in pursuing him, they will not only be obedient to him, but discover themselves. That is the Thomas spirit. It's sometimes very hard, but it's the spirit that moves ahead and that ultimately wins. Thomas said, "Let us

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go with him, that we may die with him." And men at one cheer for Thomas. Now, the second reason that I cheer Thomas is that he showed conviction in the face of discord. It was just a few weeks later and Jesus was gathered together with the disciples in the upper room. And just was the occasion on which Jesus was

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delivering his great speech about the kingdom of heaven. You remember how it goes, "In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am ye may be also. And whither I go ye know,

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and the way ye know." And just at that time, Thomas interrupted. "Lord," he said, "we don't know where you are going. How are we to know the way?" Now, understand in this question, there's no fear. Thomas has already shown how brave he is. And there's no rejection of what Jesus is saying. He's not doubting the truth of a

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single word that Jesus has uttered. He's actually seeking more. He's saying, "Lord, you're telling us about the kingdom of heaven, and we believe that there are mansions of eternity, and that we will be there. But what about now? And what about what transpires between now and then? Tell us about your presence with us

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today and tomorrow and in all of our tomorrows, until we gain that kingdom of heaven." That, of course, is the Easter Gospel, you know. That Jesus Christ is risen today means that he is present with us now, not only in our tomorrows. And so, Jesus responds to Thomas with one of the most magnificent sentences in all

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of Scripture. He says, "Thomas, don't worry. I'm with you, and I am the way, the truth, and the life." That sentence has created more spiritual champions than any other sentence that has ever been uttered. And with it, all uncertainty was gone, and a new hope was born in Thomas and those who heard. Notice, please, Jesus never

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criticizes anyone for asking a question or expressing a doubt. You remember that magnificent gift that he gave to the man who could only say about his faith, "Lord, I believe. Help thou in my unbelief." Jesus never castigates anyone for their doubt. As a matter of fact, he says quite the opposite. He says, "Don't profess more

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faith than you actually have." He's not in favor of bandwagon believing. He doesn't want people to go on a hand-me-down faith. "Just go as far as you can," he says, "and then ask of me, and I will answer." And that's just what Thomas did. He wasn't worried about the future. He'd entrusted that to the Lord who'd already spoken of

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it. But what about now? And Jesus said, "I am the way for you, Thomas. I am the truth for you, Thomas. And I am the life every single day of your life for you, Thomas." Richard Selzer was professor of surgery at Yale University, and on one occasion he wrote of his experiences as a surgeon. And there's a very beautiful place in

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his record of his ministry through medicine in which he talks about performing surgery on a young girl. She had a malignant tumor in her face, and in removing the tumor, the doctor had to cut a tiny nerve which was connected with some muscles about the young girl's mouth. And as a result, her mouth was

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palsied and twisted. Well, he was in the girl's room that night when, after the surgery, her husband could come in to be with her. There was just a soft lamplight in the room, and the two stood looking at one another with great love. And she turned to the doctor and she said, "Will my mouth always be like this?" And the

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doctor said, "Yes, it will be." For I had to cut the nerve. She looked back at her husband, and looking down at her, he said, "I kind of like it. I think it looks cute." And then, ignoring the presence of the doctor, he bent down and kissed his wife. And the doctor wrote in his account of this event that when he kissed his

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wife, he twisted his own mouth so that the kiss still worked. And commenting on that, Dr. Seltzer said, "I felt as though I had encountered God." There are times when life gets very twisted. There are times when we have very great questions and anxieties. And what we must remember is that at such times, Jesus twists his

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lips so that the kiss still works. It was Thomas who brought the announcement of that to the fore. The way, the truth, and the life today. Two cheers for Thomas. And one final thought. I cheer Thomas because he sought certainty in the face of death. It was Easter evening, and the disciples had gathered together in an

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upper room, the doors were closed, and suddenly the luminous presence of Jesus was there with them. And Jesus gave to them, breathed on them, and blessed them with his peace and with the power of his Holy Spirit. John writes of it with great tenderness and beauty, but his account ends with this sentence, "Now Thomas was

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not there when Jesus came." A lot of people have wondered why Thomas wasn't there with the other disciples. Some have said that he was overcome with grief. Some have said that he was hiding in fear. Some have suggested that he was broken with despair. I doubt every one of those explanations. I mean, this man who was

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ready to die for Christ, and this man who was certain about heaven, and this one who believed that Jesus was the ray and the truth and the life for him, I don't believe that he would have been filled with grief or fear or despair. But it still must be observed that Thomas was not there when the Lord came. Of course,

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it must also be noticed that a lot of people miss out on the most exciting experiences of the risen Christ because they are not there when the disciples of Jesus get together. I suppose we will always be left to wonder about Thomas' absence. The disciples saw him out and told him what had happened. And Thomas

