Doubting Thomas

Today is the feast of Thomas the apostle, famous for doubting the Resurrection. He wanted to put his hand in Jesus' wounds before he would believe, and the Risen Lord indulged him.

The Cross is, quite literally, an intersection. It is where God meets humanity most deeply. Mysteriously, God meets us most strongly in the most unlikely place: in the depth of human suffering, pain, and despair.

So if we want to know God, if we desire the presence of God, we must imitate Thomas and put our hands into the wounds of Christ. We must get involved with the suffering of the world. God has identified his own life with the suffering of the poor, the sick, the desparing, the unwanted; this is the meaning of the Cross.

When we're willing to get our hands dirty with the pain of the world, to be in solidarity with those who suffer, to accept the vulnerability of having all of our easy answers fall apart in the depth of their despair, that's when, like Thomas, we can find the eyes to see the Risen Christ.