The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the journey of coming to believe in Christ as our path to fullness of life.
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians proclaims we are One in Christ and no longer strangers.
* [2:11–22] The Gentiles lacked Israel’s messianic expectation, lacked the various covenants God made with Israel, lacked hope of salvation and knowledge of the true God (Eph 2:11–12); but through Christ all these religious barriers between Jew and Gentile have been transcended (Eph 2:13–14) by the abolition of the Mosaic covenant-law (Eph 2:15) for the sake of uniting Jew and Gentile into a single religious community (Eph 2:15–16), imbued with the same holy Spirit and worshiping the same Father (Eph 2:18). The Gentiles are now included in God’s household (Eph 2:19) as it arises upon the foundation of apostles assisted by those endowed with the prophetic gift (Eph 3:5), the preachers of Christ (Eph 2:20; cf. 1 Cor 12:28). With Christ as the capstone (Eph 2:20; cf. Is 28:16; Mt 21:42), they are being built into the holy temple of God’s people where the divine presence dwells (Eph 2:21–22). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)
Psalm 117 is a Universal Call to Worship
* [Psalm 117] This shortest of hymns calls on the nations to acknowledge God’s supremacy. The supremacy of Israel’s God has been demonstrated to them by the people’s secure existence, which is owed entirely to God’s gracious fidelity. (Psalms, PSALM 117, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus and Thomas build faith.
* [20:28] My Lord and my God: this forms a literary inclusion with the first verse of the gospel: “and the Word was God.”
* [20:29] This verse is a beatitude on future generations; faith, not sight, matters. (John, CHAPTER 20, n.d.)
Nicky Santos, S.J. comments that tangible proof is provided to him by Jesus leading to Thomas’ exclamation of “My Lord and my God.” But then Jesus questions Thomas’ faith asking him whether it is so shallow that it rests on tangible signs.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” possibly refers to all those who the disciples will preach to who never knew or saw Jesus and by extension refers to all of us Christians today who believe without any firsthand experience of the human Jesus. But this phrase could also be an invitation to each of us to a faith that is so deep that it does not need tangible signs or proofs. A faith that believes in and proclaims God’s active presence despite pain, suffering, fear, anxiety, and chaos surrounding us. A faith that keeps asking even if our prayers are not answered, a faith that keeps loving even if we experience rejection from others, a faith that keeps forgiving even if others refuse to forgive us, a faith that surrenders to God’s care for us regardless. Blessed are we indeed if can have such faith. (Santos, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Touching the wounds of Christ and healing the wounds of our unbelief, “ by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD).
"It was not an accident that that particular disciple was not present. The divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple should, by feeling in his Master the wounds of the flesh, heal in us the wounds of unbelief. The unbelief of Thomas is more profitable to our faith than the belief of the other disciples. For the touch by which he is brought to believe confirms our minds in belief, beyond all question." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 26) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ephesians 2:19-22 calls us as a “fellow citizen” of God’s household. We can imagine standing alongside all the true saints of the Lord. They seem so perfect! But look at St. Thomas, one of those foundational apostles, whose feast we celebrate today. Shaken by the crucifixion, he wanted hard-and-fast proof that Jesus was alive. But Jesus wasn’t troubled by his struggle. In fact, he specifically allowed Thomas to probe his wounds.
Thank God that you are built upon the foundation of people like Thomas who doubted, Peter who denied the Lord, and James and John who wanted places of honor. Their faults weren’t the end of their stories, and the same is true for you. You belong in God’s household because Jesus himself is the “capstone,” the One who holds the entire structure of God’s people together. He is the source of your belonging. And that makes the body of Christ on earth a sacred place where God dwells by his Spirit.
This means that, even when you struggle, you still have a place in this holy household of God. Even when you are weak, God is still building you into his dwelling place. What a wonderful privilege we all have!
“Lord, thank you for making me a member of your household!” (Meditation on Ephesians 2:19-22, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes that the author of the Letter to the Ephesians writes in the spirit of Paul to declare the membership of the Gentiles in the household of God. Thomas' proclamation of “My Lord and my God” stretches the Jewish custom of using the name “Adonai'' to refer to God. Friar Jude notes that the Christological proclamation of more than One in God comes from someone who had difficulty in believing without “proof”.
Franciscan Media comments that if he doubted, Thomas also believed. He made what is certainly the most explicit statement of faith in the New Testament: “My Lord and My God!” and, in so expressing his faith, gave Christians a prayer that will be said till the end of time. He also occasioned a compliment from Jesus to all later Christians: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29).
Thomas shares the lot of Peter the impetuous, James and John, the “sons of thunder,” Philip and his foolish request to see the Father—indeed all the apostles in their weakness and lack of understanding. We must not exaggerate these facts, however, for Christ did not pick worthless men. But their human weakness again points up the fact that holiness is a gift of God, not a human creation; it is given to ordinary men and women with weaknesses; it is God who gradually transforms the weaknesses into the image of Christ, the courageous, trusting, and loving one. (Saint Thomas, n.d.)
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Author Renny Golden who writes about the biblical meaning of solidarity and her involvement in the sanctuary movement of the 1980s, which provided hospitality for Central American refugees fleeing violence.
The birth of Jesus, the incarnation of God into the world, is the paradigmatic act of solidarity. God so loved the world that God took human form. It was total identification with the human condition, total solidarity with human history. God embodied love in a stable in the midst of the most imperialistic empire in the world, and from the very beginning Jesus had to flee the excesses of [imperial] power. From the beginning Jesus was a threat to the established order and so had to flee the death squads of the Roman government [Matthew 2:13–14]. Jesus began life not as one of the elite but as a refugee, homeless, living on the run. Thus, the love of God for the world meant very specifically solidarity with the persecuted, the fugitive, the outcast. (Rohr, 2023)
We ponder the reversals of fortune and resolutions of contradiction that mark our relationship with Christ and affirm our faith in mercy, compassion, and love.
References
Ephesians, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/2?19
John, CHAPTER 20. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20?24
Meditation on Ephesians 2:19-22. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/07/03/725929/
Psalms, PSALM 117. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/117?1
Rohr, R. (2023, July 3). Solidarity Works Shoulder to Shoulder — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/solidarity-works-shoulder-to-shoulder-2023-07-03/
Saint Thomas. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-thomas/
Santos, N. (2023, July 1). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/070323.htm
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jul3a
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