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In other words

03 Apr 2016 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle C

The disciples had gathered together. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side. The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.” Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?” But Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.” But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.” Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.” Thomas said, “My Master! My God!” Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing” (from John 20). Taken from The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition by Eugene Peterson (ACTA Publications, 2014); actapublications.com; 800-397-2282.

doubting thomas Holy Spirit

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01 May 2011 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle A

Of the apostles named among the 12, we have real affection for only a handful. There are not many fan clubs for Bartholomew (with apologies to the St. Bartholomew Churches out there!). Few folks have personal devotions to Philip or James the son of Alphaeus. “Bad boys” in the assembly might be partial to the Sons of Thunder, James and John. Others may feel mild empathy for Matthew-Levi, tax collector and pariah among his own people. But when you ask for a show of hands for favorite apostle, you’ll get takers for Peter the impetuous and Thomas the doubter. Saint Peter has enormous stature in the church for obvious reasons; we love Saint Thomas for only one: the Gospel of John. Thomas has nothing to say apart from John’s testimony to him, which makes him a near chatterbox by comparison with the synoptic gospels. In John he distinguishes himself four times: before the raising of Lazarus, when he urges the other disciples to go to Bethany with Jesus and to die with him. Second, at Jesus’ last discourse he frankly admits he doesn’t know the way to follow Jesus. Third, after the Resurrection appearance in the locked room Thomas gets himself into the present mess commemorated this Sunday. Finally, he is one of the disciples singled out by name getting in the boat with Peter to go fishing. This last passage should be the one by which we remember Thomas, because it’s the most telling. In the end it shouts to us: Thomas got on board! From the start Jesus calls disciples for the expressed purpose of going on a fishing expedition for his sake. It’s significant, then, that Peter’s first post-Resurrection decision is to go fishing. The roll call of those who got in the boat with Peter is not random: Thomas the confessor, Nathaniel the reformed cynic, Zebedee’s now humbled sons, and two mysterious “others”—one of whom is the Beloved Disciple. No point in spilling more ink in the controversy of who the Beloved Disciple is, which won’t be solved here. It’s more intriguing to consider who the other “other” might be: Does that leave room for you or me in the boat? Taking in the whole story of Thomas at a glance is important because many of us get stuck in this one episode, which reveals Thomas the Problem. It’s obvious that John’s intention is to provide us with Thomas the Solution, the redeemed one, viewed over the spectrum of his discipleship. Just like Thomas, we problem disciples still have time to get on board. Scripture links The ideal early church: Acts 4:32-35, 5:12-16, 9:31 Walking by faith and also by touch: 2 Cor. 5:7; 1 John 1:1-4 Other appearances of Thomas the disciple: John 11:16, 14:5 The work of witnessing: Acts 10:39-43 Church as the Body of Christ: 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Col. 1:24; Eph. 1:22, 4:15-16 Catechism links Four elements of "Acts disciples": CCC 3; 584; 857; 946-953; 1329; 1342; 2177-2179; 2624 Post-Resurrection disciples: CCC 442; 643-647; 730; 788; 858-859; 1287

Authors Alice Camille

saint thomas doubting thomas

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Homily stories

01 May 2011 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle A

Many things can--and have--been said about the apostle Thomas and his infamous demand to see the risen Christ in person rather than rely on the reports of the other disciples. Some have vilified him as the arch-doubter, while others have praised him for his persistence in seeking out the risen Christ for himself. The early Christian bishop, saint, and servant of the poor Paulinus of Nola had his own, unique interpretation of the encounter between Thomas and his Lord. Paulinus and his wife Theresia had endured the death of their infant child. Writing to another couple who had experienced the same loss, Paulinus said: "It was not without divine purpose that the apostle [Thomas] doubted. By his doubting, he strengthened faith. Because Thomas was bidden to see and hear in person, I learn to believe unswervingly and with steady faith that human death was overcome by the death of Christ crucified." Paulinus came to this conviction because he believed the story. We, too, hear the same story, which was "written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name."

