Message – Sunday 4th September – JJ Hamilton

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I picked today’s readings, slightly different from the lectionary, because I decided that I wanted to talk about creation on the first Sunday of spring, and I wanted to talk about joy and community on the week before our congregational meeting.

I had Narelle and Sumira read the whole of genesis one, despite the fact that I am sure you know genesis one, because it is a narrative, because there’s poetry in the repetition, and I wanted us to sink into that.

But really, all I have today today hinges on 1:27. We read the CEV for english translations in this community, but the version I grew up with was NIV: ‘So God created mankind in his own image’.

The first thing we are going to pull from that is, of course, that God is a creator.

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Texts: Acts 5:27-32; John 20:19-31

So today we have heard two stories directly about belief.

We got the story of Thomas, sometimes called doubting Thomas, who declares that he needs proof to believe in the resurrection. And while he receives it, he is told that others’ will be rewarded for believing without this.

And we have a declaration from Peter to the high priest – the disciples committing themselves to faith in Jesus despite pressure to do otherwise.

And it could be simple to surmise from the pairing of these readings that the lectionary, and whoever wrote it, wants us to remember to be better than Thomas, and have the declarative, certain, faith of Peter.

And I guess I have very deeply held feelings about that, because saying it makes me a bit uncomfortable. And on a shallow look at my discomfort, I would say it’s because there’s a certain type of person who first comes to mind when I think about declarative, certain, faith. A certain type of Christian. And they’re generally a Christian that I’m a bit mad at, really.

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