Sermon ideas

• In the book Life of Pi (Yann Martel, 2001) the young hero, sole survivor of a shipwreck, is cast ashore after being adrift for months in the ocean. An insurance agent and a writer hear two versions of his story: one a fantastical tale of being adrift with a menagerie including a tiger; the other, more prosaic, of a violent struggle among the survivors that ends with the death of everyone else. Which one is true? Thomas has a similar dilemma. How does he choose between the fantastic story of the women – that Jesus is risen – and the more prosaic explanation that someone stole the body and the disciples are hallucinating? Is he right to ask for evidence? How might this apply to us? How does Jesus respond?

• Anselm famously wrote: ‘I believe in order that I may understand.’ Often this is seen as a helpful insight into the relationship between faith and reason. Science involves accepting a basic hypothesis – such as the uniformity of nature – in order to investigate phenomena. In a similar vein Susanna Wesley, John and Charles Wesley’s mother, once said: ‘There are two things to do about the gospel – believe and behave it!’ Jesus’ final beatitude in John’s Gospel (v.29) could be addressed to us who come to faith through the witness of Scripture and by the example of those who live it out.
  
  
• When questions and fears torment us we will often seek a safe place where we can hide. Similarly, the disciples sought refuge behind the locked doors of the upper room. However, it was empty of the one presence that would bring them relief and release. Suddenly, Jesus stands among them speaking his word of peace, and resolving their questions by demonstrating that it is really him, risen from the dead. Peace, however, is not a comfort blanket. It is a calling to share and to be that peace to others. What would our church and community be like if we actively worked to be peace sharers in the world, rather than only within the confines of the church building?
  
  
• Every church has its Thomas. Or rather, there are probably times when each one of us, like Thomas, questions our beliefs. How do we respond to those who ask those uncomfortable questions that we are afraid to voice? What pearls might be discovered through these ‘irritants’? How can such questions enrich the Church and help it grow? Some seem to assume that such questioning is always destructive, but is that necessarily so?