Authors Joel Schorn

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A hands-on gospel

Holy Year of Mercy reflections for your bulletin or website - The Holy Year of Mercy: Reflections

The apostle Thomas went from doubting to believing, all in a moment. Faith arrived in the form of a hands-on experience of Jesus. And it was no miraculous wonder Thomas had been in need of simple contact with the wounds of Christ. Nothing opens the heart and widens the capacity of our understanding like an encounter with wounded humanity. Engage the spirit of mercy by touching the wounded Christ in the world. Visit a sick friend, call a hurting family member, or show kindness to a stranger. Christ is there! Readings: Acts 5:12-16; Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31. “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

Holy Year of Mercy doubting thomas

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19 Apr 2009 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle B

Where do we look for signs of love? And how do we prove our love to others? We all know the customary rituals: kisses, words, cards, and flowers. Over time the gifts become more expensive as greater investments of resources are made. Finally, binding sacraments are performed and new life is generated as a result of this love. In this ultimate self-offering, love seems finally proven, tangible, and real. Kisses, cards, and flowers are nice. They are pleasant reminders of love but cannot stand in for the real thing. In the same way, professions of faith, rituals, and worship are signs of our intentions but must be followed up with a genuine life of faithfulness, or they are nothing. The early Christian community understood that saying “Jesus is Lord” wasn’t enough. Warm feelings were fine, and the intellectual assent to faith was expected, as were prescribed rituals of entry into the church. But if people were serious about this venture, they were expected to surrender their resources, too—to put their money behind their brave words. Nothing could be held back from the cause of discipleship if Jesus really is your Lord. This Sunday we’re asked to consider the dilemma of one apostle, Thomas. He was stuck on hard cold evidence and could not be sustained by his relationship with Jesus, which was to him a swiftly fading memory. Unless he could touch Jesus, the love that bound them was null and void. Unless he could see the nail marks, everything that had passed between them these past years lacked credibility. Most of us feel conflicted in our response to Thomas. On the one hand we want him to show more faith in what has gone on before. We think that’s the right answer to the situation he’s in. At the same time we often ask those whom we love for signs that their love is ongoing and genuine. “What have you done for me lately?” is in our hearts even if it’s not on our lips. What we want from Thomas, frankly, is what we know is not often found in ourselves: a love that is sustained in bad times and in good, a love that does not constantly demand evidence of its reliability. When the ultimate self-offering has already been given—as in the case of Jesus, it most certainly is—asking for proof says more about us than it does about the one who loves us. Jesus has already come through the water and the blood, as our epistle writer reminds us. He has passed through the outward sign and the inward sacrifice. Now it’s our turn. We’ve passed through the water. Are we prepared to render the blood? Related scripture links Knowing by touch: 1 John 1-4 Walking by faith: 2 Cor. 5:7 The virtue of singing: Col. 3:16; Ps. 149:1 Idealism in Acts: Acts 2:42-47; 5:12-16; 9:31 No perfection in the people of God: 1 Cor. 1:26-31 Catechism links Identity of Jesus: CCC 202; 422-451; 456-478; 520; 555; 625-626; 668-674; 678-679; 1065; 1618; 1701; 1708-1709; 1717; 1953

