April 27, 2003AD
Second Sunday of Easter
Doubting Thomas
The patron saint of Missouri, the “Show Me State” makes his annual appearance in our traditional Gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter. Thomas represents those who demand empirical verification that belief in Jesus is legitimate. When Jesus meets his demand, Thomas’ response is “My Lord and my God.” (This is the highest title attributed to Jesus in the Gospels.)
Many think that the incident of Doubting (Skeptical) Thomas probably represented the last account in the original Gospel of John. (There are many indications that John 21, while divinely inspired, was added at a later time by a confederate of the author.)
If such is the case, Jesus’ words to Thomas at the conclusion of the Gospel today would have originally been the last words of the Risen One in the Fourth Gospel. What does Jesus say? “You believed, Thomas, because you have seen. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Is Jesus talking about us? With the Help of the Holy Spirit, indeed, Jesus is talking about us. However, it is not that easy. In our lives, there is an assortment of experiences that challenge our faith in the God revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ. Catholics and all Christians should be very circumspect in talking about the depth of our faith. We all want to be strong believers. However, sometimes the vicissitudes of life can challenge an easy faith and make our “credo’s” a little shakier. We might be strong believers one day and, then, on difficult days, “Yo” or “Nes” believers on others. We pray for the Strength always to be firm in our faith in God. Even though we have not seen, may we always believe.”
Each week, Catholics profess our faith routinely as a conclusion to our Liturgy of the Word. We rattle off very quickly (hopefully, not mindlessly) the 14 articles of Christian faith which, we believe, unite us with Christians of the last two millennia. Someone asked a noted theologian if it were time to change the Nicene Creed, which is, after all, over 1600 years old. The theologian said not to change the creed. It might be arrogant to assume that we know the true meaning of certain words. He asked, “What do you mean by “I”? by “believe”? by “God?” by “Father”? by “Almighty”? by “Creator of heaven and earth?” What makes modern people think that we could do a better job naming Christian reality? The same theologian wrote in another place, “The first article of faith equals the last article of faith”. If we believe in God, the Father Almighty, then, the last article of faith, then, we believe in the Resurrection of the Body and life in the world to come. They are two ways of naming in faith the same reality of our belief in a God Who can give life in any situation, the God revealed by Jesus Christ.
Jesus met Thomas’ challenge; Thomas understood. With God’s Help, may we who have not seen always believe, on good days and bad, in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 042703 AD jfq
