THE FAITH OF THOMAS

Second Sunday of Easter: Jn20:19-31

            Today is Second Sunday of Easter. And this Second Sunday is called the day of the Doubting Thomas. Thomas doubted the others and said: unless he sees the mark of the nails in His hands and put his finger into the nail marks and put his hands into His side, I will not believe. This Sunday is also called the Divine Mercy Sunday as declared at the canonization of St. Faustina in the year 2000, by Pope John Paul II and  decreed that, “throughout the world, the Second Sunday of Easter will be called the Divine Mercy Sunday, an invitation to the Christian World to pray, with confidence in a special way for divine benevolent mercy.

            In today’s gospel we find two themes: the first one is about peace. Jesus came into the house where his disciples were hiding and said to them: “Peace be with you”. Why Jesus did say this? Did he forget what they did to Him during His hours of need? After all those things they have done to Him, why is he just saying, “Peace be with you”? After Peter denied Him three times, after the people have shouted at him, ‘Crucify Him;’ after the disciples had abandoned Him; he just said to them, ‘Peace be with you’? Is He out of His mind? What a foolish attitude.

            I would like to mention some important notes about peace. When we are asked what do we mean by peace. We immediately answered: “Peace is the absence of war.” In Hebrew, the word peace is shalom, taken from the root word "Slam" which basically mean, “to be safe.” When you say, “shalom”, you are wishing that person health, prosperity, security, political and spiritual well being, absence of war and also it connotes salvation. It means Jesus is saying "Be safe" I have forgiven you. These are the same words we use at mass when we exchange the sign of peace and say to each other “Peace be with you,  we wish each other the same thing Jesus meant for his disciples.

            The second theme is about the doubt of Thomas. Yes it is true that the disciples were saddened by the death of Jesus. Initially all of them had their doubts. But because of their encounter with the Risen Lord in their gathering, their doubt was turned into faith. Thomas missed that experienced because he was absent. When he receives the news from his colleagues he has trouble believing their story. Is this hallucination or just a bad joke. He wants proof. He wants irrefutable proof that Jesus is alive. For this reason he has received the name "Doubting Thomas"
            If the story stopped here we would spend our time talking about Thomas' doubt. We could say he was not a true believer. But we need to notice that while Thomas is a main character of this story, the main point is not Thomas or his supposed doubt; the main point in the story is the action of Jesus Christ. When Jesus comes the second time Thomas is present. and he receives his proof. The action of Jesus is not to berate Thomas for his need of proof. The action of Jesus is to give Thomas what he needs to enhance and encourage his faith. Jesus does not appear and chastise Thomas. Jesus offers himself to Thomas.

            Thomas was afforded another opportunity because the God of mercy, who was so vividly revealed in the person and mission of Jesus, is a God who comes, not just once but repeatedly, to save sinners. Through Thomas, we have the place and reason of doubt and the necessity of questioning our faith. Thomas’ incredulity should not be understood only as stubbornness but as a valid human effort to struggle with the difficult issues. Thomas' doubt was: is Jesus really risen from the dead? Has he really conquered death, with all that such conquest means? Or is the claim that he is risen just the deluded wish-fulfillment of a few men and women made unstable by grief, needing to fabricate a resurrection to console themselves, to vindicate their naïve faith? Is he really alive? And confronted with the real person, there was no need for Thomas to touch, to feel Christ’s side. Instead he fell on his knees and cried: “My Lord and My God.”

            This attitude of Thomas assures us that the Lord will reveal himself, and will give an unmistakable faith to those who want to believe. In Thomas we learn that even doubts can eventually be resolved if one does not detach himself  or herself from the community but remains within it. Thomas’ profession of faith is the ultimate christological proclamation of who Jesus is. “My Lord (Kyrios) and my God (Theos)” revealed the late first century church’s realization that Jesus was equal to and one with the eternal creator of the universe and of all humankind. Thomas’ proclamation gave voice to the community’ growing awareness of the mystery of the incarnation. The great God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the God who redeemed Israel, first from Egypt and then from Babylon, the God of the covenant, had become flesh to make good on the promises to the patriarchs, to redeem all people from sin and death and to make a lasting covenant through the blood of the Son.

            Now ask yourself, What if Thomas had stayed away from others saying, “Prove it! Prove it to me that Jesus is risen and then I will come,” would it be possible to prove it to him by arguments alone? Sometimes the best argument you can give to someone out there who is in doubt and does not believe or does not come to Church is a sentence in three words: “Come and see.” Come in and let the risen Lord who is here with us during mass, the Lord who is here in his word and in the Eucharist, let him, speak to you and touch your heart and then you will doubt no longer but believe. The answer to our religious questions and doubts is not outside the Church. The answer is right in here. When you are in doubt, think of doubting Thomas and learn from his own experiences. Come and you will see.

            This is the meaning of this Sunday, meaning of the doubt of Thomas, meaning of the Divine Mercy for us. That, after all the stories of the appearances of the risen Lord, we may reach a level to profess like Thomas: “My Lord and My God”. The story of Thomas is not about doubting. The story of Thomas is about a merciful and loving Jesus. He is so merciful that He will come to us and give us what we need to believe; He will come to us and say "peace be with you".

            I’m hoping that during this mass, when we say “Peace be with you” we have to mean it. Then, let us ask ourselves these questions: What are my doubts in my faith? What gives me inner peace? What makes me happy Faith involves a decision to move beyond what can be proven and to TRUST God’s words. Hence, Christ says in this Sunday’s gospel: “Blessed are those who have not seen but believe.” This line is directed to the followers of Jesus today. This line is directed to all of us today. Do we have to touch and see Jesus in corporal form in order to believe? What do we need from God in order to believe?