Scepticism is very much part of the Biblical story. God’s promises are frequently doubted in the Old Testament. In the New Testament the disciples find it hard to hold their faith in Jesus despite being confronted by angels dressed in white and an empty tomb. It was only when Jesus called her by name that Mary believed, so it’s hardly surprising that truth and facts remain slippery commodities.

This week's news

Mario Balotelli, Manchester City’s talented Italian striker was sent off on Easter Sunday. A football fan might suggest that this is hardly news – much like reading that Manchester United scored a winning goal in the ninth minute of added time. Balotelli has created regular headlines since he arrived in the Premiership and most have been for the wrong reasons. In response to his notoriety, the 21 year-old Italian wore a tee shirt under his football shirt printed with the slogan, ‘Why always me?’.  Would Thomas have asked this same question? Would he have asked, ‘What about Peter and Mary? They didn’t believe until they saw.’

This Sunday is the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic. There can be only a handful of tragedies that will have been marked by celebrations. The organiser of a  twelve-night cruise that will retrace the liner’s maiden voyage has defended his project as a memorial rather than a celebration and some have questioned whether or not this is tasteful. However, with a TV series and the re-launch of James Cameron’s epic film – now in 3D – it is hard to escape Titanic-fever. Despite the media coverage and the cultural event that this centenary has become, the truth of what happened on that April night in the North Atlantic is still as murky as the waters in which the hulk of the Titanic lies.

Reflection

Thomas is forever linked to the nickname, ‘Doubting’. Why Thomas? Why should he be stuck with this name for just one incident in his life? While Simon Peter seems to have risen above his three-time denial of Jesus, Thomas has been stuck with ‘Doubting’; not ‘Courageous Thomas’, for his offering to die with Jesus in Jerusalem. Peter is not ‘Chicken-livered’ Simon, but ‘Simon the Rock’. Thomas, unfortunately for him, seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, in that he was out when Jesus called – surely a mark of his courage in that everyone else was staying inside for fear of reprisals. Thomas’ scepticism was little different from Mary’s or Peter’s, but it gave Jesus the opportunity to speak directly to us, his wider audience, and tell us that we are blessed, having believed on the basis of John’s report.

The truth of what happened on 15 April 1912 has been obscured by the tales that have been told, just as the rust and barnacles have obscured the fine details in the state rooms of the Titanic. Some of the facts may have been massaged by interested parties during the course of the last 100 years, which is why attention is paid to those who were witnesses to the sinking of the Titanic. The same is the case with events in Jerusalem 1900 years earlier.

The New Testament makes it clear that the disciples have the same degree of scepticism as 21st century people. While their versions of rationalism is not the same as ours, they knew that the most obvious answer to the tomb being empty was that a body had been moved, rather than that it had walked out. To believe the resurrection to be true, they needed to be eye-witnesses. No one is prepared to take anyone else’s word, because ‘seeing is believing’: anything else is hearsay.

Prayer

Our God,
we thank you for the Gospel accounts,
written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing, we may have life in his name.

We thank you for the scepticism of the disciples
that adds credence to their testimony and encourages our belief,
despite our not having seen for ourselves.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

We thank you for men like Thomas and women like Mary,
in whom we can recognise ourselves and our own doubts.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

We pray for those who share the Gospel in their daily lives
and for those who have been called to the task of evangelism.
We pray for those who hear good news.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Our God,
we give you our thanks that you have revealed yourself to us
and called us by name so that we can know you.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.

Questions

Find out if anyone ever been a witness in court or served on a jury? If the details are not confidential you might ask them how it felt.

• As a juror, did you trust the witnesses?
• As a witness, how well did you remember what happened?
• When questioned about a statement, how did that feel?

Action

Christians are called to be witnesses to the truth. How should this impact on the way we live our lives? What can we do to witness to the truth? What is ‘the truth’ to which we are witnesses?

Young People

If you have seen any of the fictionalised accounts of the sinking of the Titanic, do you think that it matters that some of the characters are real and others invented for dramatic effect? Would you feel the same about the Easter story? Try to invent some characters whom you think might enhance the Easter story.

Simon Carver is a Baptist Minister in St Albans and takes a particular interest in film.

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