Authors Alice Camille

doubting thomas signs of love

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Homily stories

19 Apr 2009 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle B

Political campaigns often boil down to a few short sound bites, carefully edited and produced at tremendous cost by professionals who specialize in such a product. After a debate, a candidate’s professional staff works the room of reporters putting a positive spin on what their candidate said and how the debate was handled. If the candidate misspoke, the opponent will be quick to use those words against him or her. Sometimes such a phrase can sink a campaign. Thomas, remembered by most of us as being the apostle who doubted Jesus’ Resurrection, needs a public relations team desperately. To this day we will call a person a “doubting Thomas” who doesn’t believe what everyone else has come to believe. A good PR person would insist that we call him “Thomas the Faithful” or the “Brave” or the “Determined.” Thomas was not about to believe unless he was given something to believe in, and then he tells us he will believe wholeheartedly. Remember, all the other apostles had already seen Jesus. It was easy for them to proclaim the Resurrection. But they were the ones hiding fearfully in the upper room. Who was the only one not there? Thomas. It isn’t so hard with a little spin to make Thomas special. That’s what the resurrected Jesus does ultimately to all the apostles—not just to him but to us also, if we are doubters (or believers) like Thomas.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

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08 Apr 2018 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle B

Let’s all go live in the early church! What a delightful community that was: the apostles as teachers, continual fervent prayer, and the meaningful breaking of bread. Awe came upon everyone, we are told; signs and wonders were commonplace. No one had more than they needed, and no one had less. Praise leapt from every sincere heart. And the community multiplied like hot cakes, as more people wanted whatever it is those folks were having. It would be ecstatic to live in such a place and time—but for one thing. It’s an ideal community, which means you and I are ill suited for it. In fact, most people were. From what we can tell from the letters of Paul, which were written to “real” communities, the early church had tons of conflicts and arguments and power plays and sinners causing trouble. In fact, the “real” communities Paul dealt with don’t resemble Luke’s “ideal” community much at all. Paul’s communities sound more like—gasp!—the church we know and love and occasionally suffer today. So I suspect we’re stuck with it. In search of the church Lots of people disagree with me about how stuck we are; you are welcome to join them. They are mostly known as Protestants, who left the imperfect church we know in order to found a better one, which they are convinced is possible. It has to be possible because Luke says so. History relates that the perfect congregations of the Reformation were later abandoned by some who found them inadequate and started their own, and so on through several thousand branchings so far. The perfect church, it seems, may not be a matter of the right pastor, the right doctrine, the right ritual, or the right interpretation. Unless you get perfect people to join it, I suspect, sooner or later, the institution ends up looking suspiciously like Paul’s communities instead of Luke’s. So where do we go looking for the church, the real church, and nothing but the church? Ask Jesus. After the Resurrection, he had one place to go, and that was back to the disciples. Oh, yeah: These were the people who denied and betrayed and abandoned him not so long ago. These were the people who never understood what he said or did, no matter how simple it was. These were the folks with no special talents or skills, short on brains, long on insecurities. Jesus came back to those old sinners and said, “Peace be with you. Receive the Holy Spirit.” Was he kidding? Jesus sent the apostles out to be, well, apostles, the ones sent. He sent sinners out to forgive sins. He sent doubters out to spread the faith. Either Jesus didn’t have other options, or he did it deliberately. Or both. My Lord and my God! The story of Thomas is standard during the Easter season, the time dedicated to remembering the early church. We kick off the post-Resurrection narrative with Thomas because he’s the “twin.” Whose twin? Ours, most likely. Thomas is like us, ready to believe, but only if you pull out all the stops and give him a dramatic example of why he should. If he can touch Jesus with his bare hands, he’ll show you all the faith you want! And when Jesus takes him up on the dare, by golly, Thomas is all proclamation: “My Lord and my God!” We call him the Doubter, rather unfairly, because he is also the Proclaimer. It’s just that Thomas requires certain circumstances under which he is prepared to render his faith. The truth is, so do we. So did the ideal early church, which vacuumed up new members in droves because of what people saw happening all around them. If they hadn’t seen the changes in their neighbors, heard the singing, felt the excitement, no one would have signed up for Baptism. And if you and I didn’t know people whose lives were transformed by the gospel—the saints at the least, our grandmother or brother or friend most hopefully—we wouldn’t be here celebrating the Easter mysteries, either. No one comes to faith in isolation. No one plucks Christianity off the shelf of potential world religions and decides intellectually it’s right for them. Christianity is an incarnate religion, all about what happens when God gets flesh and blood and dwells in our midst. People come to the church because they see something they haven’t seen outside of it. We all say “My Lord and my God!” because somewhere, in a place we can touch, the glory of God was concretely proven to us. Related scripture links Knowing by touch: 1 John 1-4 Walking by faith: 2 Cor. 5:7 The virtue of singing: Col. 3:16; Ps. 149:1 Idealism in Acts: Acts 2:42-47; 5:12-16; 9:31 No perfection in the people of God: 1 Cor. 1:26-31 Catechism links Identity of Jesus: CCC 202; 422451; 456478; 520; 555; 625626; 668674; 678679; 1065; 1618; 1701; 17081709; 1717; 1953

