The Feast of St. Thomas - The Rt. Rev. Frank Logue

 I have no doubt that if we could magically see what Savannah would be like if this church had never been founded, we would discover many people who had remained lost and left out. Imagining what difference St. Thomas Episcopal Church has made on the Isle of Hope and well beyond is like the Christmas movie classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” where Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey, is in the depths of despair when an angel shows him the ways his town of Bedford Falls is far better off because all he did himself and through the Building and Loan.

In considering the positive impact of St. Thomas, think of all of the non-profits who have been blessed by the monies raised by the Thrift Shop. They would have been able to do much less without that significant assistance. Then there are the well over 100,000 meals served by unseen guest that would have gone undelivered. I don’t even want to imagine how much more alone that would have left our neighbors suffering with HIV-AIDS. I could go on in considering those well beyond St. Thomas, but what about those who have worshipped here? We would have been absent the unrestrained joy of the School of Rock. There are the thousands baptized and confirmed, the lives dedicated to following Jesus because of how they encountered the Good News in this place. The Bible Studies, the Holy Eucharist, sermons, and healing prayers are, of course, the most significant difference made.

This morning, we begin a celebration of the 100^th year of St. Thomas Isle of Hope. The reason the church is named for the doubting apostle is because of a meeting called in crisis on December 21, 2022. Up until that point, Episcopalians on the Isle of Hope had been gathering at the Union Church. This was once typical that a common house of worship would be used by multiple denominations. The crisis came when permission to use that space was withdrawn.

News of permission to worship being rescinded made Maria Henderson so mad that she donated the two lots for the historic chapel with the stipulation that the congregation leap into action to build a church on the site. If they did not do so within the year, the land would revert to her ownership. And so, Bishop Frederick Reese held a meeting at the home of Kenneth Bragg. Twenty Episcopalians showed up for the meeting. After giving a short talk, the bishop joined others in pledging to finance the construction of the lovely chapel we still enjoy today.

As they gathered on the Feast Day of St. Thomas, they named the new mission in his honor. The church would cost $2,800 to build, or about $49,000 in today’s dollars. The members did not wait for those doors to open a little more than a year later. They began a Sunday School with 18 children, meeting at Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Cole’s house. The Archdeacon of the Diocese held some of the services while the alternating ones were officiated by a lay reader of the same name as our hero from the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” None other than George Bailey.

The story of this congregation would probably have been the same no matter the name of its patron saint, but I find it interesting that the congregation that seemed to know exactly what to do when a crisis hit was named for an uncertain saint. Thomas is, after all, known through all time as Doubting Thomas. Now there’s a nickname for you. His lifetime of achievements as an Apostle and Missionary as well as his death as a Martyr are practically forgotten. We remember Thomas’ doubts. He didn’t get to be Thomas the Great, Thomas the Just, or even the ever-popular Thomas the Tank Engine. He is Doubting Thomas.

That’s a pretty tough nickname in our culture. We honor people who have it all together. We honor people who are sure of themselves. Well, the Apostle Thomas was sure about one thing. Thomas was sure that unless he could see the marks of the nails in Jesus’ hands and put his finger in the mark of Jesus’ hands and in Jesus’ side, he would never believe that his friend and teacher Jesus had been raised from the dead. Thomas was crystal clear about what he needed. For a week straight, Thomas lived with that doubt.

Jesus had appeared to the rest on Sunday evening, the same Sunday of the resurrection, but Thomas was not with them. All through the week, the disciples would have tried to persuade Thomas that Jesus was truly back from the dead. Thomas needed proof.

The doubting saint speaks in only two other verses of scripture. They don’t necessarily give us a picture of a rock-steady Apostle. Thomas is there at Jesus’ side when Jesus learns his friend, Lazarus has died. Jesus says they are going to the outskirts of Jerusalem to wake up Lazarus. At this point, they all know that powerful people in Jerusalem want Jesus dead. Thomas says to the Apostles, “Let us also go to Jerusalem, that we may die with him.” Thomas seems to doubt that the group can go to Jerusalem and come out alive. Is Thomas ready to die, or is he trying to get the gung-ho group to slow down and see what the cost of discipleship might be? That we don’t know.

