For Sunday
Easter 2B
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Reading
Reflection
We usually take Thomas’s statement
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
-John 20:25b
as a kind of rational skepticism. In part, because this is the kind of skeptical response we’re used to offering. “I’ve gotta see it to believe it!” we say.
But I think what we’re trying to say is something more akin to “I can’t believe.” As if belief is something that happens to us. Something totally outside of our control. In short, what you do makes me believe.
Jesus tells it different. Belief is up to us. The onus isn’t on God to make you believe. It is on us to make the actual effort to believe.
What Thomas is doing is setting the terms for that choice. It is his way of saying Here’s what it will take for me to believe, so if you can offer me that, I’ll go ahead and do it.
The gospel turns this on its head immediately as Jesus actually does offer Thomas what he asked for, but he doesn’t actually need it to believe, because he is moved to see it differently in the moment.
This is a wonderfully generous and touching moment. Jesus offers what he doesn’t need to—and so does Thomas, actually. And it shows that we are in the same position. That we might prefer God made us believe, but it really is our choice—an active one—to believe. Whether we see anything or not.