Following Jesus: Believe!

John 20:26-31    Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”    “My Lord and my God!”  Thomas exclaimed.     Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”     The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.  But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

Bible Study Theme:  Jesus says, “Believe!”  When we come to believe in Christ while we are in the midst of a community in which we belong, we have the power to be who we are called to be and to do what we are called to do.

Context:  What a difference a week makes … or does it?  The doors are still locked!  Is the fledgling Christian community still afraid?  Again, the first words Jesus speaks to the disciples are “Peace be with you.”    Jesus may “know” what has transpired.   Perhaps he simply knows that Thomas has a curious and skeptical personality.  Perhaps he knows that there are just some people who need some kind of “proof.”   Whatever the reason, Jesus immediately speaks to Thomas right where he is.   Jesus talks about belief.  The Greek words translated as believe and believing are pisteuo {pist-yoo'-o} and pistos {pis-tos'} which is John’s preferred way to talk about faith.  John does not use the word pistis {pis'-tis} which is translated faith, whereas the other gospel writers seem to prefer it.  In reality, both words emerge from the same root.  Today we most commonly use the word “faith” and include a sense of “belief, trust, and loyalty” which both Greek words embody. 

Going Deeper:   Blogger Brian Cromer (http://briancromer.com/2009/12/22/) posted an excerpt from “Jesus Loves You this I know” by Craig Gross and Jason Harper:  “For a long time Christians have been taught a three-step approach to God. It starts with belief. Essentially, if you believe the right things, it will lead to a change in behavior. When you have changed your behavior, you will be accepted by the church. Believe, Behave, Belong.  It’s time to flip this. The Jesus of scripture reached out and loved people regardless of where they were. It is essential to show people that they can belong in your world even if they don’t act, think, behave, or believe like you.  Imagine a church or community where Jesus was communicated in such a way that everyone belonged. They were included. And from this feeling of belonging, over time the message of Jesus made an impact on their belief. And from that newfound fullness of God, their behavior changed. Belong, Believe, Behave.”  (page 22-23) 
   
When you look on the surface of this text, it appears to follow the “believe, behave, belong” model.  Jesus emphatically uses words translated believe or believing five times in five verses.  However, when we look a little deeper we find that Jesus began building a community of “belonging” at the very beginning of his ministry when he first called the disciples to “come and see.”  Remember some of the people that Jesus encountered in his three years of ministry.   Remember Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10).  Remember the woman at the well (John 4:7-42).  Remember the sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50).  Remember the sick man by the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2-9).   Jesus met people who had no reason to feel loved and he invited them into his world and accepted them right where they were before he introduced them to the kingdom of God and invited them to “believe.”   As you think about different people that Jesus encountered, who do you remember?   How did Jesus invite them into “belonging?”   How did their behavior change as a result of their belief? 

Pondering:  What difference is there between these models of faith development?   As you think about your own journey of faith, how did you come to believe?  How have you changed because of what you believe?  Where did you learn about God’s love for you?   How hard or easy is it for you to accept people that are different from you?  What is the role of community (belonging) in the way you relate to God?  Have you ever been a part of a group of people who modeled Jesus’ love in radical acceptance?   

Think about your community of faith.  Which model do you believe your church operates under?  Can you step outside your community and cast a critical (but constructive) eye upon it?   If you can do that, what do you see?  What message does your church send to people who are different from them?   What message does your church send to people who feel they have no place to belong? What are some ways your community of faith could reach out with this message of Jesus:  everyone belongs!

Praying The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith; 
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; 
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console; 
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. 
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.   Amen