Jesus said to Thomas: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Gospel of John
Everyone has their own way of handling the tragedies that happen in their lives. A sudden death of someone we love, a parent or a spouse, or maybe even a loss of a child. These are events that leave us most vulnerable, hitting us emotionally, leaving us confused.
Jesus' death would certainly have been one of those events to the apostles, their companions and family. They had spent many years working with Jesus in His teaching and healing ministry. They had formulated ideas and plans in their minds as to the many things they wished to accomplish together and the changes they wished to make. They had formed bonds of love and commitment with each other as they worked to put these plans in place; and suddenly, everything changed because of the tragedy.
Even though they were forewarned that it was going to happen, this could never completely prepare them for the actual event. Peter just wanted to go back fishing; to doing something familiar and simple. Mary Magdalene wanted to be with what remained of Jesus at the tomb where He was laid. And Thomas sought to be by himself in his time of sorrow. So he pulled away and did not want to be in that place that brought back so many memories and broken promises.
Even when Thomas heard the news from the women who visited Jesus at the tomb, and from the other apostles that Jesus had risen, he would not believe. He could not subject himself to other possible disappointments.
But finally he did experience the risen Jesus, examined the wounds in His hands and side, and made that faith proclamation that we are all called to make: "Jesus, my Lord and My God".
It is through this gift of faith, not necessarily by what we may visible see, that we are all able to recognize the presence of the risen Lord in our personal lives. It is, for the most of us, the Holy Spirit who reveals Christ to us, and through that revelation we are able to proclaim with Thomas: "You are my Lord and my God"; and this amazingly brings us to that new understanding of God and His ways.
There is really no intellectual answer that we can give for this gift of the Spirit that enables us to proclaim Jesus as Lord, but it changes the way we see everything else from that point onward.
Jesus says to Thomas: "You believe because you see. Blessed are those who believe but have not seen". This is the gift of faith, the gateway that many seek, but few find. It's the gift that resides in the hearts of each and every person, but obscured from view because we get so distracted by so many other things. Let us, with Thomas, give thanks that we are beneficiaries of this gift of the Holy Spirit.
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