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Contrary to what many of us might expect, we just heard in today’s
gospel that not everyone in the band of eleven disciples who had
gathered at the mountain and saw the Risen Lord believed in him. Doubts
lingered in the minds of those who were actually there, who saw the
Risen Lord, and who watched as he ascended into heaven.
While
many people see in this fact from scripture all the “proof” they need to
turn their backs on Christianity as an organized religion, I take
consolation in it. That some of Jesus’ disciples worshipped the Risen
Lord yet doubted reminds me that belief in the Resurrection and
Ascension of Jesus Christ is always a matter of faith and not one
of proof. To be a person of faith does not mean having certainty
but persisting in doing what Jesus commanded, despite one’s
uncertainty. Faith isn’t about having “answers” but about rooting our
lives in what we believe and acting on that belief even though we’re not
always certain.
It’s an
idea that’s analogous to marital love.
Spouses
persist in loving each other despite the fact that sometimes it is very
difficult to “prove” that each spouse deserves the gift of another’s
love. Just add up the number of times that a spouse has been utterly
and completely selfish. Yet, because spouses believe that the power of
married love is greater than the sum of all the selfish acts they
commit, spouses root their lives in what they believe. And,
furthermore, they act on that belief by continuing to love each other
despite what the facts may “prove.”
This
idea is also analogous our hopes and dreams.
How
many of us, especially when we were young, hoped and dreamed about so
many things we believed we could achieve? Having hopes and dreams is a
very normal and healthy aspect of growing up. But, when we are young,
the simple fact is that if we don’t root our lives in what we believe we
can achieve and then act on that belief, we will never realize our hopes
and dreams when we grow up.
The
point is that when people root their lives in what they believe despite
what the facts seem to prove and the naysayers and non-believers claim,
these people achieve unbelievable feats! But, even as they root their
lives in what they believe and achieve the unbelievable, today’s gospel
reminds us that doubt will persist.
So,
it’s how we deal with doubt that is crucial. To deny one’s doubts is to
lie; but, to allow one’s doubts to overpower belief is to allow part of
ourselves to die. Spouses can allow doubt to destroy married love just
as young people can allow doubt to destroy their hopes and dreams.
It
would seem important, then, to recognize that we do have doubts and that
we should factor these doubts into our decision-making process. At the
same time, however, we shouldn’t allow our doubts to bog us down as we
search for more concrete proof so that we become unwilling to commit
ourselves to marriage or to pursue our hopes and dreams.
Psychologically speaking, this makes pretty good sense. But, what about
spiritually speaking, that is, in terms of our lives as Jesus’
disciples?
Today’s
gospel reminds us that upon seeing the Risen Lord, those who had
gathered at the mountain “worshipped, but they doubted.” Yet, despite
this, the Risen Lord chose these disciples―despite their doubts―to be
his witnesses. They were the ones he chose to make disciples of all
peoples; they were the ones he chose to baptize new disciples; and, they
were the ones he chose to teach new disciples to observe everything the
Risen Lord has commanded. Like us, the eleven worshipped but still had
their doubts!
We
should be consoled by this fact! Witnessing to the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ isn’t a matter of possessing absolute,
iron-clad “proof.” No, being a witness is to root one’s life in belief,
that is, belief that Jesus has shown us the definitive way to be God’s
holy people and how to live that out in word and in deed. In addition,
being a witness doesn’t mean having no doubts. It does mean that, as
Jesus’ disciples root their lives in what they believe without denying
their doubts, they will be witnesses to their faith in the Risen Lord.
Naysayers and non-believers will always be around and will challenge and
deny what Jesus’ disciples believe. But, when Jesus’ disciples allow
these demands for proof to uproot their belief, that is how Jesus’
disciples fail in their mission to make disciples of all peoples, to
baptize them, and to teach them to observe everything that Jesus
commanded.
The
point is that when disciples root their lives in what they believe,
despite what the facts may be, they will perform miracles…like keeping
their marriages intact or achieving hopes and dreams when everyone else
said this was impossible…just as the naysayers and non-believers have
said throughout the centuries about the Resurrection and the solemnity
we celebrate today, the Ascension of the Risen Lord.
During
his life on earth, Jesus taught and showed his disciples the pathway to
our heavenly Father as earthly creatures. Now seated at our heavenly
Father’s right hand in glory, Jesus has shown his disciples the pathway
to their eternal home. |
HOMILY
