14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
Is 66:10-14; Gal 6:14-18; Lk 10:1-12, 17-20
(St. Thomas - Eph 2:19-22; Jn 20:24-29)
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
4 Jul 2010
Yesterday was the feast of St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles personally appointed while Jesus was alive to lead the Church, the community of Jesus' followers.
Today's Sunday readings are, as usual, good and useful, but I was struggling to find something I had not said many times beforehand. One such point does bear frequent repetition and that is Jesus' statement that the harvest is rich but the labourers are few. These words were spoken nearly two thousand years ago, so the contemporary challenge to inspire young people to step up as Church leaders, as priests, religious, lay leaders and workers in society and the new movements, is an age-old problem. We thank God for the blessings we have in the Sydney Archdiocese and we pray that these continue. Some people are surprised to hear that we ordained six new priests for Sydney this year and have about 45 seminarians.
Now back to Thomas, who is listed as an apostle in all four gospels and appears in three episodes.
On the way to Bethany he offered to die with Jesus. He was obviously a committed follower, not afraid to state his mind.
The second incident is more revealing of his character. We only get glimpses of the personalities of a minority of the apostles, and Thomas is one of those.
In John's gospel Jesus is giving his farewell discourse at the Last Supper, trying to reassure his followers that he was going to the Father to prepare a place for them and then return. They did not want Jesus to suffer and die as he was apparently suggesting and the language was baffling.
I am sure Thomas spoke for most of the rest of them, when he interrupted, "Lord we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus replied with the beautiful words, but still difficult message: "I am the Way, I am the Truth and Life" and that if we know Him we shall know the Father too. I am not sure how much clearer Thomas then was!
However Thomas is best known for the final episode. Word had spread, initially from the women and then from Peter and John that Jesus had risen from the dead. It was as unexpected for the disciples, despite Our Lord's enigmatic prophecies, as it would have been to us, but Thomas had not been at any of these apparitions.
He refused to take the word of the disciples who had been present. "Unless I can see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my fingers into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side I refuse to believe". The Italian painter Caravaggio, a genius to rank with the very best, has a wonderful painting of the moment when Thomas did just this.
He did not get his chance immediately because it was eight days later before Jesus reappeared to the gathered disciples, wishing them peace, rebuking Thomas, and inviting him to put his hands in his side. "Do not be unbelieving any more, but believe".
Thomas replied with the now famous words: "My Lord and my God". In Ireland this is one of the official responses after the elevation of the consecrated host and the chalice.
In saying this, Thomas too had to draw on his reserves of faith, because he could only see Jesus' human nature. The Lord's divinity was hidden, revealed by his resurrection, not as a ghost or disembodied spirit, but as the man-God who had suffered and died.
Jesus then continued on to pay us a compliment: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe". We must work to deserve this.
Our age is unusual because of its increasing minority who refuse to believe in God or are unable to do so. In many ways Thomas should be one of our patrons today, because his scepticism shows that such a mindset can come to faith, and also reassures us that the other disciples after the resurrection were not swept along by some hysterical form of wish fulfilment. We are in his debt.
We need to remind those around us of the importance of faith in the one true God who loves us. This belief gives us meaning, hope in every season and strength in times of difficulty and darkness.
It was the people who followed the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Father of Jesus, and practised the first great commandment to love God, who showed their contemporaries, our ancestors, the practical benefits of loving one another by keeping the commandments. If God disappears, anything becomes possible and in fact many of these evils start to emerge.
As an apostle Thomas is one of the foundations of the Church. Early traditions have him preaching to the Parthians, but we also have a stronger tradition that he planted Christianity in India. The Syro-Malabar Catholics call themselves "St. Thomas Christians" and believe he was martyred at Mylapore, near Madras. Certainly I have prayed at his shrine in Madras.
We too should all pray to St. Thomas to keep our faith strong and help us in our efforts to spread acceptance of the Word of God. May more and more people be able to pray, bowing to Jesus, "My Lord and my God'.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
