beyond Doubt

If we are willing to work through our fear and our doubts, we will find the other side of today’s Gospel that teaches us also about faith. We need also to look past this story as mere history and ask what it means. Though we have often brought to the story our judgments, I do not believe that is the main point of the story. Firstly the story is saying to us that, in the face of the reality of death, pain and despair, there does seem to be no hope. How can we believe that things can be different?

Secondly, the story is saying to the early Christians and to us, that we are blessed who have not seen and somehow come to believe this. The story does not lay judgment on us or Thomas for our questions. It does however; ask us to believe in the ultimate power of life over death, of love over hatred, of hope over despair. It does not ask us to get caught up in a theological/scientific argument about the nature of the resurrection! That is about a mere once off miracle. It does ask us to go beyond that to know the truth of what the resurrection means to us.

What that means for us is that we need no longer live in the valley of despair, but can rise above that to believe in the power of God to bring new life where we have only seen and known death.