Friday – Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle

Gospel – John 20: 24-29

No Doubt!

Church of Dormition, Jerusalem

I admit it – these past 2 years, while filled with moments of incredible joy and peace, have also been filled with times of deep doubt.  Worries over the health of loved ones, the pain of their loss, separation from dear friends and their visible support, the emptiness of missing my little ‘energizer bunnies.”

Throughout our lives, we all have moments where our confidence falters, where our faith just seems to disappear.  It can be our faith in ourselves, in others, even our faith in God.  Moments of doubt and disbelief!  That moment when we have that presentation to give that can make or break our job security.  That moment of riding our bike for the first time without the training wheels.!  That moment as a parent when you have to just sit quietly and watch your daughter take that first bike ride! That moment when we face asking her/him to spend the rest of their life together.   That moment when you wonder what this world has come to – violence, racism, mistrust, unkindness, outright hatred, anxiety, frustration, outright greed and selfishness. That moment when you are paralyzed with worry and fear about the future!

We are all human; we all have doubts.  And we worry whether this makes us less in the eyes of the Creator.  We celebrate the Feast of the Apostle Thomas.  (Kind of bizarrely appropriate that I share my birthday with his feast day!)  In today’s Gospel, after Thomas expressed his doubts about Jesus rising from the dead, the very first words Jesus says to him is “Peace be with you”.  He didn’t yell, he didn’t correct him or sit him down and give him ‘the talk”.  Jesus’ words were those of calm and compassion.  He understands!  He doesn’t turn His back on us; He doesn’t walk away.  He holds out His hands to us with calm and compassion and love.

Creator God, calm our fears.  Be with us today and every day.  Give us peace and comfort in times of worry and fear.  And help us to be that source of faith and love to others.  Aho!

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