Homilies

2nd SUNDAY OF EASTER: THE UNBELIEVING THOMAS

IN THE GOSPEL of John, one aspect of faith is the acceptance of the word and the person of Jesus. However, the Good Friday event had indeed shaken the faith of the disciples.  In fact, it shattered their faith on him. Even their hopes in Jesus simply died down because of his death. In consequence, there grew some doubts on the part of the disciples. For one, Thomas could not hide his doubts. When he heard about the resurrection of Jesus, his kneejerk reaction was one of unbelief. He demanded some proofs of Jesus’ resurrection.

There are three important things to consider in the gospel that we have just heard:

First, the fullness of faith is not given to us in one instant, but rather it gradually grows. The gospel passage shows that even the disciples have to grow in their faith in Jesus. We first received our faith during the celebration of the sacrament of baptism. It was a faith which is very young and fragile. This should be nurtured by the Word of God and by the frequent attendance at the Holy Eucharist. In the lives of the disciples, this faith grows by their intimacy with Christ. Therefore, encounter with Jesus through prayers is necessary for our faith to grow. If we neglect these Christian responsibilities, our own faith will suffer. We will never grow spiritually.

Second, the unbelieving Thomas represents the skeptics and unbelievers of our time. Many times I said that the diminishing number of Catholics who no longer go to mass has put the Church in a crisis; a crisis of faith. There may be many reasons why people have become more skeptic and unbelieving. For one, some no longer find the relevance of God in their lives. Others make of other things as “gods” and thus, the true God is being put aside. Some think they have the power and resources, so they no longer need God in their lives. I remember that Vatican II has taught us how to deal with these kinds of people in our midst. For us who remain faithful to God and who see the relevance of faith in our day-to-day existence, the Council instructs us to give witness to the faith that we have. Accordingly, if we could show our mature faith to these unbelievers and skeptics, then they can realize that it is worthy to believe. 

Third, faith is not about seeing. It was the theologian Thomas Aquinas (this is another Thomas) who said that the things of faith are not being seen. If our principle is “to see is to believe” then we can never believe because according to John “no one can see God.” It is for this reason that we believe because we don’t see them. This is the meaning of the words of Jesus, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” The moment comes when we see the things we believe (like God, heaven etc.), then the role of faith ends. It is another way of saying that we find some meaning to what we believe because, in the present we have not seen them, and we hope to see them clearly in the life after.

One last thing: Thomas may be remembered for his “doubts” but we should not also forget his great confession of Jesus as “my Lord and my God.”  In life, we need to come to a stage in which we can also personally confess Christ as indeed our Lord, our Master and our God. Such confession can be an indication of a developed and mature faith.

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