Latest / St. Paul Podcast / Beyond the mold, 4.12.2026

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Beyond the mold, 4.12.2026 · St. Paul Podcast

0:06
SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone and welcome to the St.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: Paul Podcast.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: My name is Mark Neethammer, Senior Pastor at St.
0:11
SPEAKER_01: Paul Lutheran Church, located in Davenport, Iowa, part of the Greater Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois.
0:18
SPEAKER_01: Right here, each week, you will find beautiful music and a message of hope and good news to guide your life.
0:25
SPEAKER_01: I am hopeful that this podcast can inspire you and help you on your journey of faith as you grow in love and trust in our God.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad to be spending this time on the podcast with you all today.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: This week we celebrate the second Sunday of Easter, our first reminder that Easter is a whole season, not just a single day, and that the joy and promises of the resurrection continue to permeate our lives all year long.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: Over the next six weeks, we will explore several of Jesus' resurrection appearances, journeying with people as they discover what it means to be in relationship with a living and resurrected Lord.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: This week we'll walk with all of the disciples and Thomas specifically on the evening of Easter Sunday as they meet the resurrected Jesus for the first time in the twentieth chapter of John's Gospel.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were for fear of the Judeans.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side, and the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: When he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: But Thomas, who is called the twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: But he said to them, Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails, and my hand in his side, I will not believe.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: A week later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here and see my hands.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: Reach out your hand and put it in my side.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: Do not doubt, but believe.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God.
5:03
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me?
5:07
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: So now let's explore Thomas's perspective on this encounter with Jesus, and his reminders that our God is a God of relationship.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: Over the years, I've collected several hobbies, and one of them is baking sugar cookies.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: Cutting them into different shapes, frosting and decorating them for different holidays and events.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: Pumpkin and candy corn for Halloween, shamrocks and sheep for St.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: Patrick's Day, reindeer, trees, and the whole kit and caboodle for Christmas.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: I started building up a collection of cookie cutters so that I would have something for everything.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: And then my cousin asked if I could make cookies for their twins' birthday party.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: The theme was 3 IEIO, old McDonald, and they wanted some barnyard animals.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: And those were not among my cookie cutter collection, and I was not entirely convinced that I would ever need them again.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: So as any good crafter does, I took to Pinterest searching for creative ways to avoid buying new cookie cutters.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: Turns out there are people who spend their free time making dozens of designs out of the same cookie cutter.
6:56
SPEAKER_00: This strawberry suddenly becomes everything you see on the screen here.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you just frost them differently.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: Other times you rotate the cookie cutter on its side, like that goldfish in the top.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you turn it all the way upside down, like the squid in the bottom row.
7:16
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you reshape the dough a little here and there, or cut some off to make a new shape.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: And then the mold becomes something entirely new.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: I could suddenly turn my reindeer head cookie cutter into cows and pigs by just trimming the antlers.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: And I could make a little circle into a chick.
7:40
SPEAKER_00: Seeing all of the new designs and creativity that can come from the same old cookie cutter reminded me of our gospel reading this week.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: A story many of us are familiar with.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: Every year on the Sunday after Easter, we read about Thomas.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: And almost without thinking, those of us that have become familiar with the story reach for the same old cookie cutter, doubting Thomas.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: We assume we already know his form and shape.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: We know his story and where it leads us.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: The colloquialism, don't be a doubting Thomas, finds its place here.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: We've turned Thomas into a label instead of seeing him as a person in relationship with Jesus.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: What if we've been using that same old cookie cutter for so long that we've missed what else can be found here?
8:51
SPEAKER_00: When we look a little closer, Thomas is not just a doubter.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: He exists outside of this one snapshot of his life.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: John's gospel, in fact, is the only place we learn anything about Thomas other than his name.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: And what we see paints a very different picture than the doubt that has become synonymous with his name.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: The first time we meet Thomas is when Jesus decides to go see Lazarus, Mary, and Martha against all of the other disciples' warnings.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: And even though it's dangerous, it's Thomas who stands up and says, Let us go, that we may die with him.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: Rather than share the concern of all of the other disciples or cower in fear, Thomas boldly proclaims, that's not doubt, that's loyalty.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: And later, when Jesus talks about preparing a place for all of the disciples in his father's house, saying he will know where to know where to find him, Thomas speaks up and says, Lord, we do not know where you are going.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: How can we know the way?
10:14
SPEAKER_00: And that simple question leads to one of the most well-known promises of the Bible.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: I am the way, the truth, and the life.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: In each of these moments, what we see isn't doubt or lack of faith, but a disciple that is in real relationship with Jesus.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: A relationship where he can ask real questions, a relationship where Thomas can be bold and honest, a relationship where when he asks those real questions, Thomas expects a real answer.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: This is not a man defined by doubt.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: This is a man defined by relationship.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: And knowing this, we may come to hear today's story a bit differently.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: The disciples are gathered together on the evening of Easter in the dark, alone, and behind locked doors, hiding from a world they are now wary of, and they don't seem to understand what the resurrection means for them.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: They're hiding, trying to make sense of a world that suddenly feels uncertain and even dangerous.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: But Thomas isn't there.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: We don't know where Thomas is.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: Scripture doesn't tell us, and there's no way for us to know what Thomas is doing.