Authors Alice Camille

early church perfect church doubting thomas idealism

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Homily stories

08 Apr 2018 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle B

Political campaigns often boil down to a few short sound bites, carefully edited and produced at tremendous cost by professionals who specialize in such a product. After a debate, a candidate’s professional staff works the room of reporters putting a positive spin on what their candidate said and how the debate was handled. If the candidate misspoke, the opponent will be quick to use those words against him or her. Sometimes such a phrase can sink a campaign. Thomas, remembered by most of us as being the apostle who doubted Jesus’ Resurrection, needs a public relations team desperately. To this day we will call a person a “doubting Thomas” who doesn’t believe what everyone else has come to believe. A good PR person would insist that we call him “Thomas the Faithful” or the “Brave” or the “Determined.” Thomas was not about to believe unless he was given something to believe in, and then he tells us he will believe wholeheartedly. Remember, all the other apostles had already seen Jesus. It was easy for them to proclaim the Resurrection. But they were the ones hiding fearfully in the upper room. Who was the only one not there? Thomas. It isn’t so hard with a little spin to make Thomas special. That’s what the resurrected Jesus does ultimately to all the apostles—and not just to them but to us also, even if we are doubters (or believers) like Thomas.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

doubting thomas public relations

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In other words

08 Apr 2018 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle B

Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side. The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.” Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?” But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.” But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.” Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.” Thomas said, “My Master! My God!” Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.” Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it (from John 20). From A New Message 4 Next Week (actapublications.com) based on The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition by Eugene Peterson (ACTA Publications, 2013).

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28 Apr 2019 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle C

