Doubt turns to faith

Times Contributor

 

Actor and Playwright Randall Wiebe brought a first century Bible character into the 21st century, on May 14 at the Hope Community Covenant Church in Strathmore.

His one-man play was on Thomas the Doubter, based on the disciple Thomas, who followed Jesus. In the past, Wiebe has played Jesus in the Drumheller Passion plays.

“Thomas is one of the disciples that I relate to,” said Wiebe .

He used only a chair and shawl as props in the performance, utilizing a very physical acting style. He drew the audience into the story by walking out to them and asking them to respond to his questions and be a part of the story. The plot moved along the travels of the disciples and their witness of multiple miracles that occurred along the way. 

Even after witnessing and delivering miracles through their time with Jesus, all the disciples encountered doubt when Jesus was taken and later crucified. Thomas makes the point that he was the only one stuck through time with the label of “Doubter”, when in fact all the disciples questioned their commitment because of the crucifixion. The final scene shows Thomas placing his hands in the wounds of the risen Jesus and his doubt turning to belief, so much so that he carried on to found a church in India. 

“The scene where he encounters Jesus after the resurrection was one of the most amazing, dramatic, powerful scenes in all the Bible. I thought that alone made it a worthwhile story to tell. As I see it, unbelief comes about because people don’t face their doubts, aren’t honest about them, or walk away because they are doubting and then they never get the answers. Thomas is bold about his doubt and he gets answers,” said Wiebe. “Facts don’t satisfy, they aren’t the be all-end all to everything. You can search and search and accumulate the facts and technology and everything else and still feel empty and meaningless. It only comes together with faith and belief,” said Wiebe.

There was a good audience response to the play. 

“It was excellent. He is amazing. You don’t realize what others around Jesus might have felt,” said Donna Martynes.

“I loved it. The story was from a real person’s perspective,” said Marjonne Eygenraam.

This was the final time that Wiebe will be performing this play. He had performed it in various sites across North America, Guam, Malaysia and Hawaii. He donated all the gift offering to the She Has A Name acting troupe, who are doing a cross Canada tour this year. The play is about human trafficking and Wiebe said eradicating human trafficking is a cause he believes in. Putting on Thomas the Doubter was one way he could contribute to the other. The She Has A Name troupe are looking for help in many areas, from supporting their Fuel the Tour by donating money for gas, to handing out flyers, to being ushers at the various shows.  For more  info about opportunities to help, check online at  www.shehasaname.net. She Has A Name appears next in Lethbridge.