It’s good to have someone to slag off, isn’t it? It’s a common sport and done for a great variety of reasons, from pure entertainment to hateful revenge and everything in between. No profession, vocation, way of life, community or place is free of such an attitude. Whatever the circumstances and reasons behind it, the common factor for slagging someone off is that it makes me feel better. It works particularly well when it covers up my own failures or flaws. I imagine there was some slagging off of Thomas behind his back following his refusal to believe in Jesus’ resurrection, as we heard in today’s gospel. Those who tried to convince Thomas that Jesus was alive, had themselves been “reproached for their incredulity and obstinacy because they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen” as recorded in St Mark’s gospel (16:14). This whole episode about Thomas effectively putting Jesus to the test is widely seen as a spiritual way of slagging the former off and – by extension – anyone who has religious doubts. In some languages, Thomas’ nickname is a rather harsh “the Unfaithful”; mercifully, in English, we commonly know him as “Doubting Thomas”, which is much closer to his stance. Interestingly enough, his point-blank refusal was consistent with his earlier appearances in the gospel of St John. Thomas had always been an inquisitive mind, asking questions and seeking answers; some of his questions might have made other disciples cringe or roll their eyes. The episode concludes with an apparent rebuke: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That leads to the question of what faith is and what it means to believe.
The conditions as set by Thomas in order to believe seemed to be contradictory: “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” But what you see, what is tangible, isn’t a matter of faith but of knowledge. You don’t have to believe that I’m preaching now: you can see me, you can hear me and – had I not taken care of my personal hygiene – you could have smelled me. Faith is not required, right? Wrong. Faith is required in a different sense. You believe that I am a legitimate, ordained Catholic priest, doing this job with proper authority. But none of you here was at my priestly ordination almost thirty years ago. So, you believe that I am not an impersonator. You trust the Church to have in place and follow all precautions and procedures to prevent such a fraud. Similarly, Thomas’ doubts addressed the naturally improbable fact that Jesus, whose death and burial he had witnessed, was alive, safe and sound. The dead returning to life wasn’t a particularly common occurrence, so scepticism of such an outcome was rather healthy. The assumption that Jesus’ resurrection was a return to his pre-death condition was presumably the main stumbling block for Thomas, as for anyone else confronted with such a bold claim. We can see that when Thomas faced the risen Christ, his proclamation “My Lord and my God!” referred to Jesus’ status, not his bodily presence. Thomas confessed his faith in Jesus’ Godhead, authenticated by His resurrection from the dead. As ever before, Thomas made cringeworthy demands, at which his friends rolled their eyes, but as a result, we have this rather moving testimony of Jesus’ resurrection.
We still haven’t completely found the answer to my earlier question of what faith is and what it means to believe. The story of Thomas can teach us a valuable lesson and help us address some common yet harmful misconceptions. Firstly, having doubts and asking questions about faith isn’t bad or sinful, as many think. Precisely the opposite, it’s an absolutely necessary attitude for developing and maturing in faith. Only religious fanatics or the indifferent never have doubts, never have questions; usually with disastrous effects, not just for themselves but for others as well. Secondly, faith isn’t something you have, but rather a dynamic response to life and its realities. In a broad sense, we use trust, belief and faith to deal with everyday situations. In a religious sense, faith helps us to view life’s events from a different perspective, allowing us to interpret and live our reality in a way that differs from those who do not share our beliefs. To have a different, religious perspective, we need a solid foundation of proper understanding of our religion. How do we get it? By asking questions and looking for answers. So we are back to square one, but at a higher level. Asking questions, looking for answers and implementing them in our lives is a bit like climbing a spiral staircase; seemingly going in circles but getting ever higher. The higher we climb, the better and broader our view and understanding, “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
