We have before us a difficult goal this morning is to connect three concepts about the spiritual life. Three phenomena that are given to us from the sacred scriptures and the Church.
The first, taken from today’s gospel is the problem of doubt. Like Thomas we have all experienced doubt. Like Thomas we have hall been disappointed. We have all been the victim of broken promises. We have all been betrayed. We have all felt the ache of heartbreak. If you have not then you have my permission to leave now for the Gospel will have nothing for you.
Doubt comes to the young and the old, the healthy and the infirm, male and female the learned and the simple.
So the question before us is not that we do or do not have doubt. Rather the question is what do we do when we are in doubt, especially doubt about Jesus, or God or the Church.
What we learn from the Gospel through the person of Thomas is simply not to deny the reality of our doubt. Thomas would not accept anybody’s else words or witness.
But what he could not deny is the reality of Jesus. The Jesus who he followed was there with him. The Jesus that he gave up his ordinary life for was there in front of him.
The empty tomb that brought Thomas doubt led him to a joyous response in claiming "My Lord and my God.
Doubt is the road we must travel upon before we reach clarity of thought. Doubt is a necessary part of life that must be engaged and confronted. Doubt is the stuff that leads saints to faith. Doubt is what leads to trust and hope in the providence God.
If doubt is not your problem then perhaps you are overcome with fear as was the other disciples. They locked themselves up because of fear. John the visionary in Revelations fell down in fear. Fear is another reality of our human condition. Fear like doubt confuses us and disorients us. But fear like doubt must never be denied. Again fear is something that needs to be confronted. Fear comes to us in many ways. Fear is experienced as simple anxiety- the heart that pounds faster the breath that comes quicker. Fear is also experienced as profound panic- the heart that feels like it will stop, the breath that cannot be taken. We can treat our fear with medicines, cognitive therapy or just by letting out a prolonged scream. But this morning Jesus has his own remedy for fear. That is His Peace. Elsewhere in the Scriptures we are told that his peace is beyond our understanding. That is true. But what cannot be denied is that the peace the shalom of Jesus is always available to us. Three times he imparts it to his disciples. Three times he imparts it to us. We begin our Liturgy with the imparting of peace, we offer to each other the sign of peace. We depart in the peace of the lord.
The peace of God is abundantly available. It does not relieve us of conflict but it does impart upon us the ability to confront our anxieties, fears and doubts. The peace of God comes to us by just realizing that God is not distant but close. God is close in mysterious ways. God is present in profound ways - God’s peace is present when we love, reconcile, forgive and reach out in simple ways.
Last but of course not least is the concept of God’s mercy. Aside from today being the second Sunday of Easter this day is also annotated in our liturgical calendar as Divine Mercy Sunday.
Though the writings of newly sanctified Sr. Faustina the Church offers us the opportunity to reflect on the mercy of God. Probably the least accepted attribute of God. How could God be merciful to me . Me with all my faults ,foibles , fears and doubts. The reality is that he is merciful because that is his essence.
The witness of the Scripture is that God has always been the most merciful one. The psalmist tells us today that “his mercy endures forever” as well as his love. The love and mercy of God is again always present to us as is his peace. The mercy of god is granted to us because of who we are . His sons and daughter who like God are not perfect.
“Lord I am not worthy but only say the word and I shall be healed” - these simple words imparts God’s mercy. “Lord Jesus, son of the living God have mercy upon me as sinner”. This centuries old prayer of the Church “ covers us with God’s mercy.
In the end doubt and fear are realities we must confront. The mercy and peace of God is merely something we must accept. No payment due!
Dan Laurita
deacondan@mail.pclnet.net