I was thinking about labels recently, and it
had me wondering about a football player who has long been remembered because
of running the wrong way during a game.
I couldn’t remember all the information so, of course, I went to Google
to search for information. Roy Riegels earned
the nickname of Wrong Way Roy Riegels
(try saying that 4 times quickly!) after the 1929 Rose Bowl, where he recovering
a fumble, ran a few yards toward the Georgia Tech goal line, but
then he turned and reversed course. Suddenly, he was in the clear, but racing toward his own end
zone. One of his own teammates ran
him down and tackled him at the 1-yard line before he could score for the other
team.
I was surprised to find the Roy Riegels was not
the only one to earn such a distinction, as Google also turned up several other
players, such as Jim Marshall, defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings
for twenty years and recognized as one of the finest defensive lineman of his
era. In a game against the San
Francisco 49ers on October 25, 1964 Marshall picked up the ball after it was fumbled
away by San Francisco’s Billy Kilmer.
Marshall then ran untouched into the end zone. Unfortunately, he had
become disoriented on the play and ran to the wrong end zone, scoring not for
the Vikings, but for the 49ers.
Andy
Farkas of Washington did the same in a game against the Detroit Lions,
recovering a fumble and running it into the wrong end zone.
But Google didn’t stop there with the stories
of wrong way adventures. It also
returned information about Douglas Corrigan, who, in July of
1938, thought he was flying from Brooklyn to Long Beach, California, but it
turned out he landed in, of all places Ireland, earning him the nickname of Wrong Way Corrigan.
So here’s a question – is it fair to remember a
person for one event in their life?
Should their life and memory be defined by that one event? Whether or not it’s fair, that’s what
we do. And my next questions is, why do we do this to people? Why do we, for instance, use the name
of Scrooge as an insult when, in fact, it is a name that could and should be
associated with positive change and generosity?
What do you know about the disciples Thomas? The Scriptures don’t tell us much about
him, but he is generally known by a single event. What is it? Doubting (John 20:24-29 – 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus, one
of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We
have seen the Lord!” But he said
to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the
nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the
house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came
and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger
here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting
and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my
God!” 29 Then
Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have believed.”).
To
be fair, the other disciples didn’t believe at first either, so is it fair that
we attach such a label to Thomas. Luke
24:9-11
says 9 When they
came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all
the others. 10 It
was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them
who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women,
because their words seemed to them like nonsense. (see also Matthew
20:20-28 and Mark 10:35-45). What
about Peter the Denier, or James and John the Power-Hungry? Why, then, do we hang the label of doubting on Thomas? It takes one element of the life of
Thomas and makes it his defining moment, forever calling him Doubting Thomas. That is a really
unfortunate nickname, I believe, because there was another side of Thomas that
we rarely acknowledge and it’s from an event of which most people are not at
all aware. We find it in John’s
gospel, and it comes as Jesus is beginning his journey to Jerusalem. On the way to Jerusalem they will pass
through the village of Bethany, where Jesus will raise Lazarus (we talked about
Bethany in last week’s message, Reclining
At the Table).
John 11:1-16
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of
Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who
poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)
3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death.
No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more
days,
7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to
stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who
walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light.
10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no
light.”
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus
has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”
13 Jesus
had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural
sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.
But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples,
“Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
I would guess that most people have no idea of
this side of Thomas. We are so
accustomed to hearing doubting Thomas
that this better side of Thomas is overlooked. There’s so much we can learn from this passage, but in keeping
with Thomas I want to mention several lessons –
1.
Whatever Label His Been Put On You, Don’t Keep It There.
I have no idea when the nickname of doubting Thomas began to be used, but I
would imagine it was sometime after the life of Thomas. If it were during his lifetime I would
like to think that Thomas would have refused to accept that nickname. I would also like to think that the
other disciples would have taken up for him, reminding others that at one point
they also disbelieved the news of the resurrection and had other failings. Peter, for instance, might have said, I didn’t believe at first either. And not only did I not believe, but I
also denied Jesus. And not just
once, but three times. And not
only did I deny Jesus three times, but he heard every word of my denials. And James and John could have
chimed in as well. It’s true; we didn’t believe the news of the
resurrection at first either. And
not only did we not believe, but we had other failings as well. We asked Jesus for preferential
treatment in his kingdom, we had the audacity to ask that we could sit at his
right and left hand. We didn’t
understand the nature of his kingdom.
We believed it to be a kingdom that would give us earthly power and
prestige, failing to understand that it would call us not to power and prestige
but to love and service.
