Some truths sink in slowly

Two women were standing by the coffin of their neighbour, a man who had made no secret of his lack of faith in the resurrection of the dead, and an afterlife. Mindful of his strong stance, and moved by how well he looked in death, one of the women turned to the other and sighed sadly: “Ah, poor Paddy” she said, “look at him all dressed up and nowhere to go!”

Thomas, called the Twin, would no doubt have sympathy for Paddy and for his strong stance for Thomas, he too, took nothing for granted.  In spite of his faith in Jesus, in spite of the miracles he had witnessed, in spite of the teachings, and in spite of his own personal relationship with the Lord, Thomas was not for budging on the matter of a risen Jesus.  “Unless … unless … I refuse to believe.”  Many believers find themselves with Thomas and Paddy, in their hearts longing to believe, in their heads reluctant to go that far.  All kinds of hard facts and the inevitability of death are stubborn barriers to belief.  Death’s finality is a blunt instrument indeed.

Some truths are indeed too good to believe — even the other eleven who joyfully proclaim the risen Jesus to Thomas are not yet living as people of the resurrection.  The doors, closed for fear of the Jews before the risen Lord appears, remain closed still eight days later.  Some pennies drop slowly, some truths are so mind blowing that the mind and body conspire to soften the surprise.

The ripples of the resurrection take time to resonate inwards to the deep core of the human spirit before resounding outwards to the world at large.  Since some pennies drop slowly and some truths are indeed too good to believe let us make our own these days the opening prayer of our Mass today:  “As we celebrate Christ’s resurrection increase our awareness of these blessings, and renew your gift of life within us”.

Fr. Eamon Devlin, C.M.

23rd April, 2006