BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN YET BELIEVE.In John’s Gospel we see Jesus having deep and personal encounters. It is Jesus who pursues them and finds them. While Jesus meets Mary Magdalene in her tears and sorrow, he meets Thomas in his doubt and skepticism.
What is doubt? Doubt is that moment in life when we put down everybody else’s answers and begin to find our own. We look at everything we’ve been told is holy, is true, and we test it.
Basic to everything in this story (John 20: 19-31) is the idea that Christian belief is really about knowing who and what to trust. Our society is suffering from a crisis of trust. What can I truly count on?
Jesus is no longer in the world as he had been and yet he is here and available to us, by the Spirit and his present risenness. And in today’s gospel we hear him saying to Thomas, and to us, if you would see me, trust.
Although it seems Thomas was looking for empirical evidence, he needed more. It’s the encounter that finally makes the difference for Thomas, and for us. He does not need to touch. He only needed to see, to behold Jesus of the scars.
Jesus says, in effect: first trust, if you would encounter me. Faith is daily courageous trust in who God is and what God has done for us in Jesus Christ!
With you on the Journey,
Rob+
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