“Do not doubt, but believe.”
- Once again we hear of the man called Thomas the Doubter. Really now, doubt isn't so bad. Doubt is not denial; it is a desire for more. Denial says “no matter what, it can't be.” Doubt says “Could it be?”
- At times, I find myself troubled by all the denial going on in our world. I probably shouldn't bother myself with it, but I do. Many loud voices tell us daily that God does not exist and never has; that our faith is an illusion and a denial of the reality of all that is. Other voices tell us to believe no matter what and that any doubt is a denial of what God demands. There is even a third current that denies both positions and does not take sides in the debate. This third way seems to strive to live without faith or denial, asking only to be left alone. Maybe there is a god, maybe there isn't, they might say; Maybe we'll know, maybe we won't. In any event, They'd rather not be bothered. This is reflected in some modern fiction that there isn't so much a battle between good and evil, as a struggle between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil with a rather neutral and often uninterested humanity as the battleground. In such stories, the majority of the human race would just as soon be left to decide their own fate or direction.
- Thomas wasn't like that. He was a disciple of Jesus and had been one of the apostles from the original choosing. The death of Jesus made a great difference to him. To hear that the Lord had risen from the dead probably made his head spin. He wouldn't believe it without proof, possibly for fear of being either disappointed or defrauded. If nothing else, he was honest about his doubts. Matthew's Gospel says that others doubted as well, even when face-to-face with the resurrected Jesus.
- In honest moments, we might admit our doubts and come clean about our wonderings. We might remember that there is no need to shrink from our doubt and questioning. That's how things are discovered, decided and moved on. That's how scientific discoveries are made.
- We all have questions; we're only human. As it's been said, “it comes with the suit.” When we're puzzled and confused. we ask questions. It's a normal human thing.
- However, questions alone can make one feel superior, and some people see themselves as questioners. There are those who ask questions for questions sake, but don't want answers. They just want to have questions that go unanswered. If there is no answer, then no commitment is needed... and no commitment possible. The issue is not one of being satisfied or unsatisfied with an answer as it is the refusal to really seek an answer.
- Thomas wasn't like that. I think Thomas wanted answers and I think some of us might be like him. We might reserve judgment and remain skeptical, especially in the face of a lack of evidence. Thomas wanted evidence; he wanted to see and hear and touch. I can't blame him; I think I might have wanted the same.
- And evidence is what he got. Jesus spoke to his doubts directly, personally, and compassionately. Thomas was not condemned for his doubts. Jesus seems completely ready to have Thomas probe his hands and side. He's ready to do all that so Thomas would believe. In the end, Thomas makes the simplest and deepest confession of who Jesus is: “My Lord and my God!”
- I think Thomas was a believer. He didn't respond to the other disciples' news of the Resurrection by saying “Sure, whatever you say.” and continue with his everyday life. No, he wanted to believe. Thomas did not back out of the community of disciples because of Jesus' crucifixion, nor did he leave when he heard the news of the Resurrection. Thomas stayed a disciple, a follower of Jesus. He was committed and his commitment deepened in the presence of the Risen Christ. He believed, but having seen the death of Jesus, belief became harder although his commitment -the real action of faith- remained.
- The Resurrection does not create faith; faith acknowledges the Resurrection. We should remember Jesus’ comment on the power of the resurrection to create faith in Luke 16:31, where Abraham tells the rich man in Hades when the rich man asks that Lazarus be sent to tell his brothers of his fate: "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."
- What about our own skepticism and unbelief? We receive the same witness our parents received and their parents before them. We receive the same witness Luther and all the reformers and all the doctors of the Church received. And although we might wish for more, it has been enough or we would not be here. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
- Believe it or not, we have something that the earliest disciples did not have; we have what John says to us today: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. The early Christians cared enough about the Good News of Jesus that they wanted the future -near or distant- to know about it as they did. And despite our weakness and doubts, we have the same mission. It is up to us to do the same.
“Do not doubt, but believe.”
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