I don’t know all the reasons why we label
people. I suspect it is at least
partially because it allows us to diminish people or groups of whom we don’t
approve or that we don’t like. Or,
maybe we want to label them because that label will lessen their voice and
their opinion. And I don’t know
why we allow labels to be placed upon us.
I’ve had some nicknames – which can be another form of a label – that I
didn’t mind and I’ve had some that I really didn’t like. One of the advantages of moving at
different points in my life was to get away from labels and names that had
become attached to me. A new home
meant a new start and the shedding of labels. The reality is, every one of us has been labeled at some
point, but never be afraid to take that label off and say that label will not define me!
Jesus gave that courage and ability to many
with whom he came into contact.
The Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4 is a good example of
when Jesus ignored a label and gave a person the courage and ability to reject
a label. The disciples of Jesus
had gone to town to buy food while Jesus sat at the well and spoke with this
woman from Samaria. John tells us
that, upon their return, the disciples were amazed that Jesus as speaking with
this woman, because such a thing was not done.
(1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had
heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who
baptized, but his disciples. 3 So
he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 4 Now
he had to go through Samaria. 5 So
he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had
given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s
well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the
well. It was about noon. 7 When
a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a
drink?” 8 [His disciples had gone into the town to buy
food.] 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You
are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For
Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the
gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing
to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his
livestock?” 13 Jesus
answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them
will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring
of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me
this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw
water.” 16 He
told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus
said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands,
and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite
true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that
you are a prophet. 20 Our
ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where
we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a
time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in
Jerusalem. 22 You
Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for
salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet
a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the
Father seeks. 24 God
is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah”
(called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one
speaking to you—I am he.” 27 Just
then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a
woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then,
leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything
I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their
way toward him.
The disciples obviously, had put several labels
on her, labels that prevented them from speaking to her, but those labels did
not prevent Jesus from speaking to her.
Those labels, though unspoken, were nonetheless there – unworthy, lesser, inferior. But after her conversation with Jesus she
went into town and told everyone about their conversation. Obviously, she was excited and energized
about one who would speak with her, when the disciples would not, and it told
her she was worthy, and she was able to take off the label put on her by
others.
The woman taken in adultery in John 8:2-11 is another example (2 At dawn
he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around
him, and he sat down to teach them.
3 The
teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.
They made her stand before the group
4 and
said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the
Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.
Now what do you say?” 6 They
were using this question as a trap,
in order to have a basis for accusing
him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on
the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he
straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the
first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again
he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At
this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first,
until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus
straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned
you?” 11 “No
one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life
of sin.”). To those who
drug her before Jesus she was only a person with a label, but Jesus would not
accept that label and removed it from her.
Zacchaeus, in Luke 19:1-10 (1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing
through. 2 A
man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was
wealthy. 3 He
wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the
crowd. 4 So
he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming
that way. 5 When
Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down
immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him
gladly. 7 All
the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a
sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the
Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and
if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the
amount.” 9 Jesus
said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is
a son of Abraham. 10 For
the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”). Zacchaeus worked as a tax collector for
the Romans, so one of the labels he received was certainly that of traitor. Other labels placed on him were probably those of cheat, dishonest, untrustworthy, and unethical. But Zacchaeus was more than a label to Jesus, and because he
was, Zacchaeus was transformed to the point of giving away half of his
possessions to the poor and pledging to repay four times the amount to anyone
he had defrauded. An there
are plenty of other examples as well, but suffice it to say that Jesus removed
the labels from people, and gave the courage to cast off the labels others
placed upon them.
Too often we carry around with us the ill
effect of the labels that others have placed upon us, perhaps 10, 20, 30, 40,
or even more years ago. I am now
59 years old and I still drag around the mental, emotional, and spiritual baggage
and harm of labels that were hung on me decades ago, and I suspect the same is
true for each of you as well. Whatever
label it is that has been hung around your neck and has, or is, causing you
harm, rip it off and throw it away.
Remember this – God did not put it there. If you want a label, allow it to be the kind of label that
God would give, such as child of God,
worthy, loved, valued, beloved, forgiven. Only accept a label that is going to lift you up rather than
tear you down. Only accept a label
that is going to remind you that you are loved and valued.
It follows then, that if we do not want to be
labeled, we should not label others, so –
2.
Don’t Label Others.
