Re(tro)View: Thomas the Thank Engine

So I have trains at my house...lots of trains.  Between my four kids we accumulated quite a treasure trove of Thomas the Tank Engine trains.  If you have somehow never seen/read any of the wonderful stories by, and inspired by, Rev. Wilbert Awdry for his son Christopher they are about a little tank engine named Thomas who really, really wants to be "useful". Pastor Awdry wanted the stories to provide a means of conveying simple messages about things like honesty, bravery, diligence, and faith. Since then the stories have created a whole Train-related-industry spawning movies, pop-culture references (did you see the climactic battle in Ant-Man the movie?) and multiple TV Shows. Inexplicably popular with children the world around, Thomas has become synonymous with toy trains. Over the years the show has been narrated with a who's who of British voice actors for the UK version and, equally inexplicably, Ringo Star and George Carlin voicing the American version.  I still can't wrap my head around Carlin doing children's TV, but that's beside the point. The long and the short of it is that Thomas is a Very-Brave-Engine who is also Very-Useful.  Kind of like the disciple Thomas.  I wonder if my brother clergyman was making a point about The Thomas with his Thomas.

Let me be clear, I am now, and have always been on "Team Thomas".  I think the guy gets a bad rap. Sure, he expresses doubt about Jesus' appearance to the disciples following his resurrection.  But I have always questioned the fact that all the disciples, except for Thomas, were hiding in thee upper room.  Where was Thomas?  Was he the only one willing to go for a grocery run?  Did he not feel the need to hide out?  Was he out walking the streets looking for something? He certainly isn't shy about expressing his opinions to his fellow disciples.  So maybe focusing on the fact that he had (understandable) doubts isn't the most fair thing..

Lets move on to Thomas' actual reaction to actually seeing Jesus. While the other disciples are "overjoyed" when they see Jesus it is Thomas who has a reaction that honestly sums up the experience when he says, "My Lord and my God!"  This confession is the first of the confessions made by the disciples after Jesus' resurrection.  It is "Doubting Thomas" who makes the first affirmation of faith in Jesus' divinity.  So let's not let Thomas' more analytical reaction to the news of Jesus being alive cloud the nature of what he brings to the table.  You see, Thomas is "That Guy".  He is the one who tells the whole truth...

We all have that one friend who manages to say what everyone else is thinking, but too afraid to say out loud.  Thomas is "that guy".  He has no filter on what comes out of his mouth.  Whatever spills out of his face is pure, unvarnished reaction.  From,  "What!? You saw Jesus?!  I don't believe it!" to, "My Lord and My God!"  there is just no dishonesty or guile in his speech.  He feels the things and then says them.  No pause. I respect that because I think we are too brokered with our statements of faith. We overthink what ought to be a visceral reaction to the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. We wonder what people will think.  We wonder if we will offend anyone with we speak too loudly or honestly about our beliefs.  We dissemble and inveigle in hopes that no one will nail down exactly what we are saying.  Frankly I think we need a little more Thomas-like honesty in our speech about our faith...  a little more unfiltered talk.  Jesus Christ lived, preached, healed, performed miracles, died, and was resurrected for you and me.  Shouldn't we be able to speak with honest emotion and passion about these things.  I am not saying you need to go around being intentionally offensive about what we believe, but I am saying I wonder if the the world hears our voices?  If it doesn't is it because we are speaking too little, or too quietly?  So I say, let's Thomas it up a little. Say what you mean.     Maybe when you look in your heart the reason Thomas-like exclamations don't come out is that there is no feeling of passion there.  That is an entirely different problem.  Maybe that is a good time to ask, what is it about the risen savior I really think?  And why does the news that the God who became man died and rose again for me not fill me with joy?  But if you look deep in your heart and find that you have that sort of joy this Easter season, but you have been afraid to let it out...well take a close look at Thomas...he couldn't be held back, neither can you.  So let the words right out.  See what happens next.

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