Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

2nd Sunday of Easter (April 18, 2004)

Suggested Emphasis

"Blessed are they who have not seen me, but who have still believed."

Salesian Perspective

I have always been intrigued by the figure of Thomas in today's gospel. Thomas is a skeptic among believers, stubbornly refusing to be taken in by the excitement and joy of the other disciples around him who claim to have seen the Risen Lord. "I will never believe it," he says, meaning he will never believe that the Lord has risen, "unless I can put my finger in the nail-marks and my hand into his side."

Thomas seems to be the patron saint of skeptics, those who insist on hard evidence, those who do not want to be taken in, those who value sophistication and deride naiveté. John the evangelist was aware of such people, and it is to them, in fact, that he directs this story. John tells us that the name Thomas means "twin." He mentions this, scholars believe, because he saw all of the future readers of his gospel as the "twin" of Thomas. He anticipated that others who had not actually seen the risen Jesus would likewise doubt. They would refuse, as Thomas initially did, to believe on the word of another. But it is clear that John expected people to believe on the words of others, including his own. At the end of today's passage he declares that his gospel was written "to help you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through this faith you may have life in his name."

We are expected to believe based on the words of others. It is in fact through others-our parents (our first and best teachers), as well as those sisters and priests and lay teachers over the years-that we first learned of Jesus. Like Thomas that first Sunday, neither we nor our teachers have seen the Risen Lord personally. But we are blessed, says Jesus, because we have still believed.

Faith, of course, is not a panacea for life's troubles. It is not a promise of smooth sailing. But it is the beacon that will keep us focused amid a sea of troubles. In those confusing times in our lives we are called to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We are called to believe confidently and joyfully, even in the midst of those trials which will inevitably come our way.

If we are tempted to hold back, to keep from trusting in God fully, let's remember these words of Francis de Sales: "When we let go of everything, our Lord takes care of all and manages all. If we hold back anything-this shows a lack of trust in him-he lets us keep it. It is as if he said, 'You think yourself wise enough to handle this matter without me; I allow you to do so; you will see how you come out in the end.'"

Let us put our full faith in God, and recognize the risen Christ in our daily lives so that we can say with Thomas, doubting no more, "My Lord and my God!"

Rev. Christopher Hudgin, OSFS, is a member of the teaching faculty at De Sales University