When I was in college, someone donated a large sum of money for a local church to buy billboards along a highway in Michigan. They were black with plain white writing on them. They were meant to shock people, and the one I remember seeing on the road I took to head home, said, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” I remember driving past that sign, thinking, really, that settles it? You read it in the bible and that settles it? I certainly didn’t feel settled for me in college, it didn’t feel settled for me in seminary, and even now, if I were to pass by that billboard today, even right after church, I don’t think things would feel settled.
God said it, I believe it, that settles it. Keep that in your mind, just for a moment, as I tell you a bit about where we are in the text for this morning. We are back in the gospel of Matthew, and a bit back in time. Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on God’s people, and they spoke languages they didn’t even know, all telling the stories of what God had done. This Sunday, we are back deep in the after Easter story in Matthew. The 28th chapter of Matthew begins with two women going to the tomb that Easter morning. They arrive and the ground begins to shake, the stone is rolled away, and an angel sits on it. That angel tells them not to be afraid, because Jesus has been raised from the dead, and he is on his way to Galilee. The angel tells these women to rush back and tell the disciples to go to Galilee and meet Jesus, and so the women leave with fear and joy. Jesus meets them as they hurry back to the disciples, and he tells them again, get my disciples to Galilee. I’ll meet them there.
When the authorities hear what has happened, they decide to hatch a plan. They gather large amounts of money, and they pay the guards to tell people that the body of Jesus has been stolen. They promise to protect the guards if the governor hears that the body is gone. This is one powerful story. It is much easier to believe that the body has been stolen, not resurrected.
But, then the women return to the disciples and they begin the long trek to Galilee. This is no easy trip- they must travel for almost 80 miles to meet their Lord where he said he would be. There are eleven there when they see Jesus on a mountain. The text doesn’t tell us what Jesus looks like, the text doesn’t tell us that he was sparkling white, or that he looked like an angel. The text doesn’t tell us if he was hazy, or cloudy, or if he looked just like you or I.
The text doesn’t tell us how Jesus appeared, but the text does tell us what happened to those eleven. Eleven of the disciples made that 80 mile trek, because they believed the story of those two women. Eleven disciples made the trip to Galilee, because perhaps they remembered that this is what Jesus said was going to happen. He was going to die and rise again. They story was not going to end on Good Friday. Perhaps some of those eleven made that long journey to Galilee only because it was what everyone else was doing. We don’t know, the story doesn’t tell us. What the story does tell us, is that they met Jesus on that mountaintop all the way off in Galilee, and they worshipped him. And this is where I think the text we read for this morning is a bit mistranslated.
They worshipped him, that seems clear. But, what comes next is the real clincher. There is no word for some in our text. The gospel of Matthew uses a Greek construction that could imply some, but it doesn’t always. So, the words we read for this morning could very well say, “And seeing him, they worshipped and they doubted.” Seeing Jesus, seeing the resurrected Christ, they worshipped and they doubted. Not just some worshipped and some doubted, but that whole mess of eleven disciples, who had followed Christ, healed in his name, heard his teachings, and denied him on the cross, and now were seeing him alive again- that whole bunch worshipped and doubted. There were none more faithful and none more unsure.
They worshipped and they doubted. These eleven disciples are kneeling at the feet of the resurrected Christ, worshipping him and doubting him. They aren’t sure. They don’t know. They are at the feet of Christ, and they somehow worship and doubt. Not just some of them, all of them. They live in that tension between faith and doubt, joy and fear, and they don’t have to pretend to be anywhere else. They just worship and doubt. All at the same time.
And this is where that billboard on a Michigan highway really misses the point. Because I don’t think doubt and uncertainty are things God wants us to give up. I don’t think the goal of discipleship is to get beyond doubt, I think the goal of discipleship is to learn how to live with it. I think the goal of being disciples is not to pretend that God said it, we believe it, and that settles it, I think the goal of disciples is to be able to live in that tense place where we confess that we don’t know everything that God said, we don’t know how to believe what God said, and that very few things seem settled. That is what worship is like for the disciples at the feet of Jesus, the ones who could see him, and talk to him, and touch him. They didn’t believe it. They doubted it, they doubted it was true, they doubted it was real, they doubted it was worth putting their lives on the line for. They doubted. And they worshipped.
