RBWords

     The dramatic profession of faith by the apostle Thomas has just taken place: "My Lord and my God!"  Thomas, for all his bluster and skepticism, was still given the great experience of knowing Jesus in person and in the flesh.  By the time the Gospel According to John was written, however, Thomas' experience was no longer possible.  The Christian community was in the position of Jesus' words: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."  One might call this the "ninth Beatitude."

     Faith is not a tangible object.  Like so many experiences we have, it reaches deeply within us and causes us to act.  It cannot be measured, but it CAN be experienced.  Hope and Love, the other two traditional "theological virtues" are also very intangible but without the three, we would be poor indeed.  Although I am sure that Thomas and the other apostles would be puzzled by my comparison, I cannot help but think that Thomas' initial reaction to the news of the appearance of Jesus to the other apostles is like the secular world we live in, or at least like those Athenians who scoffed at Paul when he mentioned resurrection.  We accept this on faith because the witnesses, which include the New Testament and all the believers and martyrs before us, are reliable.

     Thomas' feast day reminds us that we can echo his famous words of faith and enjoy being included in that "ninth beatitude."  AMEN