Sunday Homily - Dec. 15, 2019 - Doubt and Faith

Jesus Christ Appears to St. Thomas the Apostle Icon

Isaiah 35:1-10

Psalm 146:4-9

James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11

I.

Doubt is very taboo in our culture.
 Isn't it?

There are many many examples that one could give to this fact,
 but there was a recent play that illustrates this taboo of doubt very effectively.

And it is the play titled Doubt: A Parable. 
 This play, written by John Patrick Shanley in 2004,
  went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.

And, as you might guess from the title of the play,
 doubt plays a huge role.

The plot goes thus:

The play is set in the fictional St. Nicholas Church School
 in New York during the fall of 1964.
  Father Flynn, a beloved and social justice oriented parish priest,
   is in the pulpit speaking of the importance of uncertainty.

He states, "Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty."

And then we meet Fr. Flynn's polar opposite: the school's principal, Sister Aloysius.
 St. Aloysius is a rigidly conservative nun.
  And, upon hearing the priest's sermon about doubt,
   becomes visibly irritated with him.
    Doubt, for Sr. Aloysius, is a sin.

During a meeting with a younger nun, Sister James,
 you learn that Sr. Aloysius, the principal, harbors a deep mistrust toward her students,
  her fellow teachers,
  and modern society in general.
   And especially after Fr. Flynn's sermon on doubt,
    Sr. Aloysius begins to harbor a deep distrust of Fr. Flynn.

Sr. Aloysius and Father Flynn are put into direct conflict when she learns from Sister James
 that Fr. Flynn met one-to-one with Donald Muller,
  St. Nicholas’ first African-American student.
   Remember, this is the 1960s.

Unclear and mysterious circumstances
 lead Sr. James to suspect that sexual misconduct occurred between Fr. Flynn and Donald,
  but the evidence that is put forth to Sr. Aloysius is circumstantial at best.

In a private meeting between Sr. Aloysius, Sr. James, and Fr. Flynn,
 Sr. Aloysius openly confronts Flynn with her suspicions.
  Fr. Flynn, taken completely aback, asks what makes her think this is true.
   Sr. Aloysius, per Sr. James's testimony, saw Fr. Flynn dropping off Donald's coat
    that he forgot in the sacristy as he was serving at the altar at Mass,
     and the fact that Fr. Flynn and Donald met one-on-one in his office after school one day.

Fr. Flynn deflects and angrily denies wrongdoing,
 so Sr. Aloysius asks what the meeting was about.
  Fr. Flynn hangs his head in disappointment,
   and reveals that he caught Donald drinking communion wine,
    and that he was trying to not get Donald disciplined by the school,
     because that would mean Donald couldn't serve at the Altar anymore.
      And now that Fr. Flynn has revealed this to Sr. Aloysius,
       Fr. Flynn has no choice but to remove Donald from the Altar duty
        because of Sr. Aloysius's suspicions.

Sr. James believes Fr. Flynn, and feels much less anxiety about him after the meeting.

But, Sr. Aloysius,
 while inwardly conflicted,
  is dissatisfied with Flynn's story,
   and meets with Donald's mother, Mrs. Muller,
    without Fr. Flynn's knowledge.

Sr. Aloysius attempts to convince Mrs. Muller that Fr. Flynn is up to no good.
But, despite Sr. Aloysius's attempts,
 Mrs. Muller says she suspects nothing and that her son very much admires Fr. Flynn.
  She ignores Aloysius's accusations.

Father Flynn, learning of what Sr. Aloysius has done,
 eventually threatens to remove Aloysius from her position
  because of her vehement pursuit to get him removed.

And then Sr. Aloysius drops a huge revelation:
 she informs him that she previously phoned the last parish he was assigned to,
  and she had discovered a history of past infringements.

Fr. Flynn vehemently declares his innocence,
 and the priest begins to plead with her to stop trying to destroy his reputation,
  at which point Sr. Aloysius blackmails him and demands that he resign immediately,
  or else she will publicly disgrace him with his history.
   She then leaves the office, disgusted.

Fr. Flynn calls the bishop to apply for a transfer, where, later,
 he receives a promotion and is instated as pastor of a nearby parochial school.

But then, the powerful twist.

After Sr. Aloysius learns of Fr. Flynn's transfer,
 Sr. Aloysius reveals to Sr. James that she completely made the phone call up:
  there was no evidence that Fr. Flynn had any infringements nor that he was guilty of any abuse.

As a result of this, she is left with great doubt in herself and her faith.
 With no actual proof that Father Flynn is or is not innocent,
  you, as the audience, are also cast into doubt.
   And the play ends with Sr. Aloysius crying out,
    "I have such doubt!"

You, as audience, are given all kinds of circumstantial instances and emotional affects
 from the deep and well-thought-out characters,
  but no real evidence as to whether Fr. Flynn is innocent or guilty.
   And that's the point of the movie:
    you are SUPPOSED to not be able to know,
     and you are coaxed into taking sides:
      do you believe Fr. Flynn, or Sr. Aloysius?
 
