Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle Readings and Gospel Reflection Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed Eph 2:19-22 Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2 R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. Praise the LORD, all you nations; glorify him, all you peoples! R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. For steadfast is his kindness for us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. Gospel Jn 20:24-29 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2014, whose website is located at dailyscripture.net Meditation: What can give us unshakeable hope and confidence in the face of failure, defeat, and death? The apostles had abandoned Jesus in his hour of trial when he was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemani by Judas and arrested by the Jewish authorities. Their fear turned to despair when Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion for his claim to be the King of the Jews. In that hour of darkness on Good Friday the apostles saw Jesus death as defeat rather than victory. From death and despair to joy and victory On Sunday morning when they heard the reports from the women who saw the empty tomb, they were slow to believe that Jesus had risen as he prophesied to them previously. Their despair turn to joy when the Risen Lord at last appeared to them and showed them the scars of his victory - his pierced hands, feet, and side. Jesus had indeed triumphed over the enemies which held the human race in slavery to sin, Satan, and death. The last apostle to meet the resurrected Lord was the first to go with him to Jerusalem at Passover time. The apostle Thomas was a natural pessimist. When Jesus proposed that they visit Lazarus after receiving news of his illness, Thomas said to the disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him (John 11:16). While Thomas deeply loved the Lord, he lacked the courage to stand with Jesus in his passion and crucifixion. After Jesus death, Thomas made the mistake of withdrawing from the other apostles. He sought loneliness rather than fellowship in his time of sorrow and adversity. He doubted the women who saw the resurrected Jesus and he doubted his own fellow apostles who also testified that Jesus had risen. When Thomas finally had the courage to rejoin the other apostles eight days later, the Lord Jesus made his presence known to him and reassured him that he had indeed overcome death and risen again. When Thomas recognized his Master, he believed and exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and truly God! Through faith we meet the Risen Lord Through the gift of faith we, too, are able to recognize the presence of the risen Lord in our personal lives. The Holy Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus to us and helps us to grow in knowledge and understanding of God and his ways. Through the gift of faith we are able to proclaim that Jesus is our personal Lord and our God. He died and rose that we, too, might have new life in him. The Lord offers each of us new life in his Holy Spirit that we may know him personally and walk in this new way of life through the power of his resurrection. Do you believe in Gods word and in the power of the Holy Spirit? Lord Jesus Christ, through your victory over sin and death you have overcome all the powers of darkness. Help me to draw near to you and to trust in your life-giving word. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and strengthen my faith in your promises and my hope in the power of your resurrection. The following reflection is courtesy of Presentation Ministries (c) 2014. Their website is located at presentationministries CONVERTING THE STRONG AND INTELLIGENT You became a believer. John 20:29 The conversion of Thomas may have been one of Jesus greatest miracles not because Thomas was so weak but because he was so strong. Weak people are almost forced to conclude that they need help even Gods help, while strong people are severely tempted to rely on themselves. In our weakness, Gods power can reach perfection (2 Cor 12:9). In our strength, Gods power may seem unnecessary. Thomas was probably a strong person. He was absent when the risen Jesus came to the other apostles, who were locked in a room because of fear (Jn 20:24, 19). This means Thomas was not locked up. Also, when Jesus went to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas boldly encouraged the other apostles: Let us go along, to die with Him (Jn 11:16). Thomas was probably more courageous, free, and fearless than the other apostles. Thomas conversion was a great miracle not because Thomas was so simple-minded but because he was so intelligent. Simple-minded people find it hard to keep up the pretense that they know what theyre doing. Intelligent people may conclude that what they understand is sufficient. Thus, much of Gods plan is hidden from the learned and the clever (Lk 10:21). Thomas was probably an intelligent man. He had enough sense to ask the insightful question which elicited Jesus claim to be the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6). Even when Thomas spoke of probing Jesus wounds (Jn 20:25), he was likely advocating what we call the scientific method of collecting data. Jesus converted Thomas despite Thomas proclivity to fall into temptations to self-reliance and intellectual pride. When Jesus converted Thomas, He showed He can convert anyone. There is hope for all to be saved (1 Tm 2:4). Prayer: Lord God, help me to trust in You with all my heart and not rely on my own intelligence (see Prv 3:5). Promise: In Him you are being built into this temple. Eph 2:22 Praise: My Lord and my God! (Jn 20:28) St Thomas the Apostle The apostle Thomas is famous for doubting the resurrection of Jesus when his fellow apostles told him about it; but if he is the sceptical apostle, he is also the believing apostle, for having seen and touched a risen man, he made the immediate leap of faith and so became the first apostle to call Jesus God. Nothing is known about Thomas’s later career. A well-known apocryphal document called the Acts of Thomas relates his missionary journeys to Persia and India. Although the document as it stands is not historical evidence (it was written to provide evidence for certain heretical Gnostic teachings), it still bears witness to the likelihood of a tradition that Thomas did go to India. If you are writing something that you intend to use to convince people of a controversial doctrine, you do not invent completely new facts: instead, you weave the existing facts and traditions into something that suits your purpose. Thus the very fact that the heretics used a journey of St Thomas to support their case shows us that, in the third century at least, there would have seemed nothing implausible about such a journey. The journey would have been easy enough – important trade routes lay that way – and if some of the apostles went west, to Rome, the centre of the world, there is no reason why some others should not have chosen to go east, to the edge of the known world. We will probably never know for certain; but the Christians of Kerala have called themselves for centuries “St Thomas Christians”, and they may very well be right.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 11:48:31 +0000
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