(Although it is Whitsunday, I have chosen to use the Gospel instead of the Pentecost reading from Acts.)
Who really shot JFK? Were the moon landings real or staged? Did Elvis really die in 1977, or did he fake his death in order to get some privacy? Was Paul McCartney actually replaced by a look-alike when he allegedly died in 1966? Was 9/11 staged by the U.S. government? Area 51?
Are all these questions crazy? Maybe it depends on the thickness of your tinfoil hat.
Americans love a good conspiracy theory, and our weakness for paranoid fantasies is actually embedded in our history from the very beginning.
For example, some historians speculate that the Founding Fathers were moved to write the Declaration of Independence because they believed that Britain was about to enslave American colonists. The idea that there is some shadowy cabal pulling strings behind the scenes in our history has been a constant theme for theorists who believe things are not as they appear. Whether it’s “black helicopters,” “Illuminati,” “Bermuda Triangle” or “Roswell,” many people are willing to believe that there’s something rotten in Denmark … or Des Moines, or Dallas or wherever.
The 21st century has seen a rise in conspiratorial thinking with the internet being an unfiltered clearinghouse for theorists. “Truthers” continually look for new information to explain what really happened.
Their conspiracy theories usually gel around events of historical significance or the deaths of famous people. When someone famous (or infamous) dies, the thinking goes, there has to be a reason behind the reason. We’ve already mentioned a couple of examples, but sometimes there’s a bit more to the story that takes it out of the realm of wild speculation and into the potential of eyebrow-raising intrigue.
The death of wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein is a classic example. Epstein was arrested on charges of sex trafficking and committed suicide in prison. But he was also politically connected and may have had significant “dirt” on public officials that could have had a wide-ranging impact on the U.S. government. Conspiracy theorists believe that Epstein didn’t actually commit suicide but was murdered, or at least had help killing himself. It was all done to keep him quiet. A suspicious, public death raises such questions.
Conspiracy theorists have a reputation for being a loosely-wired, but the truth is that we always need people who are looking for the truth.
When it comes to the most famous death in history, the death of Jesus Christ, conspiracy theories abound, but in the center of the story we see someone who is really trying to get at the truth. And this figure is no outsider but one of Jesus’ own disciples: Thomas, the original “truther,” people call the doubter.
The death and resurrection of Jesus have long been the target of conspiracy theorists trying to explain it away. The general tenor of these theories is that the disciples acted in concert to claim that Jesus was alive when he really wasn’t; that he died and the disciples “helped” him become “alive” again.
Why they would do this, however, seems to be a more elusive question.
Some theorists, for example, speculate that Jesus didn’t actually die but just “swooned” on the cross and eventually staggered out of the tomb. There are just a few problems with that theory — namely that the Romans were pretty good at the industrial application of death, and John tells us that Jesus was speared in the side (19:31-37). That would have been a heck of a swoon, and Jesus must have been in really great shape to survive all that — more Superman than Savior!
Others suggest that the disciples took the body of Jesus and hid it (a genuine concern of the chief priests, according to Matthew 28:62-66), and then claimed that he was alive.
Some speculate that the disciples had a mass hallucination of Jesus after his death caused by grief, or that they actually saw a ghost.
Despite 2,000 years of conspiracy theories, however, disproving the rumor of the resurrection has proven elusive.
After the death of Jesus, the Apostles and disciples are hiding behind locked doors in fear of the Jewish leaders. They have just heard from Mary Magdalene that morning that she had “seen the Lord,” but they could have easily dismissed her words as fake news. Women were not considered reliable witnesses in a court of law in the first century, thus they may have chalked up her claim to hysteria.
But then, suddenly, Jesus appeared among them with the greeting, “Peace be with you.” And then he shows them the evidence of the wounds in his hands and side. It’s a strange combination: Jesus is risen in a physical body and yet can also appear through locked doors. The disciples “rejoiced” after seeing the evidence. Mary’s testimony had been vindicated.
However, the Gospel makes it a point to indicate that all of this happens without the Apostle Thomas present.
When the others tell him, “We have seen the Lord” (interestingly, the same words used by Mary Magdalene), Thomas is rightly skeptical. He’s not taking their wild speculation for Gospel truth just yet. “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.” After all, they had the benefit of seeing the nail marks. Why shouldn’t he? He doesn’t want to be left out.
Thomas may have thought his friends were engaging in their own collective conspiracy theory – a mass hallucination, and he was out to bust it. It’s just that he wasn’t going to buy into any kind of fake news. He wouldn’t sell his own life cheaply based on false information or wild speculation.
We often call Thomas a “doubter,” but the truth is that we all need a Thomas in our community, someone who is willing to push back on what, at times, seems to be craziness. Thomas isn’t a doubter so much as he simply wants the truth, which is something all of us should be seeking. Thomas doesn’t reject the idea of resurrection outright; he simply wants more evidence — the same evidence the other Apostles had apparently received. He wants to experience the risen Christ for himself.
