HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: DO YOU NEED REASONS TO BELIEVE?
BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon
(Jn. 20:19-31) Second Sunday of Easter, Feast of the Divine Mercy
In the day’s Gospel Jesus visited His disciples twice. At first THOMAS was absent. When told of The appearance of the risen Jesus, he did not believe. He wanted proof. Thus, when Jesus appeared again, He provided THOMAS with proof. It was a great opportunity for Jesus to teach them and us about faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
There is no need for faith when there is proof. There is no seeing the risen Lord without believing. We only need reasons to believe. It was unfortunate that THOMAS did not have yet that faith in spite of his companionship with the Lord. He must have heard and seen more of what Jesus said and did. He had enough reasons to believe who He really was. But his need was hard evidence. Jesus obliged that he may believe. But as far as JESUS is concerned, miracles are not necessarily to believe. In fact, even a miner of miracles are not enough to make an unbeliever a believer.
We have a Thomasian attitude in each and everyone of us. We doubt what we cannot taste, see, hear, smell, or feel. We need our senses to deal with the situations, specially the challenges of life. Yet, not everything is sensical. There are things that are accessed only in faith. We combine both. We do not disregard faith in seeking understanding nor understanding in seeking faith. God gave us both. We use them both.
Next time you doubt, stop, look, listen, and believe.
