The Widening Circle

(PART TWO OF FOUR PARTS)

A Doubter

“…..He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. And that He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve.  Then He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.  Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely bon, He appeared to me.”  I Corinthians 15:4-8.

If you toss a stone into a quiet pool of water, there is an immediate splash and a series of waves that spread out in every direction. Great events of history have made their splash, and today we live among the ripples. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is like that.  

Last week we saw that the waves of reality flowing from Christ’s resurrection flowed over a blue-collar apostle like the fisherman Peter and our contemporary Johnny Cash.  

The text also tells us that the ripples of Easter encompassed the apostles, and one of the apostles was a man named Thomas. Now Thomas was your average skeptic. He was loyal and sincere, but he was a doubter. I’m sure that if Thomas had been an American he’d have been from Missouri, “the show-me state.” When Thomas heard someone say, “Christ is risen,” it seemed to him an idle tale. “When a man is dead, he’s dead. I’ve always said that,” Thomas thought. But then came the ripples of Easter and wave after wave of convincing evidence left Thomas kneeling at Christ’s feet, saying, “My Lord and my God!”

Thomas’ modern-day equivalent could be a man like Malcolm Muggeridge. This man, an Englishman, was a typical product of our highly intellectualized Western culture.  A university lecturer, he found fame and fortune. But gradually he began to realize that materialism was not enough. He began to search for something to fill the emptiness in his life. Money, clothes, travel, food, education—these just weren’t enough. He felt like he was made for more. So it was that Malcolm Muggeridge traveled to Israel with a camera team to film the story of Jesus for the British Broadcasting Company.

One day he and a friend walked the six miles between Jerusalem and Emmaus. It was on that road while discussing Christianity with a friend that God made His approach to Malcolm’s life. Malcolm met that approach with a simple yes of faith.

In his autobiography, Chronicles of Wasted Time, Muggeridge laments to God, “Somehow I missed you. You called to me and I didn’t answer. Oh, those empty years, those empty words, that empty passion!” But now Malcolm Muggeridge is full. Christ has filled his aching void with peace. And Muggeridge testifies, “I believe Jesus Christ is alive now. He exists now as a person who can be reached. In some unique way the thought, the teaching, the person of this man are still here.” And so it is, as the text says, that Christ appeared last of all to one untimely born. Muggeridge didn’t see the actual splash, but he did experience the ripples of Easter. And it changed His life!

(to be continued next week with part three)

The Reverend Stephen Crotts is the director of the Carolina Study Center, Inc., a campus ministry, located in Chapel Hill, NC. Pastor Crotts may be reached at carolinastudycenter@msn.com.