At a meeting of Red Deer Presbytery in Ponoka this past Thursday, the person asked to give some theological reflection at the close of the meeting offered this name for this Sunday in the church year. He called it “Low Sunday” - the Sunday when we usually hear the story of the appearance of Jesus to the disciples,except that Thomas wasn't there. A commentary I was using this week had this enigmatic point in it: “Thomas is not present at this meeting with Jesus – we don’t know why – and Thomas wants to see for himself. Thomas is not a “doubter,” as some later interpretations depict him”.

Poor Thomas, the source of the so-called naming of this Sunday as “low” and a person of some contempt in many circles. But as the commentary goes on to point out, all of the disciples had to experience some kind of “real-life” experience of the risen Jesus before they could believe. It just so happened that Thomas wasn't there in the encounter described by today's gospel reading.

Well, I say “poor Thomas”, but that's only a partial assessment of the importance of the story of Thomas in our own faith formation. At least in the circles in which I normally circulate in, Thomas is more of a hero than someone to be held in some kind of disrepute. In fact, in liberal and progressive circles, one might even consider that he is a bit of a patron saint.

He certainly is something like that for me. I've always claimed a faith that is highly influenced by the rational. Perhaps it's the logical makeup of my brain – the same makeup that attracted me to mathematics in high school and computer science in university. And even when I delved into the most introductory of courses in philosophy, it was the course in logic that I most appreciated.

I know it drives some of the circle of people around me a bit crazy, but I often have to see something for myself before I can really take it in. So, I have no problem understanding the way Thomas is depicted in our story today – namely as one who had to be able to touch the wounds and see the risen Jesus for himself.

It's not the idea that Jesus has to see for himself that creates a problem for me, but there are other events described in the story that strain my logical mind. I don't want to go into too much depth about them this morning, not because they are not interesting or worth exploring, but rather because there are other directions I would like to follow. That being said, let me at least point out the break in logic that I find in the story. And as we heard in the introductions this morning, it is always important to remember that these accounts – whether the account of the formation of the Christian church or the account of Jesus' life in the four gospels, were written many years, decades even, after the events they describe. I said that last week and I say it again this week because it is often easy to forget that the writings of the Christian scripture were done with more of a purpose than just describing what happened. They have an intent and purpose – detailing for the reader a particular interpretation on the meaning of the life and teachings of Jesus.

If we were to sum up the intent of today's three readings from the Christian bible, we might say that they were written to “prove” the physical resurrection as a kind of divine seal on the other worldly meaning of Jesus' life – namely as the means to salvation. However, the gospel for me casts doubt on the “physical” aspect of the resurrection. The gospel writer John goes to great lengths to describe the real wounds and presence of Jesus. However Jesus comes into the room where the disciples are gathered through a locked door. And so, my logical mind, in trying to put those two descriptions together can only resolve the issue by understanding the presence of Jesus as a spiritual presence – and I have no problem accepting that. Of course, Thomas wasn't there in this first situation, so it happens again. Once again Jesus enters the room through a locked door in order to “prove” that he is really alive. Thomas wants to touch the wounds. That's why I've dubbed him Thomas the Tactile. But exactly how do you touch the wounds of someone who managed to make his way through a locked door to be there with you. Either Jesus was a pre-cursor to Harry Houdini, or he could teleport – just like in Star Trek. For now, the technology of teleporting in Star Trek is still fiction, and the amazing feats of Harry Houdini are well known for not defying the laws of nature – regardless of how amazing they were. Well, I hope you get my point that the logic of these events is not as clear as we are expected to accept.

And as I said last week, it's just not important to me to have to believe in the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus to believe in resurrection. It is clear that resurrection in whatever fashion it occurred is a formative event for the Christian church.

Questions about the nature and form of resurrection can be set aside as we consider what the meaning is for us as God's people – followers of the way of Jesus. It is clear from the readings today that concern about the after-life was key to the faith journey for early Christians. It is not that much different from modern day Christians I think, but it is different. The Christian story often concerns itself with salvation – the concept of eternal life – living in God's presence beyond our earthly life. That's the message given in the letter from 1 Peter today, just as it is the message given by the conclusion of the story from John's gospel. It is important to acknowledge the hope of that message – and the assurance it offers to people on their faith journey, but it is entirely too limiting to understand it as only a personal goal. Salvation – and I hesitate using the word because it has developed such limiting baggage around it – but salvation is more than what happens to us when we die. In my mind, and I believe as taught by Jesus, salvation is way beyond the personal. It is about meeting needs in all aspects of life. Salvation is justice for those people who are oppressed by political and economic oppression. Salvation is freedom for those who are confined by repression or who find themselves in places of loneliness, grief, despair or sadness. Salvation is about recognising how blessed we are by God. It's as much a here and now concept as it is a “what happens when” concept. Salvation cannot only concern itself with other-worldliness, although many people often think it should. Such an understanding leads to separation from the world. Such an understanding leads to a more personal take on the life of faith. But we all know the connections that are so important – our connections with each other and our connections with the earth. Let me offer some different words that help me to expand the meaning: faithfulness, stewardship and gratitude – faithfulness is concern for living life as God's people not just when earthly life is over but throughout our life journey. Stewardship is a way of being in the world – using resources wisely and in consideration of all with whom we share – both in the present day and in the future. Gratitude informs both of these – a mindset that helps us to remember that the life we have is ours as a gift from God, and which inspires us to be wise and grateful recipients of the creativity and creation given to us by the Creator.

Resurrection was the defining moment for the birth of the Christian church. It epitomized “hope” for the followers of Jesus. For early Christians this was hope for life after life. That is still an important element of our faith, but the hope of resurrection is also a “this world” hope – a hope that is lived out in relationship – with each other and with the world.

Thanks to Thomas – who needed some “real” experience we can also say that our “real” experience as people of the world calls us to a faith that is both of this world and beyond. Amen.