The story of Peter’s shadow captivates our attention like a childhood fairy tale. Imagine a healing power so magnificent and penetrating that it can be communicated in a holy person’s passing shadow! There is scarcely any intentionality involved in such a miracle—it happens automatically because of the mere presence of the holy one, if only for a moment. The hyper-effectiveness of the apostles’ ministry seems to surpass what Jesus accomplished in his own earthly mission. This beats even the remarkable story of the hemorrhaging woman healed by grasping the hem of Jesus’ clothes. In Peter’s case, even this minimal contact was not essential for the “power to go out of him.” In the ministry of Jesus, too, not all the cures were 100 percent guaranteed. When he passed through Nazareth, we are told he could scarcely perform a mighty deed there because of people’s lack of faith. On another occasion, Jesus only achieved a partial cure of a blind man who could “see people walking around looking like trees” and had to lay hands on him a second time. The way Luke tells the story of the early church, however, the apostles never had a bad miracle day. When the people brought their sick and possessed ones before the apostles, the word is simply that “they were all cured.” The mantra of Acts is that all along the way “great numbers of men and women were added” to the community of faith. No one seems to be lost to the intimidation of local religious leaders or the threat of accusation by Rome. No one is reported to be put off by “harsh sayings” or the absence of a master plan to overthrow the present system. Whatever imperfections existed in the first gospel tour of Jesus appear to have been ironed out of the apostles’ ministry. How could this church possibly lose? The ideal church Scholars often speculate that the portrait of the early church presented by the Acts of the Apostles is a highly idealized version of the facts. Yes, and deliberately! First of all, it was written after Luke wrote his gospel, which places it roughly between 80-90 C.E., after the majority of the participants are gone. As a second-generation Christian, Luke didn’t have the “eyewitness” hang-up: He didn’t feel obliged to report only what he saw but also what he heard, with a few literary embellishments. Also, his story doesn’t pretend to be a witness to the past but rather to the lived faith of the church. In the narrative he is telling, symbol is greater than fact, and the truth of eternity trumps mere history. Luke consciously parallels his story of the church with his already-in-print version of the gospel. Both stories begin with the overshadowing of the Spirit, followed by mighty deeds punctuated with frequent prayer and characterized by the spirit of joy. The first story takes the divine word from Galilee to Jerusalem, and the second conveys the message from Jerusalem to Rome. Each is a journey of faith that is fearlessly undertaken at great cost. The first martyr, Stephen, dies with the identical words of Jesus on his lips, as if to underscore how perfectly the Christian community carries forward the spirit of its Master. If Luke’s idealism offends our loyalty to the strict journalistic approach of our times (which itself should be taken with large doses of salt!), then we shouldn’t read further to the Johannine writings produced a decade later. The gospel of John is 90 percent free of the Synoptic story line, more consciously theological than historical. And the Book of Revelation produces a portrait of the cosmic Christ so glorious and unearthly that, if taken literally, would explain why no one recognized Jesus after the Resurrection. Perfect attendance In the theological and ecclesial journey between Mark’s first gospel account and the Johannine tradition, we see the gradual movement toward idealism in the stories of Jesus, the church, and creation itself (in Revelation). Perhaps all this talk of the Kingdom really got into the imagination of the community! In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is the good shepherd who will go after the one-hundredth sheep to make the fold complete; and in John, Jesus will not lose even one who has been given to him, he insists—always excepting the “son of perdition.” In the roll call of the reign of God, it seems, there will be perfect attendance. This is why Jesus comes back for Thomas, the one disciple who was absent during his first visit behind locked doors. Thomas is habitually a questioner—we call him a doubter, but perhaps he was simply a deeper thinker than the rest of his bumbling community. In the history of the church, a lot of questioners are left on the roadside when no one sees fit to come back around to satisfy their need for more information. Obviously Thomas did not accept the groupthink that led the others to stay huddled in the upper room night and day. Jesus understood that Thomas needed more than a second-hand report of Resurrection to engage his faith. Clearly, the return of Jesus to the locked room was specifically for the purpose of giving Thomas what he needed to get on board. Applying the word The ideal community The image of the ideal community has not changed in 2,000 years. The perfect community remains the one that refuses to exclude anyone or leave any member behind on the journey of faith. We can’t set our sights on outliving the traditionalists or schismatizing the progressives. We can’t settle for a church that carries the 99 along and leaves the skeptical one in the dust. Thomas is necessary to us, as he was necessary to Jesus—worth another trip around, even a show-and-tell of wounds. It may seem like a waste of time to go back for the unconvinced, but not a waste of eternity, certainly. The ideal community remains the one with perfect attendance, all 100 sheep present and accounted for. Maybe if we were less exclusive about who is strictly necessary or worth retaining in our midst, we might find a more powerful demonstration of the Spirit among us. Whose shadow, now missing from our number, might yet be cast on the world to heal us all? Related scripture links Jesus and the hemorrhaging woman: Mark 5:25-34; Matt. 9:20-22; Luke 8:43-48 Blockage in Nazareth: Mark 6:5-6; Matt. 13:58 Two-step healing: Mark 8:22-26 Good shepherd: Matt. 18:12-14; Luke 15:1-7; John 10:1-16 Will not lose those given to him: John 10:27-29, 17:6-24 Thomas the skeptic: John 11:16, 14:5

Authors Alice Camille

peter's shadow doubting thomas Good Shepherd inclusion inclusiveness Community

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