Thomas the Apostle, called Doubting Thomas, spoke for many when he refused to believe in the Resurrection until he saw Christ. He had seen Christ perform many miracles, including raising the dead, but the Resurrection was too much for him to accept unless he personally witnessed it. He did so:
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20: 28-29
In some ways the Apostles had an easier time believing than we do because they had personal knowledge of Christ. On the other hand we have 2000 years of history in which the Faith has spread around the globe and millions of Christians have died as martyrs for Christ. Most of the people who saw and heard Christ did not convert, Christians in Judea being a distinct minority centered around Jerusalem. One assumes that the eye and ear witnesses of Christ knew that something unusual was taking place, but interpreting what it all meant kept most of them from becoming disciples. The Gospels indicate that some of the enemies of Christ contended that He performed His miracles through the power of Satan.
We like to think that if we had witnessed Christ we would have followed Him. Perhaps, but witnessing a miracle and understanding what it means are two separate things. Seeing without understanding never leads to faith. How many who saw Christ perform miracles paid little heed to what He was saying?
The Resurrection was a springboard to gain the attention of potential converts and explain to them who Christ is. Christ, of course, understood the limitations of miracles to inspire faith, as He strikingly demonstrated in the parable of Lazarus:
[27] And he said: Then, father, I beseech thee, that thou wouldst send him to my father’s house, for I have five brethren, [28] That he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments. [29] And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. [30] But he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance.
[31] And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.
Luke 16: 27-31
The Gospel of Luke’s trenchant comment spoken by Abraham (“..Then they will not believe if one rise again from the dead..” Lk. 16:31) remains an indictment across the centuries to all those who “demand evidence” as a condition of faith.
It is a qualitative difference from the crushed faith of Cleophas and his companion walking to Emmaus, 3 days after Golgotha, who are “foolish..and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” (Lk. 24:25): The two are not demanding evidence to believe: they already believe in Jesus as the Christ (“Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people…We were hoping that it was he who should redeem Israel.” (Lk. 24:19-21 excerpted). But Cleophas and his friend are stumped: “And moreover, certain women of our company who were at the tomb before it was light astounded us, and not finding his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that he is alive. (Lk. 24:22,23) (all quotes Douai-Rheims translation).
What does “a vision of angels” mean, and not finding Jesus’ body? After all, some went to the tomb, “but him they did not see.”
It’s at this point, divine intervention is needed. George Bailey’s prayer (Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”) must be answered: “God, show me the way.” An Angel can be “Clarence.” Or a strange traveler with good listening skills.
“For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.” —Franz Werfel, “Song of Bernadette”
A moment of amazing grace came for me at the conclusion of a three day retreat at Marytown in Libertyville Illinois.
It was the last Mass of the conference.
I wasn’t asking for a gift, a miracle vision or songs from above. I was just in a state of thanksgiving for a retreat that was completely “out of this world. 😊”
A moment of “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” came about as I received Jesus in Holy Communion. I had my personal St. Thomas exclamation;
***My God! My God your so sweet!***
Tears of sweetness and Joy fell from my eyes.
“You are real!”
I drove back to Watertown WI as if driving from the roof, not from the driver’s seat in my car. That elation and Joy carried with me all the way home. My eyes couldn’t stop looking at the sky. The miracle was that I didn’t get into an accident as I prayed my rosary and had my “head up into the clouds.”
“…blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Amen.