Fr. John Ryan

 

Second Sunday of Easter

15th April 2007

Thomas the apostle - the doubter - is a good example for all of us. He had a relationship with Jesus. He heard his teaching, listened to the parables on the kingdom, experienced the Last Supper and all that followed it. Yet, he doubted. Thomas wasn't present when the Lord appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room and when he heard the account of that experience couldn't bring himself to believe, even though he had spent so much time with the others that you would think that he would trust them. Thomas needed something concrete to affirm his hope. We can all be like that at times in our lives. We have a relationship with Jesus - sometimes experienced very deeply, and at other times maybe a very loose connection; we have heard his teachings, his parables, the accounts of his miracles and the narratives of the Last Supper, the Passion Death and Resurrection, but we can reach moments when we doubt and look for something more concrete on which to base our belief. We can all be 'doubting Thomas'. Where we differ from the Apostle is that we do not receive the same opportunity as he did. We are not offered the hands, feet and side of Jesus so that we can insert our finger and attest to the presence of the wounds inflicted on the Lord at his crucifixion. It is with the eyes of faith that we are called to cry out 'My Lord and my God'.
Jesus acknowledges the difficulty of faith. His response to Thomas' declaration of belief is to say 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe'. That statement in the context of the Lord's encounter with Thomas is a statement of encouragement. Far removed from the actual experiences of the Apostles the Lord is saying to us -well done, in faith you are strong. It also gives us a sense of hope in those moments when it may be difficult to believe - if someone like Thomas could have doubts then surely we can be forgiven for those moments when doubt takes over. To look at Thomas isn't to justify doubting. The Lord after all is calling on us to believe that he is the Son who became flesh and who out of love gave his life on the cross and then rose from the dead to reconcile us with the Father. He is definite in his call to follow. But is realistic about human nature and the inbuilt desire we have for concrete proof.
In our moments of doubt we have to focus on the reality of the apostles' experience and try to place ourselves in their shoes. There is no. doubt that they were confused and lost after the crucifixion but it is in seeing the transformation in them after the resurrection that we can ground our faith. Something happened to change them and it was a radical change. To move from the simple way of life they would have led to become so adamant in their preaching and exceptional in their way of life is a testimony to the experience of Christ that they had. Encountering the risen Jesus led them to a complete immersion in the mission of spreading the good news, even to entering into life-threatening situations and ultimately to dying for their belief. If we can in some way enter into their story our doubts can be overcome and our faith deepen. Their witness can be our inspiration.