“But the proper place to explain all these different points is not in the brief children’s sermon, but rather the longer sermons throughout the whole year, especially at the times appointed for dealing at length with such articles as Christ’s birth, passion, resurrection, ascension, etc. Indeed, the entire gospel that we preach depends on the proper understanding of this article. Upon it all our salvation and blessedness are based, and it is so rich and broad that we can never learn it fully. (LC II.32-3)In some traditions, the second Sunday of Easter is known as St. Thomas Sunday because the assigned gospel text for the day is from John 20 where Thomas, upon hearing of Christ’s resurrection, confesses: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” It seems to me that a responsible preacher can’t not address the issue of doubt, especially in the face of something as miraculous as a resurrection from death. What is it that we say when we proclaim—“Christ is risen! Alleluia!” And what do pastors say to those who say these words, but don’t really believe them?
Luther, in dealing with the second article of the creed, naturally and characteristically grounds salvation in faith. But the issue is not so much that we possess this faith or magic it up somehow on our own. For just as Christ appears to Thomas in the John’s gospel when he can’t of his own doing believe, the “only and eternal Son of God, in his unfathomable goodness, had mercy on us because of our misery and distress and came from heaven to help us.” This is not so much our faith, but rather God’s faithfulness in Christ.
When we preach sola fide we do not preach that the faith that we possess is our rubberstamp of God’s favor and ticket to heaven, but rather it is Christ’s faithfulness—a faithfulness that preaches how “he became a human creature, conceived and born without sin, of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin, so that he might become Lord over sin; moreover, he suffered, died, and was buried so that he might make satisfaction for me and pay what I owed, not with silver and gold but with his own precious blood.”
When Luther teaches that “upon it”—that is, this doctrine of faith alone and Christ alone—“all our salvation and blessedness are based, and it is so rich and broad that we can never learn it fully,” he is not making faith into our work that we must fully possess, but rather Christ’s work done already, once and for all—on the cross, “not with silver and gold but with his own precious blood.”
In this our Easter reality, the powers of sin, doubt, and death no longer hold sway over our lives—we are free from their crushing grasp, but this message is too great for some to fully understand or believe.
But the greatness of God’s mercy, love, and grace is stronger still than our doubt. But there is still more good news and that is that the day is quickly and surely coming when Christ returns as glorious Lord of lords and King of kings, when we will see him face to face, when we like Thomas, despite our moments of doubt and dejection will see the loving face of Christ our Lord and will exclaim, not of our own strength but by the mercy and grace of God Almighty—“My Lord and my God!”In that day, there will be no question in our minds, in our hearts, or in our souls that we are pleasing to God—not by our own doing, but because God, despite it all, showed us loving mercy, compassion, and most importantly, faithfulness even to the point of death for us. That day is coming. Whether we see that day in our earthly lives or whether we take our place among the departed dead, the truth of God’s living-giving promise to meet us again after death is stronger than even the seal of the grave. For Christ’s victory over death is unceasing, just as God’s promise to us to be faithful always knows no ending.
-DS
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