And then, suddenly, he has the opportunity. The pattern repeats: a locked door, an appearance by Jesus. Jesus seems to know that Thomas had expressed some skepticism and offers the evidence that Thomas was looking for. “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”
Thomas responds to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” It’s a confession of faith. Note that John doesn’t tell us that Thomas takes Jesus up on his offer and actually touches his wounds. It seems that the presence of Jesus is finally enough for Thomas.
And what John implies, powerfully, is that the presence of Jesus should be enough for us, too. “Have you believed because you have seen me?” says Jesus. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John is speaking to his audience and to future generations like us about the truth of the Gospel. He is giving us the evidence and asking us to believe it, but not just on the basis of the evidence itself. He wants us to believe also because the Holy Spirit given to us continues to act as a witness to the resurrection and ongoing presence of Jesus with us.
Jews would say that anyone who was crucified was cursed and that resurrection was a distant hope. This message would have been virtually unintelligible, ludicrous and historically untenable in the first-century world, the equivalent of claiming you’d seen a UFO.
And yet there was a large body of people who claimed that the impossible had become possible and despite all kinds of efforts to quiet them, they wouldn’t shut up about it.
We have the eyewitness testimony of the Gospels, the evidence of the early church’s growth despite all the factors arrayed against it, and the witness of subsequent generations of Christians and martyrs. All attest to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
If it’s a conspiracy theory, it’s one that has actually stood the test of time and the scrutiny of generations of debunkers.
John wrote his Gospel not only to give us evidence for Christ, but also to bring us to faith in Christ. As he puts it later in the text: “But these things are written so that you might come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
Ultimately, our belief in the resurrection of Jesus is a matter of faith, backed by evidence. When we believe, we begin to see all that God has done, all that God has made possible through the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
And when we live out that belief, it’s then that we become living examples, proving that the Gospel is more than a theory. Let us believe in the resurrection and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! It’s a way of life and the way to life!
Let us pray.
On this great feast of Pentecost, when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we humbly beseech our Father that we be blessed by that same Spirit, so that we may grow in wisdom and love of God and neighbor. We pray to the Lord.
May the Holy Spirit fill the Church with light and love that she may be assigned an instrument of Christ's love for all people. We pray to the Lord.
We ask the Holy Spirit to bestow on us the wisdom and insight to care for the earth and environment and to preserve God’s gifts of water, land and climate for ourselves and the good of those who come after us. We pray to the Lord.
We pray for the terminally ill, that the Holy Spirit be their guide, that gentle care enfold them, that their grief give way to tenderness and that God’s love be their solace as they prepare to be welcomed into eternal happiness. We pray to the Lord.
May the Holy Spirit fill the entire world and guide the nations to reconciliation and lasting peace. we pray to the Lord.
May the Holy Spirit bless those burdened by injustice poverty hunger and disease may she relieve their suffering and rekindle their hope. We pray to the Lord.
Our church is plagued with needs, and so we pray for benefactors who are able to help our tiny parish during its need. The leaking sewage and potentially malfunctioning pump, the ever-enlarging sink hole, our electricity and water bills and our need for insurance. We pray to the Lord.
For those on our parish prayer list, that they may receive swift answers to their needs and that they may find consolation through Christ’s healing presence. We pray to the Lord.
We bow our heads and remember in silence our own personal intentions and the intentions of those who have asked for our prayers (pause). We pray to the Lord.
Lord of resurrection surprises, open our hearts this day to the presence of Jesus Christ. Erase our excuses for unbelief, and exchange them for strong witness to the power of your mercy and love. Give us courage and challenge us to walk the path of discipleship, knowing that Jesus goes before us, leading and guiding our steps.
Father, and Holy God, we praise you for this Pentecost Sunday and pray for your Spirit to come in our midst. Infuse our worship, gladden our hearts, dispel our fears and free us to live in the joy of your salvation. As you did 2,000 years ago and have continued to do ever since, give us a bold vision of the way of Christ. May our lives reflect his death and resurrection to hurting and needy people everywhere. As always, we ask all these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.
God Love You +++
The Most Rev. Robert Winzens
Pastor – St. Francis Chapel
San Diego, CA.
As a small parish, we come to you all as beggars! All non-profits compete for your support, and many serve the community’s great needs, and we do not ask you to stop giving to them. But maybe one week or month, we ask that you consider a small donation to our humble parish. Your generous support also allows us to continue these important projects that fuel the movement of progressive Christianity. God will look on your donation grant you his grace in abundance! Thank you and God bless you! +++
https://paypal.me/Stfrancischapel?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US
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