By Hank Bahr
Mathew 28:16-17
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. (Emphasis added)
Did you catch that? These guys saw their Lord executed. Really tortured, then executed. He comes back FROM THE DEAD, and miraculously stands before them and says (because I’m sure He was from the South) “Hi Ya’ll, Peace be with you!” and they still doubted? Really?
There is a scene from the movie RISEN which makes the whole movie, in my opinion. The Tribune, Clavius, who is in charge of the entire Roman garrison in Jerusalem, has been ordered to find the corpse of Jesus. Mind you, it was Clavius who ordered the spear to be thrust into Jesus’s side to be sure He was dead. Clavius had looked into Jesus’s eyes, and KNEW He was dead. He then tracks down the disciples, bursts into a room where they are meeting. There sits Jesus, who promptly says, “Hello, Clavius. Join us.” Talk about Shock and Awe! It would be like one of us out walking, turning a corner, and coming face to face with the risen Christ. “Reason” does work any longer. Our “reality” no longer makes sense. We begin to doubt everything (as does Clavius). In the words of W.B. Yeats: “The center cannot hold.” Yet we are desperate to hold on to our illusion of control. So we doubt. Even when The Way, The Truth and The Light is staring us in the face, we grasp for some sort of handhold. Christ responds to this with a gentle, “Let go, and let me. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
When I am in this place of doubt, and I am often, I go to a verse in the Gospel of Mark (9:24): “I believe, help my unbelief.”
Take heart this Lent in your “unbelief.” Bring it before the Lord. Remember, the opposite of Faith is not Doubt but Certainty. We do not KNOW as much as we BELIEVE. So pray that you may believe, and believe it in your hearts.