They doubted and they worshipped on that mountain in Galilee, and Jesus gave them a command. Jesus commanded them to go and disciple, Jesus commanded them to baptize and to teach. Jesus commanded them to go and disciple, he commanded those who worshipped and doubted to go and disciple, telling people all the things that Jesus commanded.
The guards at the tomb were paid to say the body had been stolen. Jesus doesn’t give these disciples an answer to that story. Through time, there have been all kinds of ideas about what could have, might have, or probably happened. Jesus doesn’t give an answer to those questions. There are plenty of stories that run counter to the teachings of Jesus, stories that encourage us to trust in ourselves, in our power, in our worth instead of in the words and teachings of Jesus. There are plenty of stories that run counter to the baptismal story, the story that we tell at the font. The story we tell, to stand up to all those other stories, is that here you are reborn, reborn a child of God, baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. You are named and claimed as a child of God, and nothing can erase God’s love for you.
So I understand the doubt. To people outside of our community and to us that are gathered, sometimes this seems more like just a little water poured on someone’s head. To people outside our community and us that are gathered, the stories we tell and the teachings we repeat are just nice ways to think about the world but a bit naïve. Those outside stories are powerful stories. They cause us to doubt that this is the answer to the world’s problems. They cause us to wonder if there isn’t something a bit more flashy that we could get behind.
And, we are in good company in our doubt. We are in good company, because we join with those eleven disciples who stared into the face of the resurrected Christ. We are in the company of those people through time who have given their lives in service to the gospel and still wondered if this was really all it was meant to be. The disciples doubted, Mother Theresa doubted, saints doubted, and we join their ranks. But this great commission was given to us all, those who believe and doubt all at the same time. If we put up a road sign, it wouldn’t say, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” The disciples wouldn’t have put up that sign either. Ours might say, “God said it, I wasn’t sure about it, but I risked to believe it anyway.” Amen.
God said it, I believe it, that settles it. Keep that in your mind, just for a moment, as I tell you a bit about where we are in the text for this morning. We are back in the gospel of Matthew, and a bit back in time. Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on God’s people, and they spoke languages they didn’t even know, all telling the stories of what God had done. This Sunday, we are back deep in the after Easter story in Matthew. The 28th chapter of Matthew begins with two women going to the tomb that Easter morning. They arrive and the ground begins to shake, the stone is rolled away, and an angel sits on it. That angel tells them not to be afraid, because Jesus has been raised from the dead, and he is on his way to Galilee. The angel tells these women to rush back and tell the disciples to go to Galilee and meet Jesus, and so the women leave with fear and joy. Jesus meets them as they hurry back to the disciples, and he tells them again, get my disciples to Galilee. I’ll meet them there.
When the authorities hear what has happened, they decide to hatch a plan. They gather large amounts of money, and they pay the guards to tell people that the body of Jesus has been stolen. They promise to protect the guards if the governor hears that the body is gone. This is one powerful story. It is much easier to believe that the body has been stolen, not resurrected.
But, then the women return to the disciples and they begin the long trek to Galilee. This is no easy trip- they must travel for almost 80 miles to meet their Lord where he said he would be. There are eleven there when they see Jesus on a mountain. The text doesn’t tell us what Jesus looks like, the text doesn’t tell us that he was sparkling white, or that he looked like an angel. The text doesn’t tell us if he was hazy, or cloudy, or if he looked just like you or I.
