Moments of God's Mercy

1. Moments of fear- Fear is a painful experience in one’s life. Pope Francis said that in today’s society, insecurity among many people regarding the future is a result of the mentality of widespread mistrust and fear (cf. Fratelli Tutti 26). The encounter between Thomas and Jesus would help us see that there is always a remedy to fear. Jesus is the remedy to any form of fear. We were told that the disciples of Jesus were in the upper room with the doors locked for fear of the Jews. They were in fear because all of their hopes on Jesus seemed to be gone. The physical Jesus was no longer with them. It was natural and human to be gathered together in the upper room to draw strength from each other. It was only Thomas who was not there with them because he might had feared all the more. Persecution and death were imminent to them as they were all sought by Jewish authorities. In spite of Jesus’ previous appearance before his disciples, Thomas was not with them. Jesus had to appear purposely and personally to Thomas to send a signal that self-assurance and self-righteousness will not bring a meaningful future to a person in fear. Jesus’ mercy is manifested through a personal encounter with Thomas. So it is to us, a personal encounter with Jesus would be the occasion we can encounter His mercy.

2. Moments of loss- To experience loss brings anxiety and pain. The story of Thomas brings us two sides of a loss. On the one hand, the disciples felt the pain of losing Thomas as one of them. Yet we may think of Thomas feeling also the same. He felt that loss of being together with the twelve. We can imagine Thomas who was looking for the other disciples after the Crucifixion. The feeling of loss prompted him to look for his companions. And finally, when Thomas came to be with the other 10, he was met with the Good News as they told him: “we have seen the Lord.” (Jn 20:25) But Thomas remained incredulous. The other 10 did not expect Thomas to have doubted and not believed in what they said. This was another moment of loss for them. The disciples lost Thomas’ trust and confidence in them. The proclamation: “We have seen the Lord” is now the new embodiment of Jesus’ presence in the world. He will be the Good News proclaimed to the Word. On the other hand, we find Thomas who had lost a huge amount of his faith in Jesus. We could imagine the wounded trust and faith Thomas had on Jesus. His doubt has hurt Jesus. But the Risen Christ is now the Healing Christ who had to appear to Thomas to assure him that the object of faith can never be lost. God can never be lost. As man becomes lost, he has to find his way back to God. The Risen Christ is the way back to God.

3. Moments of woundedness- to be wounded is a sign of our frail humanity. Thomas had a wounded heart that affected his faith. He felt disappointed with all that transpired in Jerusalem. He was greatly affected with what happened to Christ on the Cross. He had to be healed by Jesus. But Thomas initially rejected the help of his companions by the words of those witnesses of His resurrection. Sometimes words of consolation are not enough for healing. Every physical wound that we have, we need aid and we need help and how much more when our hearts are wounded; we would need Christ. Thomas’ companions said: “we had seen the Lord.” It was supposed to be God’s way of healing his wounds. Hoping that through hearing faith will begin to reshape. We know that faith comes from hearing (cf.Rm 10:17) and it heals. But the reply of Thomas was a form of rejection: “unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25). It is natural that wounds would deny its remedy initially. Now in Thomas, faith has to be reshaped and refreshed. But Jesus brought the fullness of faith to Thomas by hearing and touching. The woundedness of Thomas had to be healed through the wounded side of Jesus. Wounds may not be healed when we just simply hear the Word of God; it may just be a beginning; Jesus wanted Thomas to touch the wounds of his hands and his side. Thus, it is listening and touching that we are healed.

4. Moments of hopelessness- We may wonder why Thomas was again with his companions after he declared he “will not believe” their word after they told him that they had seen the Lord. On the part of his companions, they did not reject Thomas for his unbelief. The grace of the Risen Lord was seen in the newness of their disposition to understand and accept Thomas’ disposition of heart. The disciples had already shown new life in themselves. This is a foreshadow to the kind of people they will encounter in the future. They became inclusive for those who do not believe in Christ represented by Thomas. This was the prelude for a greater mission of inclusiveness. Once the Holy Spirit comes down upon them, they would already be acquainted to the attitude of inclusiveness. The effect of the Risen Lord was already challenging Thomas. If the Risen Lord did not have an effect on His first appearance, the companions of Thomas could have rejected him. However, on the part of Thomas, the Risen Lord was already working silently on him because of the “witnesses” of Christ and the words of faith they expressed: “we have seen the Lord.” Faith heals hopelessness. By the fact that Thomas came back, Jesus was already graciously working on his faith. Thomas could have left the group but he was still there with them. It signified the silent gift of the Risen Lord working in him.

