Where was God

Easter night when Union City veterinarian Jason Andrew Trotman, who had

just finished a shift at Southern Crescent Animal Hospital in Fayetteville,

was killed when his automobile was rammed by a car driven by two men who

allegedly had just robbed a supermarket? Where was God?

Of course,

the biggest and most recent one is: where was God September 11, 2001?

We preachers went to great lengths Easter Sunday to declare that God was

no longer in the grave, no longer dead, but arisen, alive and well on

planet earth.

Thomas, one

of the original twelve disciples, asked something similar. You see, Thomas

was not there when Jesus made an Easter appearance to the other 10 disciples.

When the rest of the guys told Thomas that Jesus had appeared to them,

he didn't believe. In fact, a good Greek text says that Thomas kept insisting

that he did not believe, regardless what the rest of the disciples had

heard or seen.

There's no

doubt that God allowed this section in his book about a doubting disciple

to indicate that it is okay for you and me to voice our doubts like: "God,

are you there? God, do you see the predicament I am in and you are doing

nothing? God, when are you going to stop the lying and injustice perpetuated

on me by others? God, why did you let me daddy die before I even got out

of school? God, do you care about me and the fact that I don't have rent

this month? God, have you stopped rewarding and honoring righteousness

and started honoring the thief? God, where are you?"

Thomas, perhaps

like you and me, simply told his fellow, devoted followers of Jesus Christ,

"I won't believe until...." He said unless he saw the nail prints

in the hands of Jesus and Jesus' side which had been pierced with a soldier's

spear, he would not believe."

Get this: Thomas

was no fly-by-night disciple. He was one of the ones tight with Jesus

for three plus years. Tradition has it that it was Thomas who took the

Gospel to India. But as a member of the inner core, Thomas wondered if

Jesus had in fact been raised from the dead to such an extent that he

could have a personal, assuring encounter with him.

You know the

rest of the story: one week later, Jesus shows up among the remaining

10 disciples. Thomas is present. Jesus walks over to Thomas and invites

him to reach forth with his finger and touch the nail-scarred hand and

to take his hand and put it into the pierced side.

I bet that

Thomas did just that. He felt the healed, scarred hand of Jesus. He put

his hand and rubbed the pierced side. Sixteenth century Italian artist,

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, painted the Biblical scene in 1599,

depicting Thomas examining the body wounds of Jesus. Funny thing, Caravaggio

also painted two other disciples looking as intently as ever at the same

wounds. Perhaps, while Thomas was the only one who verbalized his doubts,

the other disciples also harbored a few.

Then, Jesus

answered Thomas' doubts. Jesus said, "Peace is with you." After

feeling the wounds and hearing the peace from Jesus' own lips, Thomas

expressed the Christian faith's most profound and deep statement of belief

toward Jesus: "My Lord and My God."

My only big

point: don't be so afraid to express your doubts. It may be in expressing

your doubts and your fears, that you too will experience the peace of

Christ's presence.

The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor

of

River's Edge Community

Church

1091 South Jeff Davis

Drive

Fayetteville, Georgia

30215

770-719-0303

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