The passage begins with a report to Jesus that
Lazarus is near death. Lazarus
does die, and two days later Jesus tells his disciples let us go to Judea again (verse 2). The disciples were very hesitant about that plan, because
the last time Jesus was in the region of Judea there was an attempt to stone
him to death (8:59). In verse 8
the disciples are obviously stunned to hear that Jesus wanted to return – the disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews
were just now seeking to stone You; and are You going there again (verse
8). In verse 12 they try to excuse
themselves from the necessity of going by saying that if Lazarus were asleep he
would wake up. The disciples therefore said to Him, “Lord,
if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death; but they thought that He
was speaking of literal sleep (verses 12-13).
Thomas then does something truly amazing. Thomas steps up and makes this
proclamation – Thomas, therefore, who is
called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die
with him (verse 16). Listen to
that again – “Let us also go, that we may
die with him (verse 16). This
was not Peter, aka the Rock. Peter, the one who most often was the
first to speak, was silent on this occasion. This was not John, aka the
beloved disciple, who could have stepped forward to offer a reason why he
was so beloved. This was not James
or John, the ones who wanted to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus,
serving as powerbrokers in his kingdom.
No, when it came down to the reality of what it meant to be at his right
and left, they stepped back. This
was Thomas, one of the disciples of whom we know very little. This was Thomas, the one we call doubting Thomas. Do you hear any doubt in his
voice? Is there any doubt about
his love for Jesus? Is there any
doubt about his commitment to Jesus?
Is there any doubt in his willingness to go anywhere and do anything
that would be required as one of Jesus’ closest followers? Doesn’t sound like it to me.
The problem with labels and nicknames is that they
take one episode or one event and then hang it around a person’s neck as though
that one event or that one episode defines that person, and that is simply not
true. The moment of doubt in
Thomas’ life, obviously, was not the definitive moment for him. Why do we remember Thomas for his moment
of doubt? Why do we not remember
and define his life by this moment?
God, obviously, does not label others, so
neither should we.
3.
Let Us Challenge One Another To Do Better.
There is something else very interesting in the
last line of today’s Scripture text.
Did you catch what Thomas said?
“Let us also go, that we may die
with him.” Not only is there no doubt and no hesitation, notice that Thomas
does not speak in the singular, but in the plural – let us go also, that we may die with him. Isn’t it nice of Thomas to commit the
lives of the others? It’s one
thing to offer your own life, but the lives of others?
Don’t you just love when someone volunteers you
for something? Hey, Dave will be glad to crawl into that
really tight space and pull out that really big snake because he’s not the
least bit claustrophobic and he really, really loves snakes (for the
record, I don’t like either!)
What Thomas was doing was challenging the
others to do better and to be better.
If Jesus is willing to go to
Jerusalem, to risk his life, he is, in essence saying, and we say we are his friends and that we love him, then why don’t we
go with him?
In my final year of college I was serving as
the youth minister in a small church in Jonesboro, Tennessee. It was about this time of year, just a
few weeks out from Easter, and the lesson’s text was either this passage or the
passage where Jesus speaks of taking up our cross and following him. A man in the class said that, if
necessary, he would give his life for his faith without hesitation. Another member of the class said, no you wouldn’t. You would never do that. We were all a bit taken back by her boldness of
accusation. The man protested that
he would indeed give his life for his faith. Once again, the woman challenged him, saying how would you be willing to die for your
faith when you don’t even make it to church most Sundays? He was obviously hurt by her comments,
and the disappointment was clearly on his face. I couldn’t help but wonder why she had to be so harsh in her
assessment of her faith. Who knows
if they would actually be willing to give their life for their faith, if
necessary? Thank goodness we don’t
have that worry! But why not be
more positive about the man’s faith?
Why not say, you know, I believe
you would. I believe your faith is
that strong. Why not be
encouraging instead of breaking him down?
Why not be like Thomas, challenging one another to do better?
When I was in high school one of the students
was saddled with some terrible labels.
Other students were often vicious and cruel as they hurled the labels at
him. We were not close friends,
but we were friends, and we attended the same church. Looking back over the years, I would be hard pressed to tell
you many of the names of those who labeled and then ridiculed the young man
because of the label they attached to him, but I will always remember his name.
And I imagine he remembers me; remembering me as someone who did not stand up
with him and reject the labels that were placed upon him. I didn’t call him any names. I didn’t ridicule him. But I also didn’t say anything. I could have stood up and said he’s my friend, and I’m not going to treat
him like that. I could have
been the one to challenge others to do better, and I will forever regret that I
did not do so.
Why do we allow others to label us? Why do we insist on labeling others? That is not the way of Jesus! Let us reject the labels that others
want to place upon us and let us reject the temptation to label one another! If there are labels, let them be only
the kind of positive, encouraging labels that God would use – beloved or child of God. Let us
encourage one another to do better!
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