Second Sunday of Easter
April 23, 2006


Did Thomas get a bad rap?

Poor Thomas. Doubting Thomas, he is known for all ages. Yet I am not sure that it is completely warranted. Certainly there is a way to pray with that image that is legitimate and important. I would like to open another way to look at his legacy...
You see, what is different with Thomas from the other disciples is not his doubt. It is the same doubt that was in the minds of the rest of the disciples until they had seen. They had heard the witness of the women earlier in the day, but they did not believe until Jesus appeared to them and showed them his hands and his side. Thomas asks for the same 'proof' that Jesus offered the other disciples – no less, no more. This is what Thomas asks for – to see what the others had seen.

What is difficult for Thomas is the community of 'believers'. They all announce they had 'seen the Lord'. And yet, a week later, they are still at the same place - still gathered in the upper room. And you get a further clue about that from John. In both the Easter night appearance and the appearance later, he records that the doors of the room were locked. It was a failure of the community that made Thomas wonder. "You say 'he is risen.’ You say: 'he commissioned you to bear the good news.' You say, he 'told you to proclaim the good news of forgiveness.' If what you say is true - then why, a week later, are you still in the locked upper room? If he is risen – why are you still here? That is why Thomas struggled so much - why his struggle and doubt are legendary. Because he challenges the community to put into action the belief that they proclaim. Jesus is risen, indeed - but are you and I changed by that, or is it something nice that stays comfortably 'over there' and does not affect us?

I have a slight confession to make. For the first 16 years of my priesthood, I was always angry/miffed at the church in the Archdiocese. Frustrated because they always followed Easter Sunday with the kickoff of the Annual Catholic Appeal. (then called the ADA) To my naïve eyes, I thought it tragic - because should the Easter services convince someone to come back to the church for the second time that year - the first homily they would hear would be hitting them up for a donation, and in my mind they'd be saying: Same ole church - always asking for money... But then I realized that this appeal is not primarily about asking for money – the Appeal is about making sure that the Easter message does not stay locked in that upper room. This is about the same wrestling that Thomas did with the other apostles. IF FAITH IN THE RESURRECTION IS REAL, THEN IT CANNOT BE LIFE AS NORMAL, EVER AGAIN.
(Here, I showed the ACA video presentation)

Serving others is what we do through the ACA. I see that enacted over and over again, on campus, around the diocese, as people make the journey of faith from the locked upper room to the wide open world. The gospel message invites us, with Thomas, to make our faith very real and very visible in this world. After mass, you will have one opportunity among many to do that - to make your annual appeal donation to help the archdiocese be about the work of the resurrection. I ask you for a sacrificial gift - one that will allow you to express your faith in the one who is risen. Please make sure you sign your pledge card after mass, even if you can only give a dollar…

Doubting Thomas - a bad rap? I don't think so. You see, to honor his questioning is to invite us to leave the upper room and make a difference in the world because of what we believe. And if we are faithful to our questions, then they will lead us where they led him – to the most explicit declaration of faith in the four gospels: My Lord and my God.