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Home Sections The Daily B.R.E.A.D. July 3, 2009 - Friday Meditation (His Kind of Peace!)
July 3, 2009 - Friday Meditation (His Kind of Peace!) PDF Print E-mail
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Written by Bobot Apit   
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 13:34
O ne other insight about Thomas is that he is the Apostle who insists on closely inspecting the wounds and suffering of Jesus. Thomas, perhaps more than anyone else, is able to face the heinous suffering of Jesus and take seriously the pain of the cross. Do we as Christians not have an obligation to take seriously the suffering of Jesus on the cross, the suffering of our world today, and be willing to follow Jesus despite that pain?


Feast of Saint Thomas
Ephesians 2:19-22
Psalm 117:1bc, 2

J ohn 20:24-29  (alternate reading: Matthew 9:9-13) Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. (25) So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." (26) Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." (27) Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." (28) Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" (29) Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
   

M editation by Ken Reed-Bouley

“Don’t be such a “Doubting Thomas”! I remember hearing that line as a child from adults or sometimes from other children parroting what they had heard adults say to them.
For a long time that phrase puzzled, even frightened me. It seemed to imply there was something inherently wrong, perhaps sinful, about not being certain about something. And when I finally connected its origin with St. Thomas, one of Jesus’ Apostles, I was even more confused. How can an Apostle be so wrong? Is it always wrong to doubt? Is it even possible not to have some doubt about lots of thing?

Despite the snickering of the other Apostles that I often picture, as the Resurrected but not yet Ascended Jesus approaches Thomas, I think Jesus shows understanding and compassion for Thomas’s doubt. Jesus does not condemn Thomas for not believing until he had seen and experienced the Risen Jesus for himself. Instead Jesus (and the author of John’s Gospel) teaches all of us generations and centuries later that we are blessed for believing without the benefit of physical confirmation.

Faith without doubt is certitude. Doubt without faith is cynicism. Although I have experienced moments of both certitude and cynicism in myself and others, I don’t think either extreme is often healthy or attractive. In my experience, doubt and faith can complement one another. Just because Thomas was not yet ready to believe his friends about seeing the Risen Jesus does not mean he lacked all faith. In fact, Thomas’s doubt probably led to a deepening of his faith after he experienced Jesus as Risen.

One other insight about Thomas is that he is the Apostle who insists on closely inspecting the wounds and suffering of Jesus. Thomas, perhaps more than anyone else, is able to face the heinous suffering of Jesus and take seriously the pain of the cross. Do we as Christians not have an obligation to take seriously the suffering of Jesus on the cross, the suffering of our world today, and be willing to follow Jesus despite that pain? We might be tempted not to inspect too closely the suffering of people today from war, poverty, disease, etc. But once we inspect these wounds ourselves, rather than doubt their severity we must face the truth and act accordingly.

For me Thomas is a saint and apostle who is down to earth, easy to relate to, and an inspiration for not turning away but for being willing to inspect and take seriously the pain and suffering of Jesus, the cross, and our world – no doubt about it.
 
 
Supplementary Reading
Not the World's Peace
By Juan Carlos Ortiz

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7



S alvation is more than an insurance policy to keep us from having to accept uncomfortable surroundings in eternity. Salvation is for here and now. If we believe in the Son, we have eternal life—now—and we should start reflecting a bit of eternity in this temporal environment. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we should be dancing mid the fire.

So what stops us? One problem is that we get confused about different kinds of peace. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives it, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful" (John 14:27).

The peace that the world gives is what you have if you have a good salary, no sickness, obedient children, a loving spouse, two new cars, a well-trained dog, and more cable TV channels than you can count. Even so, people with all these things, and much more, find that deep, lasting peace escapes them. But we know how the world defines peace in this way—an absence of surface trouble.

The peace Jesus gives "passes all comprehension" (Philippians 4:7). There is no outward reason to possess this peace. Every circumstance may be upside down, but you still have this elusive peace. It's what Paul and Silas had in jail. They had plenty of reason to complain. Or they could have been religious and prayed for God to release them. Instead, they prayed and sang hymns to the same God whose business got them in this fix to begin with.

The peace that Christ gives is founded in him and we cannot lose him once he comes to live in us. Yet how easy it is to lose the world's peace—children disappoint, marriages go sour, jobs suddenly end, sickness and death are inevitable, your faithful dog chews up the television cable right before your favorite show comes on. The very fragility of worldly peace makes it practically impossible to sit back and enjoy its fleeting appearances.

And yet, with Christ, we can experience peace.



* * *
What things keep you sidetracked, upset your well-being and balance or steal your peace? Make a list. Pray, inviting Jesus to guard your heart and mind today.
* * *


GOD BLESS US ALL!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.




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