Year A – Second Sunday of Easter – April 12, 2026
Pastor Megan Floyd
John 20:19-31
Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, our risen and wounded Savior. Amen.
This past week, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the dispatches from Artemis II… seeing the pictures and hearing the interviews with the astronauts who have now traveled farther than any human has ever traveled.
These four amazing humans gave us all a bright flame of hope for the future of humanity and our ability to come together across borders for collaboration… to wonder enough about what’s just beyond our reach that they were willing to risk exploring.
On Friday, I felt tense, thinking about and praying for their safe return to this planet we call home, and I have felt such joy seeing them now safe.
They gave us images of our world, and our Moon, that we’ve never seen before… incredible images of an in-space lunar eclipse, and the dark side of our cratered Moon…
I imagine God’s delight in our discovery… and celebration of our newfound ability to explore God’s awesome Creation.
It is also incredible, in this moment in history and profound discovery, that today – April 12th – is the anniversary of Galileo being brought before the Inquisition in the year 1633… for supporting the idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun, rather than the other way around.
Galileo insisted that scientific research and Christian faith are entirely compatible, and that study of the universe would promote a more proper interpretation of Scripture.
And he was right! …we know that now… even if it took some longer than others to come to that conclusion. …and yes, there are still those fringe few who would deny all of this… and that is their loss.
But to allow our new discoveries to shape our ongoing understanding of Scripture, and of God in, with, and among us, means that we must let go of certainty… and approach Scripture, and God’s continued revelation …with a healthy amount of wiggle room in our own conclusions and understanding.
We must always leave room for wonder… and for new encounters with the Divine…
That’s a challenging stance to take… it’s one that would have me thrown out of some churches… especially those that place a heavy stake in “religious authority” …but I stand by it.
…I personally prefer to hold the position of “religious wonder,” because faith… for it to truly be faith… will always be just beyond the edge of what we know for certain.
And holding onto “religious wonder” rather than certainty… requires an even stronger… more robust faith in the saving power of the living God… than any kind of certainty could ever have.
Which brings me… to Thomas. Poor Thomas… forever labeled “Doubting Thomas.” He’s really gotten a bad rap that I don’t think he deserves.
Thomas wasn’t there in that room on that first Easter evening… all the other disciples were locked away for fear of the religious authorities… but not Thomas.
It’s quite possible that he alone dared to hope in Mary’s testimony and was out looking for his Lord… hoping to encounter Jesus himself.
We don’t know why he wasn’t with them.
But while he was away, the others were met by Jesus, who showed them his wounds… and he gave them the Holy Spirit.
I can only imagine Thomas’ frustration… and how hurt he must have been. This is… a traumatic story… and being the one left out of receiving a glimmer of hope from Jesus… must have cut him to the core.
So, when we hear Thomas declare, “Unless I see the mark of the nails… and put my hand in his side, I will not believe” …I hear him declare this through tears and anguish.
He is not doubting… he is devastated… and he is only demanding what his companions have already received… he is trying, just as they are, to understand this new information… this new encounter… trying to understand what it means for them moving forward.
I also appreciate that Thomas doesn’t want to see Jesus in an unmarked and perfect body… perfection will not convince him… because for Thomas, Jesus’ woundedness is what will make him real… it’s what will prove that this resurrected body is that of his Lord, Jesus.
Our imperfections… our flaws… our wounds and our scars… are what make us human… and authentic… and Jesus’ wounds are what keep him connected to our imperfect humanity.
So Jesus meets Thomas… exactly where he is… Jesus meets him and shares his vulnerability with him… his open wounds… his marked body.
Jesus shows Thomas that doubt and fear will not keep Jesus away… nor will sin or shame… Jesus meets us where we are, and though he is wounded, he is not delicate.
And met with this authentic and wounded Jesus, who defeated sin, death, and the devil and has come back to them… Thomas… is the one who puts it all together.
“My Lord… and my God.”
Jesus is more than the Messiah who saves… Jesus is God, who meets us in our pain… our sin and our suffering… meets us in our messy lives… and still claims us… and loves us.
Jesus faces our doubts and our questions… even our anger… and our rage … Jesus faces our best… and our worst… by coming closer to us… by sharing in our authentic humanity… and offering us the peace of the Holy Spirit.
And yet… Jesus tells Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen… and yet have come to believe.”
Seeing is believing… or so they say… but Jesus invites us into a far more robust relationship than one that relies on physical signs.
Jesus invites us to go beyond our certainty… beyond what we think we know… and step into what is now made possible in the light of a crucified and risen Lord… and God.
Jesus invites us to lean into… faith… a faith that is not delicate… a faith that withstands all our humanity can throw at it… and yet, remains because it comes from God.
Our faith… does not originate within us… our faith is a gift from our wounded and risen Lord.
And Jesus invites us to receive this faith that will continually draw us into a state of wonder… and amazement… at all God has done for us… a faith that knows that God is not done with us yet.
Belief that relies on seeing and certainty is weak… but faith… faith leads to hope in the coming fulfillment of God’s promises… and faith leads to the incredible power of love to bring healing and wholeness to a broken world.
Yes, faith… is trust in the things we cannot see… it is our comfort for our deepest hurts… it is the flickering flame of hope when all seems lost… and it is our guiding light… through life’s darkest valleys.
Faith… leaves room for wonder… room for new discovery… room for hope in the redeeming power of God’s love.
Jesus walked among his disciples after his resurrection and gave them a new vision of what was possible… a new vision of hope… he showed them his wounds… and told them… this is only the beginning.
Over the past 10 days, the crew of Artemis II gave us a new vision of the Universe and our world… a planet that all humans call home… and they gave us a new understanding of what is possible for humanity.
But, of course… that mission started with concrete facts… and math… and prior experience. It’s ok to start with what you know, but we can’t get stuck there.
Don’t ever be ashamed to ask God for what you need, to bring you back to Christ… for we know that Jesus meets us where we are… but…
Be prepared for Jesus to show up… to greet you with love… and then call you into a deeper relationship… to receive something stronger and more daring… that relies on trust in God’s promises that are still in the making.
Yes… be prepared for Jesus to call you to receive the faith of Christ… for it is so much stronger than a belief that relies only on seeing and certainty.
Blessed are those who have not seen… and yet have come to believe. Amen.