The text doesn’t tell us how Jesus appeared, but the text does tell us what happened to those eleven. Eleven of the disciples made that 80 mile trek, because they believed the story of those two women. Eleven disciples made the trip to Galilee, because perhaps they remembered that this is what Jesus said was going to happen. He was going to die and rise again. They story was not going to end on Good Friday. Perhaps some of those eleven made that long journey to Galilee only because it was what everyone else was doing. We don’t know, the story doesn’t tell us. What the story does tell us, is that they met Jesus on that mountaintop all the way off in Galilee, and they worshipped him. And this is where I think the text we read for this morning is a bit mistranslated.
They worshipped him, that seems clear. But, what comes next is the real clincher. There is no word for some in our text. The gospel of Matthew uses a Greek construction that could imply some, but it doesn’t always. So, the words we read for this morning could very well say, “And seeing him, they worshipped and they doubted.” Seeing Jesus, seeing the resurrected Christ, they worshipped and they doubted. Not just some worshipped and some doubted, but that whole mess of eleven disciples, who had followed Christ, healed in his name, heard his teachings, and denied him on the cross, and now were seeing him alive again- that whole bunch worshipped and doubted. There were none more faithful and none more unsure.
They worshipped and they doubted. These eleven disciples are kneeling at the feet of the resurrected Christ, worshipping him and doubting him. They aren’t sure. They don’t know. They are at the feet of Christ, and they somehow worship and doubt. Not just some of them, all of them. They live in that tension between faith and doubt, joy and fear, and they don’t have to pretend to be anywhere else. They just worship and doubt. All at the same time.
And this is where that billboard on a Michigan highway really misses the point. Because I don’t think doubt and uncertainty are things God wants us to give up. I don’t think the goal of discipleship is to get beyond doubt, I think the goal of discipleship is to learn how to live with it. I think the goal of being disciples is not to pretend that God said it, we believe it, and that settles it, I think the goal of disciples is to be able to live in that tense place where we confess that we don’t know everything that God said, we don’t know how to believe what God said, and that very few things seem settled. That is what worship is like for the disciples at the feet of Jesus, the ones who could see him, and talk to him, and touch him. They didn’t believe it. They doubted it, they doubted it was true, they doubted it was real, they doubted it was worth putting their lives on the line for. They doubted. And they worshipped.
They doubted and they worshipped on that mountain in Galilee, and Jesus gave them a command. Jesus commanded them to go and disciple, Jesus commanded them to baptize and to teach. Jesus commanded them to go and disciple, he commanded those who worshipped and doubted to go and disciple, telling people all the things that Jesus commanded.
The guards at the tomb were paid to say the body had been stolen. Jesus doesn’t give these disciples an answer to that story. Through time, there have been all kinds of ideas about what could have, might have, or probably happened. Jesus doesn’t give an answer to those questions. There are plenty of stories that run counter to the teachings of Jesus, stories that encourage us to trust in ourselves, in our power, in our worth instead of in the words and teachings of Jesus. There are plenty of stories that run counter to the baptismal story, the story that we tell at the font. The story we tell, to stand up to all those other stories, is that here you are reborn, reborn a child of God, baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. You are named and claimed as a child of God, and nothing can erase God’s love for you.
So I understand the doubt. To people outside of our community and to us that are gathered, sometimes this seems more like just a little water poured on someone’s head. To people outside our community and us that are gathered, the stories we tell and the teachings we repeat are just nice ways to think about the world but a bit naïve. Those outside stories are powerful stories. They cause us to doubt that this is the answer to the world’s problems. They cause us to wonder if there isn’t something a bit more flashy that we could get behind.
And, we are in good company in our doubt. We are in good company, because we join with those eleven disciples who stared into the face of the resurrected Christ. We are in the company of those people through time who have given their lives in service to the gospel and still wondered if this was really all it was meant to be. The disciples doubted, Mother Theresa doubted, saints doubted, and we join their ranks. But this great commission was given to us all, those who believe and doubt all at the same time. If we put up a road sign, it wouldn’t say, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” The disciples wouldn’t have put up that sign either. Ours might say, “God said it, I wasn’t sure about it, but I risked to believe it anyway.” Amen.
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