<html><body><div>I suspect I may have to split this part also, so will conclude with a third part...</div><div><br></div><div>Bob</div><div><br></div><div><p style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>Thank
goodness, the ten, no matter how else they felt, didn’t sideline Thomas. They
didn’t push themselves to the forefront and claim that it was because of them
that the Gospel survived.</span></p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><p style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>No,
they welcomed, first Thomas, and then, eventually, hundreds, thousands,
millions more, so that we may gather here this morning and know that we all
have an equal claim as brothers and sisters of Jesus, and demonstrate to us
that we, like those first friends, have to be overjoyed to give pride of place,
and power, and authority –to others, even if they’re the ones who may seem to
be inexperienced newcomers, or less confident, or, in any number of ways,
others who may seem to be less steeped in the history of the family.</span></p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><p style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>The
interesting thing is that Jesus spent all of His time with Thomas on His second
visit.</span></p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><p style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>Had
Jesus sort of smiled at Thomas, then turned to focus on the other ten, the
“more experienced ones’, the Church – call it Christian Civilisation, if you
like – the Church might have foundered on account of a lack of trust that
newcomers, less experienced, perhaps, people with more voices to ask questions
– trust that God uses and blesses them equally, and, in many situations, uses
and blesses them more than anyone else., at least for part of the time; Had
Jesus demonstrated anything less than complete focus on Thomas and his
questions, this family which we call one of the branches of the Christian
Church would not be as it is.</span></p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><p style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>Think
further along this line for a minute, though. Let’s say Thomas represents The
Episcopal denomination within Christianity – not the only denomination, or even
the only one that looks like this. But think about ourselves and how we present
ourselves, individually and communally. We’re fond of saying, “In The Episcopal
Church, we don’t ask you to check your mind at the door.” And this is true.
Questions are welcome, especially awkward ones, because they’re the ones that
compel us to think about answers that don’t trip off the tongue in a rote
manner. It this <b><u>IS</u></b> true, then
we’re confessing that we don’t get bothered by people who challenge everything
which we’ve come to accept as important to us.</span></p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><p style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>Maybe
it’s like another of Stephen Hawking’s quote: “The next time someone complains
that you have made a mistake, tell him that may be a good thing. Because
without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.”</span></p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><p style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>As
far as we know, when Jesus came into that room either on the day of His
resurrection or the following week, He didn’t say, “Trust Me”. Yet everything
He said and did was filled with that concept. Trust, Jesus recognised, was at
the heart of encouraging others. He spent His whole life trying to be there for
everyone whom He met, everyone who had a problem to work, an illness with which
to live, a complication in a relationship to work through, and He did it in the
context of community, of drawing people in to engage with other people and to
finds ways in which they could live with their differences of experience and
opinion.</span></p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><p style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span></p><b></b></div></body></html>