However, the online reviews for this movie
 prove how taboo it is to have doubt as to who is guilty or innocent!
  And several of them made me chuckle to myself!

Like this online review: "Absolutely superb movie. The scene between Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius, to me, leaves no doubt of the priest's guilt. If he were innocent, her threats to expose him would not have made him leave."

Or, how about this review: "I can't believe I was deceived by Sr. Aloysius's accusations of Fr. Flynn!"

People can't stand doubt!
 We can't stand doubt!
  We want hard, empirical certainty,
   something that is for sure and in which we have no doubt about.

II.

Doubt is seen by some
 as not having enough faith,
  not being spiritual enough,
   not really believing enough.

Yet, this morning, friends,
 what happens when THE person sent to prepare the way for Jesus Christ our Lord
  has doubts about Jesus and wishes for more clarification of the facts?

What happens, friends,
 when John the Baptist himself sends his disciples to see Jesus
  and to ask a really pertinent question:
   "Are you the Messiah, or should we expect another?"

Now, earlier in Matthew's Gospel,
 remember that John the Baptist already baptized Jesus,
  and said quite plainly,
   "I don't need to baptize you, I need you to baptize me!"
    John saw Jesus Christ and recognized him as Messiah,
     and John then witnessed the heavens opened, the Spirit descending like a dove,
      and the Father's voice declaring, "This is my Beloved Son."

John the Baptist WITNESSED these things.

But even witnessing this divine happening
 doesn't expunge the doubts that come in any life of faith with Jesus Christ.

John gets thrown into prison by Herod
 and while in chains,
  he has no idea what's going on outside.
   John only knows imprisonment and bondage.

Can you blame John for wondering if Jesus actually was the Messiah?

Can you blame John for questioning himself,
 "Did I really see that dove descend on Jesus? Or did I just imagine it?
  Did I really hear that voice from heaven? Or did I just want to believe to hard?
   Did I mess up? Did I understand God right when I baptized Jesus?
    If Jesus was the Messiah, wouldn't I be free from these chains?"

Doubt may be taboo,
 but there is not a person in this room, I wager,
  that has not had doubts about Jesus.

But, friends, this is where Jesus Christ provides the means for us
 to be set free from doubt.

Because, when John sends his disciples,
 Jesus gives them evidence to present to John.

Jesus replies, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:
 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
  the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.
   And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."
   [Matthew 11:2-11]

John's disciples return with evidence of Our Lord's word in the world.
 And you can't help but hear the prophet Isaiah in the background:
  "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
     then the lame shall leap like a deer,
      and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy."
      [Isaiah 35:1-10]

John's doubt was met with evidence by Jesus that John would be able to understand.
 And Jesus even says afterward that there has never risen a greater prophet than John.
  But Jesus also says that greatness ain't what its about.

But implicitly in this story,
 we are given an example of the greatest prophet,
  the preparer of the way for the Eternal Word Made Flesh,
   and that greatest of prophets, John, still has moments of doubt!

But John's doubt is answered by a loving Lord who desires that John be set free from doubt,
 and sent forth in faith.

III.

You see, doubt is a growing pain that is unpleasant and unnerving,
 but doubt is also natural for us in our life in faith.

I don't like growing pains.
 But they are doggone happen anyway.

And growing pains, even though unpleasant,
 rather than being a sign of something wrong,
  actually are a sign of something healthy.

We are meant to grow deeper in relationship with Jesus,
 and that relationship involves some unpleasant terrain.

We might not have been thrown into prison like John the Baptist,
 but undoubtedly, some of us her today
  have lost loved ones tragically and have doubted God's goodness, haven't we?
 
Some of us have been betrayed by family, friends, or neighbors,
 and have doubted God's mercy and grace, haven't we?

Some of us have been deathly sick,
 or have struggled all our lives with our physical health,
  and we have doubted whether God really loves us, haven't we?

But, friends, just like John the Baptist this morning,
 perhaps all we need to to actually talk with Jesus about our doubts.

Because doubts, while being natural,
 is not where Jesus Christ wants you to stay!

Rather, Jesus wants you to grow through that season of doubt
 into a closer relationship with him who loves you and gave himself for you.

And thankfully, unlike the play called Doubt: A Parable,
 we are not left without hard evidence of Jesus's identity as the Messiah, the Christ.

What if we, like the first Apostles,
 talked to Jesus about our doubts?
  Instead of a false front, the temptation to pretend that you have it all together,
   what if instead you just talk with Jesus about your relationship with him?

While we anticipate the great celebration of Jesus's Incarnation in Bethlehem many years ago,
 don't neglect the reality that Jesus daily desires relationship with you,
  and perhaps especially when you are in the midst of doubt.

This Advent, don't fear your doubts.
 Rather, talk with Jesus about them.
  We aren't the first disciples to have doubts,
    and we undoubtedly aren't the last, either.

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.