Rev David Diller’s sermon was “Were You There?” based on John 20:19-31.  We sing, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” but today’s question is: “Were you there with the disciple Thomas throughout Jesus’ ministry?”  We first meet Thomas in John 11:16.   He is “courageous Thomas” who speaks up to encourage the other disciples to accompany Jesus back to Jerusalem where he’s a wanted man: “Let’s go, too, so we may die with him.”  Next we meet Thomas in John 14:5 where he is “thoughtful Thomas,” honestly trying to figure out something Jesus has just said.   In our text for today, we meet the well-known “doubting Thomas,” but if we read the story accurately we find out he is really “believing Thomas,” for his insight into Jesus’ identity is the most profound in the Bible.   Doubt & belief are twins that go together.  We see that also in the Greek text of Matthew 28:17which reads “When they saw him, they worshiped him, the ones doubting” not “some doubted” as in most translations.  The opposite of faith is not doubt but fear, Mark 5:36.  The last time we see Thomas is in John 21:2 where he is together with the gathered community, the Church.    It takes all of us, courageously, thoughtfully doubting & believing together to be the Church.