No doubt

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary celebrate the Apostle Thomas and present a vision of the transformation which is experienced by the followers of Christ. The letter to the Ephesians is described by Friar Jude Winkler as a text to a Gentile Community which invites them to inclusion in the family which previously was only for those in the Jewish tradition. The transformation proclaimed here is from understanding the Presence of God in the sacred Temple to appreciation that the Incarnation has made humanity the stones of a living temple within which the Living God is Present. Our invitation to be this living temple is a deep motivation for our conversion from sin to a life style worthy of this role. The visit of Jesus to the Apostles in His Resurrected Body on Easter evening is described in the Gospel from John. Thomas was absent from the group and the Gospel records his stubborn refusal to believe events which his colleagues have related. Friar Jude notes that upon Jesus return the next week the ‘doubting Thomas” is given the privilege of pronouncing Jesus as God in the Gospel of John. The role which we are called to fill in the community of the living Temple of the Presence of God is part of the Plan of God. We pray to be open as the agent of whatever transformation God wishes to present.