Today’s Scripture Readings

We should not be surprised by the incredulity of the eleven, but rather consoled. If they who had witnessed the life and death of Jesus found his resurrection impossible to believe, until they had seen him with their own eyes, then I can have compassion on myself when I must reassure – and at times even “upbraid” – the doubting sceptic within.

This internal sceptic echoes the voice of the culture I inhabit and by which I have largely been formed. It demands certainty before it will believe. At first glance, this seems rational and wise. Yet the sceptic’s stance is not as convincing as it first appears, nor is it truly satisfying. It is easy enough to withhold belief and sometimes that is prudent, but in many of life’s most important matters, a leap of faith is required.

Imagine saying to your partner, “Prove to me, beyond all doubt, that you love me.” Whatever proofs are offered could always be questioned. Or even more radically: “Prove to me you even exist.” In the end, there are few things that cannot be doubted.

Faith is a gift from God. Though I have not seen with my own eyes, faith draws me toward a super-rational – beyond reason, but not against it – assent to what cannot be known by reason alone, grounded in Revelation and the testimony of many witnesses to the Resurrection. What if it is not true? Ah yes – but what if it is? And what if we too are sent to proclaim it, even to an often sceptical world?

How do you reconcile your faith in the resurrected Jesus with the human desire to have certainty relying on proof ?