The theme of our Easter trip together was that of challenge. On Palm Sunday we were challenged to recognize the darkness within as we became the mob and shouted to crucify Jesus. On Maundy Thursday we were challenged, along with Peter, to allow Christ to wash our feet to allow Christ to love us so that we can love others. On Good Friday we were challenged to understand the power and authority that emanates from the cross, how God chose to rule creation with the cross as God's throne. And then, finally, on Easter Sunday, we were challenged to “ go” and to proclaim the resurrection as the beginning of our story, not the end. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Today we are challenged by Thomas, often called Doubting Thomas. As I've said in the past, Thomas has had a bad reputation. If any of the other apostles had not been in the upper room when Jesus appeared to them on Easter night, they too would have reacted the same way as Thomas. I doubt there was anyone then who would or could have believed the story the disciples had about Thomas. I wonder the same about us today. How many of us deep down truly trust in the resurrection? How many of us expect to experience the risen Christ on the road to Providence in the same way the two disciples experienced Him on the road to Emmaus. Or, as Paul did on the road to Damascus? This is what we are actually asked to believe, even expect! I suspect that belief in the resurrection is the first of many obstacles placed along our journey with Christ. It is the first article of faith that pushes us to let go of the rational and to open ourselves to what many consider irrational and impossible since we are asked to trust as possible in something that is impossible. This is where faith begins. Having faith in something or believing in something means trusting in something with your heart and not with your head. Because faith is not knowing with your head, but trusting with your heart. In this morning's gospel, Thomas didn't trust what his fellow apostles told him. His brain wouldn't let him go there. Like you and me, he needed to see and touch the resurrected Christ to understand, to know, and to believe in what God can do. For us today, the greatest challenge we face, trusting in the Resurrection, is to believe in the next step, that with God all things are possible, that God has abundantly provided for our needs, that all creation continues on the path to the promised kingdom of God. Can we really trust that, through the resurrection, the chains of evil that once kept us from God have been destroyed? Do we believe we are now free to vanquish all evil and darkness from the earth, without seeing, touching, or hearing it? I ask these questions today, not to make us feel inadequate about our faith, but to help us better understand what Thomas thought and felt and to recognize the part of Thomas that resides in all of us. I also ask these questions to demonstrate how our lack of trust hinders the kingdom of God we so desire. The story of Thomas isn't just about you and me and our relationship with God. It's about how the doubt we have within us also affects the way we perceive the world. Because doubt ultimately fuels our fears and keeps us from trusting what God can do and perhaps even what we as the Body of Christ can do. John Dominic Crosson asked this question in a different way when he addressed a standing-room-only crowd at the Kingston Congregational Church last month. The question we were forced to confront was:.