Word to the Wise
Monday, July 3, 2023 - July 3 - St. Thomas, Apostle
[Eph 2:19-22 and John 20:24-29]"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." [John] You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. [Ephesians]
The story of Thomas the apostle has branded him with a now common expression, "Doubting Thomas," which is used to describe any chronic skeptic. But the story itself is not designed to single out Thomas, despite his sublime profession of faith, "My Lord and my God!" Rather, Jesus' words about seeing and believing are aimed at you and me and those who refuse to see and believe. The Gospel According to John was composed nearly 60 years after Jesus' death and resurrection. Christians were relying on the testimony of the apostles and other disciples for bringing the faith. They could not physically "see" Jesus with ordinary eyesight. It would be the "eyes of faith" that allowed them to "see."
Although we see Jesus with the eyes of faith in a material form in the Eucharist, this is not the only way we can see him. He is present in the assembly on Sunday, in his Word proclaimed, in the presider and most particularly in our brothers and sisters in the faith. By virtue of our baptism, we become members of the "household of God" and participate in the life of Christ. This is seeing and believing, and like all the apostles, we can thank Thomas for serving as a means of teaching us who we really are! AMEN