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says, "I won't believe it until I put my hand in his wounds." Doesn't that sound incongruous to you? This man who said he'd die for Christ, this man who was willing to live for Christ, this one whose goal was heaven with Christ? Doesn't it somehow seem inconsistent for him to say, "Until I put my hands in his wounds,

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I will not believe." Well, it may sound incongruous or inconsistent, but think of it like this. I believe that if those disciples would have said to Thomas, "Jesus appeared in the Spirit and blessed us," Thomas would not have questioned. I believe if they would have said, "We had an experience such as it was to come

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later in Pentecost when the tongues of flame were over the disciples' head," I think if they would have reported an experience like that, Thomas would have raised no question. What astonished Thomas was the news that Christ was physically present with them. That this astonishing act of God's power could

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have been presented to the twelve. Yes, he believed Jesus was the way. Yes, he believed Jesus was the truth. Yes, he believed that Jesus was the life. But to believe that that crucified and crushed body could now be risen and regnant and moving about so that it could be touched, well, he was not about to believe that

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until he could touch it himself. He didn't want any second-hand testimony to that. He wanted personal certainty. There are a lot of people, you know, who try to get along with a hand-me-down religion, something which belonged to the generations before in which they claim only by inheritance. Thomas didn't want

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that. He wanted a personal experience of the miracle of his physical resurrection, not just that the Spirit of Jesus was there, but that he stood there in his very own flesh. That's what he sought. That's the reason he says, "Until I put my hands in the wounds, until I physically touch him, I won't believe." See, what

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Thomason was seeking is very much like those fires that got spreading in Yellowstone last summer. Do you remember reading about them? There was an article which explained how those fires would start. A tree would stand with its roots set in some vein of underground moisture, and then lightning would hit

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that tree and it would become electrically pressurized, and all of the electricity would run into the ground, and it would discharge through the roots and follow the course of that moisture, and then it would ignite twigs and branches and pine needles that had accumulated beneath the tree. Well, Thomas

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wanted to have that energizing reality of the miracle of Christ's physical resurrection so fill him that he would be incendiary whenever he told anybody else about it. Whenever I think of Thomas at this time, I think of a man I knew who had a problem with alcohol. He drank too much, he literally sold all of the

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possessions of his family in order to buy alcohol, and then he had an experience with Christ. He was transformed, and he said to me on one occasion, and I'll never forget this, "I believe that Jesus turned water into wine because in my life he turned whiskey into furniture." And that's what

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Thomas was seeking, that experience of not just the spiritual presence of Christ, but his physical reality that death itself had been defeated, not then, but now. And then he saw Jesus, and he reached out and touched the wounds, and he uttered what is the sweetest and the shortest praise of Christ in all of the

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New Testament. He said, "My Lord and my God." And Thomas went off to write some of the most glorious chapters in the early missionary history of the Christian Church, carrying the gospel to India and belong. Well, that same power, that same Thomas spirit is available to us today. There are some perhaps listening to me

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now whose blood is fevered, whose pulse beats wanting something that is not really good for them. There are perhaps those here who are afloat on a sea of doubt, and they're carried about by all kinds of currents. They've been too attentive to the world's word and not listened enough to God's Word. There are

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some whose spirit is dismayed. They're caught up and anxious about age. Maybe they're experiencing a more profound loneliness than they have ever known before, and as the shadows of the end of this life gather about them, they are afraid. Maybe there are some here who are burdened with discouragement, which is

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almost too great to bear so that they cannot sleep and their nerves are a quiver and their hopes somehow never seem to come to fruition. There are those who are humiliated by their yesterdays, broken by the memories of things they wish never would have happened, would have never been a part of their

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experience. Well, to all such ones, my heart is filled to say, and this is what I hope I don't blow, that you can follow Thomas, and Thomas will lead you to Christ. You can come stumbling like he did, but with courage enough to risk something, following Christ wherever he leads. You can come, if you wish, with your

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questions and your doubts and your twisted theology or the twisted cords of your life and discover with Thomas that the kiss still works. You can come dragging behind you, if you wish, any of the luggage of your life that you've been carrying so long a time, as long as you follow Thomas to the personal

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realization of who Jesus is, my Lord and my God. If you will give to Christ what Thomas gave, loyalty and chance, if you will reach out, then you will experience what Thomas experienced. And you will say in your own heart, and you will mean it as you say it, my Lord and my God. This is not to say that all of life will be

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easy, but it is to say that starting right now, neither you nor your world will ever be the same again. [silence] Hallelujah. Christ is risen. Let him be risen and regnant in you. Let us pray.

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O thou God and Father of Thomas, be our God and Father as well. O thou who didst meet him where he was, meet us where we are. O thou who didst take him with his questions and his wonderings, but also with his courage enough to try and his confidence to reach out and the great hope that filled his heart as he

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followed the way, the truth, and the life, what you did for Thomas, do for any Thomas, any twin of Thomas who hears these words today. Let this Easter be not just a celebration of 20 centuries ago. Let it be a celebration which transforms today. And we will give you the honor and the glory forever and forever. Amen.

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