Once in Jerusalem, Jesus is having a farewell talk with his disciples. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” And Jesus goes on to say “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you there myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the place where I am going.”

Thomas was always the kid in Sunday School raising his hand insistently. I know this as Thomas has to ask, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus replies “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

That’s all we have of Thomas though. Once Thomas said, “Let’s all go up to Jerusalem and die.” Another time Thomas asked, “How can we know the way?” And the third time he demanded some physical proof to believe. Whether that distinction is fair or not, we only have these three scenes sketching his portrait to call him Doubting Thomas.  

Yet, we know that Thomas did not wander away in disbelief. He was waiting in an upper room in Jerusalem when Jesus came into his doubts and confusion.

We know that once Jesus stood before him, Thomas declared him his Lord and God without touching the wounds. Thomas would come to faith beyond a doubt and would go on to spread the Gospel as far as present-day India.

In the process, of seeing what we know of Thomas’ life we discover that Jesus is okay with doubts as Jesus does not chide him. Jesus offers proof. The truth is, I think doubts are to be encouraged. Doubt is a sign of an active faith. It was in naming his uncertainty, that Thomas saw the signs that Jesus was and is the Son of God. The same is true for you and me. Rather than walking away in disbelief, we can and should lay our doubts out there. Own up to our questions. Seek answers.

I recall a clergy conference of our Diocese of Georgia, when Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey told us that the world needs and expects believing priests. This is of course true. I stand here this morning to say as clearly as possible that I know in my bones and it does not contradict what I know with my brain, that there is a God who made us, loves us and wants better for us. I believe the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation and so I pattern my life to follow its teachings.

But I can’t stop there and neither did Archbishop Carey. He went on to say that the faith we should have is an active faith not afraid of working through doubts and uncertainties to greater truth. The Archbishop said, “Do I doubt? Of course. Every thinking person doubts. The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty.” For Carey, doubts and uncertainties may be God’s spirit leading us beyond the lesser truths where we have stopped along the way to a fuller understanding of who God is and how God acts in our lives.

In our Gospel reading, Thomas is given what he needs to come to faith in Jesus. And for us as well, the real proof of the resurrection comes in our own experience of God’s presence. I am talking about something way more reliable than your feelings. For you should know that that you will not always feel Christ in and with you. But if you try Christianity, you can see whether or not it works as described.

In the words of scripture, “Taste and see that God is good.” With whatever it is you are facing now, ask Jesus to touch your wounded life with his hands that still bear the marks of what we humans did and yet remain open, reaching out in love. Patiently trust God’s abiding presence in these times of loss and suffering and when you look back over time, you will see all the evidence you need of the presence and power of our Triune God.

You will know if the peace was beyond you or the healing or the sense of release with forgiveness. In the end, I don’t believe because the historic facts about Jesus, but because I have experienced God showing up in my life and in the lives or others, not always how and when I wish, but with a dependability that has led me to put my trust in God and to encourage others to do the same.

In the same way that seeing God’s faithfulness assists my faith, the ways in which God has been present in the life of this congregation for 100 years have led to more and more people coming to faith in Jesus. From that meeting called in crisis that led to a donation of land and a group building the chapel we still enjoy today, the Episcopalians on the Isle of Hope have been offering that hope to others. In your faithfulness in serving the community, lives have been and are being transformed.

The Good News this day is that 100 years ago, a group of Episcopalians dedicated this lovely patch of Holy Ground to the glory of God.

This sacred place has endured and prospered and offered that very healing and wholeness that we all need that we find in Christ alone. The Good Lord willing and The Creek don’t rise, 100 years from now, generations yet to come will give thanks for the faithfulness you have maintained in your day. I have no doubt, for God is faithful. As you invite your friends and neighbors we will continue to see the transformation that comes in Christ alone. Like the fictional George Bailey in the movie who came to see the difference he made in his community, future generations will appreciate what the Holy Spirit has done in our midst in the centennial year celebration.

Amen.