Bischof Dr. Christian Stäblein predigt in der St. Paul’s Cathedral in London

Berlin/London – Dr. Christian Stäblein, Bischof der Evangelischen Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz (EKBO), hat am heutigen Sonntag in seiner Funktion als Honorary Canon um 11:15 Uhr (Ortszeit) in der St. Paul’s Cathedral in London die Predigt auf Englisch gehalten.

Bischof Dr. Stäblein erklärt dazu: „Heute in St Paul‘s predigen zu dürfen, ist mir eine große Ehre. Die Partnerschaft unserer Kirchen, zwischen London und Berlin, lebt von unserer gemeinsamen österlichen Hoffnung, die wir mit Christinnen und Christen weltweit teilen. Besonders in dieser Zeit schrecklicher Kriege ist entscheidend, als Christinnen und Christen gemeinsam Verantwortung zu übernehmen und zu tragen. Ich bin dankbar, dass unsere anglikanischen Geschwister in der Church of England hier in London so segensreich wirken und wir von ihnen lernen, wie reich die Tradition unseres Glaubens ist.“

Die Predigt im Wortlaut:

„In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Please, be seated.)

Today the Gospel tells the story of Thomas, who was called the twin. So, the twin. That is beautiful. Not Thomas alone. Only, unfortunately: the Bible does not tell us anything about the twin of the twin, that is, the one who belongs to Thomas. But we can imagine him anyway, for today I will imagine him.

The twin and his twin. An image full of harmony. We are, after all, on the Octave Day of Easter, the eighth day after Easter. The octave in music is pure harmony, perhaps the ideal, the most perfect sound, because it is the striking of the same tone at a different pitch, higher or lower. Octaves are, so to speak, the twin tones on the keyboard. Those that resemble each other. That is what we probably seek after Easter: the twin sounds of resurrection. Where something begins anew as it did with Jesus. Becomes new in nature. Takes a different course in world politics. Opens up in our lives. Easter twin sounds, so to speak.

Thomas, who was called the twin. Now he himself is literally the unfaithful Thomas — that is what the heading of the German passage in the Bibles says. (While we see in the English version we heard before, the Chapter is called “Jesus and Thomas”.) This attribution is not fair, as we know. For: Thomas is not unfaithful at all, he is “only” a doubting one. And what does “only” mean there? I would say: he is not only a faithful, a believer, he is even a doubting believer — thus, yes, the most modern of all figures among the friends of Jesus. The doubting believer. In that, many of us are his twins, aren’t we? The number of doubters has certainly not decreased since the eighth day after Easter — rather the opposite. The sentence, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe, was probably from the beginning aimed at us who came later. And what are we to say? Today it would probably be: blessed are those who see and yet believe. Or: blessed are those who do not only have to believe what they see. Or: blessed are those who see/watch television (news) and yet believe. Or: blessed are those who do not close their eyes, but still do not lose their faith.

The twin. If I stay here with you with this thought for a moment, I consider how it may be for us: London and Berlin. A partnership between to cities in Europe. A partnership of church dioceses: Diocese of London and Diocese of Berlin. In many ways we are probably like twins, quite similar. London and Berlin — both vibrant cities. The city that never sleeps is a slogan for Berlin. The city that is royal and has everything could be a slogan, yeah: London is at least that. Twins, then, certainly also in the diversity of religions and religious life. And — I suspect — twins also in matters of secularity. Secular means: I believe what I see. And what I have. The profit counts: The saeculum, worldly time, is our time; heaven can wait, if it exists. Secular through and through.

Only — and now the Risen One, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, pops up — but his wounds don’t seem to fit into our secular world. Life is always also damaged, broken, lost — that does not fit into a worldly time and its course, especially not today, when egos are growing large and violence seems almost endless, unleashed. The great miracle of Jesus Christ are/is his wounds: with his wounds he has become like us — yes, more than that: the same. See, put your hands into the wounds, into the marks of the nails. There you find Jesus. In this respect, too, it seems to me that London and Berlin are twins, almost identical twins, recognising what wounds our time also reveals: The poverty right next to the towers of the financial world, searching through trash cans for food right next to Lafayette. The tragedies right next to the theaters of happiness, what abyss behind the ideology of economical growth.

Twins are not always alike or similar as we know. They can also be very different, maybe because they are so close. I often wonder in this story: what was Thomas’ twin like? Thomas, the doubting one. And in the opposite: his twin a devout one? Thomas, the one who asks, the one who seeks — the Gospel also tells: the one who takes action. And his twin perhaps thoughtful, but without pragmatism? Perhaps, this twinship of different beliefs is also part of our partnership: Maybe, I can let go of all my Berlin doubts — and we Germans are, as many stereotypes reflect, often really good at doubting and questioning. And in return I receive from my London twin lots of good answers. How to connect tradition and modernity, also in faith. How to open oneself in faith to all who seek God. How to continue after the first fresh expressions. How to be there for those who often do not know how to describe or name what they are seeking. And how, in singing, one can experience how Jesus Christ is exactly the answer to that. In Even Songs, in Nightlights, in Sung Eucharists, in worshipping God by singing: come, put your hands into the wounds. – My Lord and my God, says Thomas. The confession to the One — in that lies everything.

So, the Berlin doubting twin rejoices in the London faith. And perhaps the other way around as well. It is always like this in faith: My own doubt appears enormous. But I know my twin’s belief, who is already beyond my sceptical thinking. And the other way round: If I am sure about something, my twin reveals the right questions, so that we always learn from each other, improving our faith.

In any case, one thing is certain: no twin ever wants to be without the other. And I do not want to imagine any faith without doubt. The Bible, too, speaks about it maybe in every story from the very beginning.

The disciple Thomas, so it is told a century later after the Bible was written, went far away, straight east. So, what is our role as (disciples) twins in our time? I believe, it is our twinship today to reveal the wounds of the world, not to forget about them. Our world bears many wounds, especially in the area of Thomas’ mission today. To reveal the wounds, to remind them, helping healing hopefully and caring for the remaining scars is our role as Thomas twins in this world. Then Jesus pops in, reveals himself. Put your finger here und see my hands, reach out your hand and put it in my side. See how new life grows from them. Everywhere.

It is with this story as if we as humans, maybe as Christians, too, are related in trust and doubt like twins, similar and at the same time very different: West and East. North and South. Secular and devout. Seeing and not seeing and watching from afar and shortsighted. On our way or already at home. Somewheres and anywheres. That is truly not always harmonious together. Or is it always harmonious in London? In Berlin, it isn’t for sure! Sometimes it is an octave, often enough it sounds like a second, that is, a chord, maybe even more a tritone! Be that as it may: never just a disconnected tone. Never without Jesus, who has become like us in being human, in living, in dying. And — what second, what tritone, or did I here a triad? What harmony, how similar, corresponding, harmonising — we live with him and through him we will rise again. Almost like twins. Hand in hand. Come and see. Do not doubt but believe. Amen.“