Lectionary: 45
He touched me with his right hand and said, “Do not be afraid.
I am the first and the last, the one who lives.
Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever.
I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.
God, like religion and the theater, has been declared dead on more than one occasion. There is much to be said for secularism and the Enlightenment and the philosophical principles that spawned them. The scientific method, with its practices of skepticism, testing and "trial and error" have created a world beyond anything our ancestors could imagine. But like all things human, they occasionally suffer hubris. Thinking too well of themselves they think themselves into an abyss of misery.
Occasionally people ask me about the "unforgivable sin." There is such a thing but, fortunately, it's not irrevocable. Occasionally, we've all fallen into believing "There is no hope." We could see no way out of our predicament and, believing more in our own ill-founded opinions than even our universal experience, supposed there were no options. Had we pulled our heads out of the sand for a moment we would have remembered all the other moments in our lives when we felt lost and forsaken. God creates opportunities sometimes out of nothing, because that's what "creators" do! Who would have thought? God did.
In today's Gospel Saint Thomas has fallen prey to that common sin. He relies on his own senses, experience and considered opinions. He will not even believe his friends, the believing confessing community. We should not judge him; perhaps he suffered a deeper trauma than the others as he fled the Garden and heard of Jesus' agony and death. He could not forgive himself for what happened.
He was gently rebuked for his skepticism: "Go ahead! Put your fingers into my wounds and your hand into my side! And then tell me you don't believe!" We hear his joy and relief in his exclamation, which is unique to him and a fitting conclusion to the Gospel of Saint John, "My Lord and my God!"
Faith is irrepressible because the Holy Spirit will not let us forget. In every generation the Lord gathers a worshiping community to announce the Good News of Jesus.
No Christian should boast of our fidelity. We believe because the Lord continually brings us back. As Saint Augustine said, "The heart is drawn to love as iron is drawn to a magnet."
Where many see the dreadful spectacle of bloody crucifixion, we see Divine Mercy. Where they see an empty tomb and suspect conspiracy, we see the Mighty Works of God. By the Lord has this been done and it is marvelous in our eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.