Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 4: 13-31;

1 John 5: 1-6;

John 20: 19-31;

In the first part of John's Gospel, different people make their journey of faith in Jesus differently - Nicodamus, the centurion, the man born blind, Martha and Mary, the apostles. With hindsight, lookoing at what we read, it seems impossible not to believe. Yet in today’s Gospel, even when the ten tell Thomas that they’ve seen the Lord, he still finds it impossible to accept their witness - he wanted proof and presence - seeing was believing! Only then does he assent, profess his faith with humility and, I suspect, a lot of embarrassment!

Thomas' absence works well for us. His doubts about a risen Lord were sensible, sane, understandable; he wanted proof. The one thing which comes across in the Gospel is Jesus' gentle treatment of Thomas - no recriminations, just an invitation to look at the evidence before his eyes and believe. He was gentle; and we shouJd be patient with ourselves, and others, too. Faith isn't certainty. And when our own faith is shaken, for whatever reason, whether it's something which happens to us personally, or something which wounds the church, we can always look at our own lives and see times when God was real to us; we can read through the Gospels, we can look at the saints, and know that they can't all have been mistaken. The truth is out there, even when it's not inside us with total conviction.

So never be afraid: doubt can be healthy, because it helps us to enquire, and having given us a brain, an intellect, as well as a head, God must expect us to use these gifts to find Him in the jumble and materialism of our world.  Faith isn't just reciting the creed. It's an openness of mind and heart, fed by prayer and the Sacraments, enabling us to see God's love at work in our- selves and others.

The newly-risen Lord was recognised by His wounds and His gift of peace. Perhaps we should express our own faith by giving and receiving the same peace, while struggling with our own vulnerability. St. John tells us that when Jesus first appeared to His disciples, they were locked away in a room, paralysed with fear. It was only when He showed them that it really was Him that they were filled with joy.

So faith always involve a risk and an act of trust. Thomas ex- pressed his doubts, but ended with a profound faith. Since then, millions of ordinary Christians have overcome their doubts, developed a strong faith in the risen Christ and are blessed simply because ”they have not seen, and yet believe." And that includes you and me!