5. Moments of detachment- The mercy of Jesus came to Thomas after he was not with the group of disciples. In this event between Thomas and the Risen Christ, we find Thomas here as a symbol of the ones who are detached from the community. To be away from the community meant desperation, doubt, insecurity, pain, and feeling of abandonment. The lack of communion brings doubts to faith. What is significant in this encounter is the path towards the community of disciples again. The very words of Thomas contained already the path of communion. When Thomas said: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25). Here, Thomas had just declared a fundamental truth; that communion will always begin with Christ. If he was incredulous about what the disciples said, then the message becomes clear. Truth and faith begin with Christ. It was only after he had touched the wounds of Christ in his hands, and in his side that he regained his faith. From Christ, he now regained the depth of his communion with the other disciples. The mercy of Christ however, follows a path tangible and discernible to man.

6. Moments of dissatisfaction-Dissatisfaction is a painful disposition. When we are not satisfied with things around us, we may complain, ruminate, murmur, etc. It makes us anxious, crave for more, and search for contentment. We remember the event about a rich young man who approached Jesus and asked him: “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life.” (Mt. 19:16) The man was young and rich and had everything in his life, yet he felt discontented with what he had that prompted him to approach Jesus and sought for security of his life. But after his conversation with Jesus, “he went away sad for he had many possessions” (Mt 19:22). But how about a dissatisfaction at the level of faith. Jesus brought the formula in order for the rich young man to be satisfied: “if you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come and follow me. (Mt. 19:21). When Jesus said: then, come and follow me, he was trying to instill in that rich young person that eternal life is all about Him. Pope Francis said: “Faith awakens the critical sense by preventing research from being satisfied with its own formulae and helps it to realize that nature is always greater. By stimulating wonder before the profound mystery of creation, faith broadens the horizons of reason to shed greater light on the world which discloses itself to scientific investigation” (Lumen Fidei 34). The same thing with Thomas, Jesus had to satisfy Thomas through pointing things about Himself. In the search for truth, Thomas had to be there with the disciples and expect that one day, Jesus would come in their midst again. Now that Jesus appeared to the disciples and to Thomas he made this invitation: “put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe” (Jn 20:27). This was tremendous moment of mercy for Thomas, it was an invitation for healing of the pain of dissatisfaction. His journey towards satisfaction and fullness should now start from the wounds of Jesus. Healing begins from the wounds of Jesus and His mercy.

7. Moments of unforgiveness- The encounter between Thomas and the Risen Lord brought the mercy of forgiveness. Jesus’ forgiveness to Thomas was done in a discernible silence. More than words, Jesus brought Thomas to His wounds that healed him of all of his sins against the Lord. Jesus used his own tangible wounds to forgive Thomas. The wounds of Jesus were the silent signs of God’s mercy. The forgiveness of God could not be contained in mere human words. It was prophesied by Isaiah that “by his wounds we are healed” (Is 53:5-6). The immensity of Jesus’ mercy to Thomas after he had felt the silence of his mercy was enormous that he cried out saying: “My Lord, and my God.” (Jn 20:28) When Thomas could not believe what he initially heard from his companions that they had seen the Lord, God will make the path for him later to realize that the inability to believe because of many obstacles is a sign of weakness and sin. Thomas will understand what is to live in the darkness of unbelief when he will encounter the wounds of Christ. But Jesus had to understand Thomas and forgive him. This gives us the message that in moments of unforgiveness about oneself, others and family members, God will always find ways that his mercy would be felt and deeply reflected upon. The more unforgiveness comes, the more the mercy of God would come. St. Paul said: “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more” (Rm 5:20).