Unlike essay-writing high school students who fill paragraphs with needless words to meet teacher requirements, every word of Scripture is there for a reason. The Holy Spirit has inspired every author of the Bible and whether they are Historical, Prophetic, or Wisdom books or Gospels or Epistles, each and every word is there for us to ponder and learn.

Over the last few weeks, the Gospels have been recounting the first days after Jesus’ Resurrection. The stories of Jesus surprising the disciples in the upper room give us a lot to think about. Knowing that every word is important to the message, I was struck by a four-word phrase finalizing Thomas’ most famous words: “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.” I don’t think I had ever heard it as WILL NOT before. Think about that choice of words. Thomas didn’t say, “I cannot believe.” That would be understandable, because at that time the concept of Jesus coming back to life would have been impossible for any mortal mind to fathom. Instead, he said, “I will not believe.” That means, “I refuse to believe.” That shifts the reason for his disbelief from his mind to his heart and will.

There is a lot that we can learn from Thomas. He was brave: he was the only one of the apostles who wasn’t hiding in the upper room on Easter night. He was bold: he spoke truthfully what was on his mind and heart. He was faithful: once he saw Jesus and his heart was convinced, he proclaimed Jesus to be, “My Lord and my God.” I believe that we can also learn from Thomas’ “will not.” If we question our faith, things like the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the existence of the devil, the teachings of the Church on the hot button issues, we should ask ourselves, “Is it that I ‘cannot’ believe or that I ‘will not’ believe?” Is it my untaught mind or my hard heart that is blocking my will from believing? It was Thomas’ encounter with Jesus that opened his mind and softened his heart and our encounters with Jesus will do the same. The more time we spend in prayer, learning our faith, and attending Mass the closer we will grow to Jesus and the more our minds, our will, and our hearts will accept him as our Lord and our God.

Escritura: Read John 21:25. What stands out?

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