There is sheer beauty in the Gospel today, one of my favorites. Not only for the experience Thomas has with Christ, but beauty in Jesus Himself. The beauty is that Jesus comes to us wherever we are, whoever we are, in the way that we need. And He comes to us in flesh and blood.
Thomas needed proof. He needed to touch and feel the wounds. He needed to see. Jesus knew that, and He knew what all His disciples needed, individually, to understand who He truly was. Who God is. Jesus comes to us where we are, and in the way that we need.
But what I also love about this Gospel today is that He showed that He is also flesh and blood. In other parts of this Gospel this week, He meets with disciples after His resurrection and eats fish together with them. He is a person. A divine person. But He is real, and He proves this once again today in this reading, so that we will believe.
Believe. Belief. These words are spoken 9 times in the readings today. Thomas believe because He saw. The community of believers was of one heart and mind… Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.
What do you believe?
As I write this, my aunt is currently lying in wait – having not eaten or responded in days, waiting for God to call her home. She has suffered for a few years, and it is now time. My mother said that while it is sad, the process is, in a way – beautiful. The local priest came by and anointed her, administering the Last Rites. She is ready to go, as soon as God calls her home.
And yet today, my wife got a call about her grandmother, who suffered a stroke. She’s stable, but at 93, it doesn’t take much. God may soon call her home.
The process, while sad, is a part of life. And it is beautiful. Obviously at these times, I think about my own mortality. The older I get, the more I think about this. I know that many of you share this, and experience it even more.
But here’s the thing. The older I get, the more I find beauty in death, because the more I know, the more I believe that Christ will be waiting there for me, for all of us who believe, saying go ahead – touch me, feel me. See me. I Am real. I Am here. I AM.
Not that I want to suffer. Not that I want to see others suffering. But suffering is a part of life. And just as with the ugliness of Christ on the Cross, so is the ugliness of our lives. But in all my faults and sin – I believe that Jesus will be there beyond that threshold, showing me, showing all of us that believe in Him that He is real and that Heaven is real, that eternal life is real, and that His Divine Mercy is real.
This is what I hope. This is what I know. This is what I believe – more and more every day, with all my heart.
I used to be like Thomas, needing proof. But I’ve experienced enough to know, that Jesus is real and that He is here, walking with me, with all of us every day of our life. I’ve felt Him, I’ve felt His grace, He is here.
He is one with us, we are of one heart and soul with Him. His flesh and blood becomes a part of our flesh and blood. That is the beauty and genius in the Eucharist. And such a beauty, such a divine experience and eternal existence with Christ can only come through death.
Thomas felt this when He touched Jesus’ wounds, as did the other disciples, and as we all do in the ways that Jesus comes to us, in the way He needs to.
Thomas believed because He saw. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.
What do you believe? Do you see the beauty of Christ around you? Do you believe without seeing? The truth is, there is plenty of evidence to see Jesus around you. Do you see Him?