11:52
SPEAKER_00: But we do know this.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: While the others are hiding and safe behind their locked door, Thomas is out in the world.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: He's living in the uncertainty.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: He's moving through a world where Jesus has died.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: He's stepping into the unknown while others remain hidden.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: The others may be trying to hold on to what they remember about Jesus, sitting around the table telling stories.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: But Thomas is trying to figure out what it means to be in the world and in relationship with Jesus after his crucifixion.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: So when the disciples tell him, We have seen the Lord, Thomas responds the way he always has, with honesty.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: Unless I see, unless I touch, I will not believe.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: And we've been taught to hear that as failure.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: But what if it isn't?
13:04
SPEAKER_00: Maybe Thomas isn't rejecting the resurrection, but naming just how hard it is to truly believe.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: What if he isn't shutting down faith but opening the door to a deeper one?
13:20
SPEAKER_00: The reality is Thomas isn't asking for anything unreasonable here.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: He's simply asking for the same encounter that the other disciples already received.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: He isn't asking for proof.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: He's longing for Christ's presence.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: He isn't looking for evidence.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: He's asking for relationship.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: Thomas says out loud what the others have kept to themselves.
13:50
SPEAKER_00: He names the tension.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: He gives voice to the reality that faith is not always easy.
13:59
SPEAKER_00: And a week later, Jesus comes back, not with frustration, not with disappointment, but with grace.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: And then he turns to Thomas, approaching him the way he always has, with compassion, gently reassuring him, not shaming him, but meeting him and inviting him.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: See my hands.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Reach out your hand and put it in my side.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't give Thomas an argument for why he should believe.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: He gives Thomas himself.
14:49
SPEAKER_00: Because faith is not built on having the right answers.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: It's formed in relationship with the risen Christ.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: Jesus meets Thomas exactly where he is, not where he should be or where others think he should be, but right there in the middle of all of his questions.
15:13
SPEAKER_00: And in that moment, Thomas responds with one of the most profound yet simple confessions in all of Scripture.
15:27
SPEAKER_00: The disciple we've labeled as a doubter becomes the first person to name who Jesus really is, connecting Christ's humanity with his divinity, not despite his questions, but through his questions.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: And this is the truth of the resurrection reveals that faith is not certainty.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: It's not simple.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: Faith is relationship.
16:01
SPEAKER_00: And like any real relationship, it holds both confidence and moments of questioning, clarity as well as confusion, and trust alongside uncertainty.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: The resurrection doesn't erase tension, it transforms it.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: Suddenly fear and hope can coexist.
16:27
SPEAKER_00: Death and life can exist in the same time.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: Doubt and faith can exist within the same person.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: And the good news is that God's grace is big enough to hold all of it.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: Our faith doesn't need to perfectly fit a mold.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: We don't have to hide our questions away in the dark.
16:55
SPEAKER_00: We don't have to pretend to be certain because doubt doesn't disqualify faith.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: In relationship with Christ, even our questions become places where we are drawn together, places where we can explore and encounter Christ more fully.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: Thomas isn't the disciple who failed to believe.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus meets him there.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus meets us there too.
17:38
SPEAKER_00: Because we are people who have not seen and yet believe.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: We are people who still long for the same closeness, the same encounter.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: We are people still figuring out what it means to be in relationship with a risen Christ in a world that's not always black and white.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: And yet, every Sunday, every time we gather together, every time we hear the word, and every time we come to the table, we are given that relationship again.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: A little Easter every Sunday.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: Christ offers himself.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: Not when we have everything figured out, but right now.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: So maybe it's time to set aside that old cookie cutter.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: Maybe Thomas isn't doubting Thomas.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: Thomas is the one who shows us what real faith looks like.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: Not perfect, but honest and rooted in relationship.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: A relationship where we can ask questions, where we can seek a relationship where Christ continues to show up again and again, simply to say peace be with you.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
22:11
SPEAKER_02: This is my confidence.
22:21
SPEAKER_02: We need to fake on that fake force.
22:28
SPEAKER_02: I'm still in your hands.
22:31
SPEAKER_02: This is my conference.
22:34
SPEAKER_02: You can buy See you more.
23:00
SPEAKER_02: You move the mountains.
23:05
SPEAKER_02: I see you do it again.
23:07
SPEAKER_02: I've seen it away.
23:10
SPEAKER_02: When there was no way that we see you do it again.
23:22
SPEAKER_02: That would be I see you do it again.
23:27
SPEAKER_02: Take it away.
23:29
SPEAKER_02: When there was no way.
23:31
SPEAKER_02: That would be.
23:33
SPEAKER_02: I see you do it again.
23:38
SPEAKER_02: I see you do it again.
24:01
SPEAKER_02: Great is your faithfulness.
24:04
SPEAKER_02: Faithfulness.
24:08
SPEAKER_02: I'm still in your hands.
24:11
SPEAKER_02: This is my confidence.
24:14
SPEAKER_02: You've never failed me.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: We now turn to prayer, praying the words that Jesus taught us.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: Your kingdom come.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: Give us today our daily bread.
24:40
SPEAKER_00: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours.
24:53
SPEAKER_00: Now and forever.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: Jesus meets us in our questions.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: Embracing our curiosities and showering us with grace.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: And this is the chaos of life.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: Carry with you the comfort and hope of Jesus as a simple blessing.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: Now and forever.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: I hope you've enjoyed this podcast and thanks for your support of the ministries of St.
25:27
SPEAKER_01: Paul Lutheran Church.
25:28
SPEAKER_01: Our commitment to endeavors that lend hope to other people stretches across the country and around the world.
25:35
SPEAKER_01: We hope that in a good way you feel a part of that reach.
25:38
SPEAKER_01: Tune in next Thursday for another edition of the St.
25:41
SPEAKER_01: Paul Podcast.