Rev’d Jonathan Gale
Habakkuk 2: 1 – 4
God’s Reply to the Prophet’s Complaint
I will stand at my watch-post,
and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what he* will answer concerning my complaint.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.
3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
4 Look at the proud!
Their spirit is not right in them,
but the righteous live by their faith.*
Ephesians 2: 19 – 22
19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.* 21In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22in whom you also are built together spiritually* into a dwelling-place for God.
John 20: 24 – 29
Jesus and Thomas
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin*), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
Sometimes at lunch time I catch the end of a TV programme called Judge Rinder. Not infrequently the judge has before him people who simply don’t know how to behave in court. The judge will be pursuing a particular line of enquiry and they’ll interrupt him. When he tells them to keep quiet they say things like, “You interrupted me.” Or “You’re not listening to me!” They overreact.
These are the fellaheen of society, people who have a chip on their shoulder, often but not exclusively people from the wrong side of the railway tracks, people who do not trust authority figures, people (in short) who, more often than not, have experienced poor parenting and have learnt to be suspicious.
The Rev’d Katene Eruera and I form a two-person board disciplinary subcommittee for the secondary school where we serve as board members and that means we hear cases and decide upon expulsions. Occasionally just such a person will appear before us as do their parents and frequently, one thinks to oneself, “If that is the parent, no wonder this poor student is standing in front of us today.” It’s the same syndrome. No trust, therefore inordinately defensive.
One of the things we do when we bring up our children well is provide them with a sense of trust in the structures of society and the authority figures that help that society function. We also provide them with a sense that they have some fair recourse if they are in any way let down by that society. In other words, we give them a sense of the values by which they can happily live and function; and as they mature they learn to trust, to have a faith response.
In Habakkuk we see a situation where the prophet has brought a complaint to God who, not unlike a judge, hears him out and then responds.
The prophet says:
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what he* will answer concerning my complaint.
The prophet is God’s man. He keeps watch. He trusts God so he is patient. He doesn’t yell out ‘in court’ “You’re not listening to me!”
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.
Don’t worry; says God, the answer is coming to you. It will be written is such large, plain script that even a messenger may read it.
3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
God says, I’ve not abandoned you. I’m onto it. The answer is on its way but you are going to have to wait a little longer.
4 Look at the proud!
Their spirit is not right in them,
but the righteous live by their faith.*
God’s final words: the righteous live by their faith
Habakkuk, when you are my man, when you are part of the people of God, not everything will be given you in black and white. You will need to live by faith. You will need to trust me. Remember this value. It will see you through. This is how we think on God’s team.
For the Christian this message comes loud and clear: consider yourself part of the family. As Paul says to the Ephesians; 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,
You don’t have to strive, you don’t have to be suspicious, you can trust and when you do that, you are living by faith.
Paul goes on to say that the household of God (of which you are a member) is 20built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.*
You can trust it. It has a rock solid foundation in the apostles and prophets and the cornerstone is Jesus himself.
In other words you have somewhere to live, a set of values to identify with and live by.
21In him (he says) the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22in whom you also are built together spiritually* into a dwelling-place for God.
The Christian who owns his place in the Body of Christ is as far removed from the untrusting, chip-on-the-shoulder bloke who comes before Judge Rinder as the east is from the west. And if you want God to be in your midst, allow yourself to be built together with others.
But then we have Thomas.
Thomas is not with his brothers. He’s the living stone who has gone missing. He’s off somewhere else when perhaps he should be together with the others, drawing strength from one another. Who knows what he was doing when Jesus showed up after his resurrection; but he wasn’t there.
He was treating his group of fellow apostles like a club that you visit when you feel like it. That was his church and the church is a family where you belong and, like any family, if you’re seldom rubbing shoulders with your brothers and sisters you’re going to be alienated from how they live.
However, Thomas was a loyal man. He was a real stand-by-your–side-and-fight-to-the-last kind of guy but he had an individualistic streak that saw him abandoning his fellows when he should have been there.
Thomas, when his fellows told him Jesus had appeared to them, acted like he had a chip on his shoulder. He is just a little reminiscent of the socially dislocated fellow we mentioned earlier. His behaviour is inappropriate. He overreacts.
Did he think they were trying to get one over him? Did he think they were trying to make a fool out of him?
‘We have seen the Lord,’ they say
‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
But then, about a week later Jesus appears again. This time Thomas is there.
How difficult it must have been for him to have had to place his hand into Jesus’ wounded side. This time he responds with, “My Lord, and my God!” Thomas meets Jesus and is changed.
Christina Mead tells us that in the later part of this life Thomas travelled to what we know to be India and he preached the Good News of Jesus Christ to people there. His encounter with the risen Jesus changed him and made him bold enough to be a witness of God’s greatness in a foreign place. He was later killed because of it.
I am Thomas. Sometimes I doubt God. Especially when things get rough. I can act with a bit of a chip on my shoulder too. Sometimes my immaturity shows and I wonder just what God is up to.
I am Thomas. God is constantly making Himself present to me. He may not appear in my office, but He is present nonetheless. He is present when the Word is preached. He is present when we worship, when we pray. He is present in every soul I encounter. He speaks to me through nature and the Scriptures.
And in all of it He is urging me to “see and believe” in Him. It’s up to me to respond. I have a choice to say “I need more, and more, and more proof” or I can say, “My Lord and my God” and let Him change my life and propel my desire to spread His name.
And when Jesus speaks to me, will I have been open enough to God’s good parenting so that I respond maturely? Will I have been built sufficiently enough into the household of faith to know his voice so that when he says, “Go” I respond with “Here am I, send me!”
Amen.