Doubt

04-11-2021Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

The desire to be able to prove the existence of a divinity has troubled humanity since human consciousness first became aware of the divine. To this very day we are fond of saying that any number of things—from sunsets to hot fudge sundaes—are “proof that there is a God.” We get so caught up in the story of “doubting Thomas” that we fail to notice that today’s Gospel gives us John’s account of Pentecost, the bestowing of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples following the Resurrection.

Thomas, evidently, missed out not only on seeing the Risen Christ, but receiving the Holy Spirit as well. This is not to be taken lightly and, perhaps, makes Thomas’ disbelief a bit easier to comprehend. It also makes his professing that Jesus is his Lord and God—the only time the New Testament explicitly refers to Jesus Christ as “God”—more remarkable.