What does it take for
us to know in our hearts that Jesus is Lord?
It may seem
astounding: a full week after Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on them, the erstwhile
rejoicing disciples remain behind doors that are locked. Coming to full
faith in Jesus isn’t always an instantaneous experience; it is a process that
takes time and an opening of heart. So, Jesus
appears to them again in John's Gospel, this time offering the previously absent Thomas a chance
to witness Jesus’ resurrected body for himself:
Put your fingers here and see my
hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, Jesus says to Thomas. Do not be unbelieving, but believe. Jesus’ invitation for Thomas to see with his fingers might seem odd, but in fact Jesus is calling Thomas to a
different kind of sight, inviting him to know with his heart, to see with his
heart – and he does! Thomas doesn’t even
need to touch Jesus’ wounds to proclaim his faith: My Lord
and my God! Thomas has moved from a desire
for proof – Unless I see the marks of the
nails in his hands – to a profound heart knowledge of Jesus as Lord.
What’s the next
step? The disciples have to leave that
room! As the Father has sent me, so I send you, Jesus tells them. So, leave, he tells them… leave so that your
heart can give witness to what you know is true. Let your belief become so much a part of you
that your very life is witness to what you now know in your heart. Eventually, as the Acts of the Apostles tells
us, many believers will be added to
their numbers in spite of the fear of persecution, because Jesus’ presence is
conveyed through the heart knowledge of the men he sent out to teach, preach,
and heal the sick and those disturbed by
unclean spirits. Jesus remains, in the words of Psalm 118, their cornerstone, rejected by the builders but foundational to the new faith budding
in Jerusalem. John, the author of the
Book of Revelation, will tell a similar story:
knowing distress, he nevertheless
proclaims God’s word and gives testimony
to Jesus. Knowing in his heart who Jesus is gives him the strength to
endure.
To know in our
heart that Jesus is Lord, to experience life through the Risen Christ – who himself
moved from death to life – calls from us something different, something new, a
change so profound that it hits us at our core, a transformation of heart so
radical that we are moved to proclaim his good news. What does it take to know in our heart that
Jesus is Lord? We need to open that
heart, for starters. And, once we do,
once we open to his love in our lives,
we too are called, and indeed, sent
by Jesus to bring the good news of God’s love to the world.
This post is based
on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
No comments:
Post a Comment