Monday Morning Offering: 4/13

 

The story of Thomas' doubt and belief is proclaimed every year on the Sunday after Easter.  I wrote today's Monday Morning Offering 14 years ago and have posted a variation of it almost every year since.  I like how this prayer acknowledges my doubt but at the same time reminds me of the depths of my belief - and I hope it might do the same for you...

Good morning, good God!

Still got doubting Thomas on my mind...

There are certainly times when I’m a doubter, Lord,

but also times when, without a doubt,

    I believe in you, my Lord and my God... 

 

No matter how long the winter may be

    how frigid the cold, how deep the snow,

I do, without a doubt, believe
    that spring will come to warm and melt 

        what chills my bones, my soul…

 

No matter how long, how dark the night,

    how real the dreams that haunt my sleep,

I do, without a doubt, believe

    the sun will rise and a new day dawn

        with hope of a new beginning

            born of your mercy and grace...

 

No matter how difficult things may be,

    how alone I am, how lonely I may feel,

I do, without a doubt, believe

    that you and my good friends 

        will have my back and see me through

            ‘til better times are mine...

 

No matter the depth of my pain, Lord,

    no matter how broken my heart,
I do, without a doubt, believe
    that just as others’ hearts are healed
        so, too, will you mend mine...

 

No matter how confused and conflicted I am,

    how entangled my thoughts might be,

I do, without a doubt, believe

    there’s a wisdom, a light and a path to truth

        for your Spirit to guide me on my way,

            drawing closer, always, to you...

 

No matter how far I stray from you, Lord,

    or fail to respect your claim on my life,

I do believe, without a doubt,

    that your heart is always open wide

        to forgive and welcome me back...

 

Even when death comes calling, Lord,

    and my heart is aching with grief and loss,

I do, without a doubt, believe

    in life with you forever

        in the company of friends and family

    and all who've gone before me, Lord,

        marked with the sign of faith...

 

So, if I believe, without a doubt,

    in so many signs of promise and hope

then why do I often, too often doubt,

    that you're there for me, Lord, 

        always here for me, Lord, always with me,

            right by my side?

 

So this morning, Lord, I offer my need
    to believe in you, without a doubt,

    to trust in you, without a doubt,
    to hope in you, without a doubt...

 

And without a doubt 

    to call on you:

        Jesus, my Lord and my God! 

 

 Amen.

 

 

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See, here's the thing...

  

Above, you'll find the audio (only) of my homily for Sunday, April 12. Here's a link to the gospel I preached on and below you'll find the text of my homily. (If a widget doesn't appear, click here!)

Doubting Thomas... 

We just heard the story. We heard Thomas’ own words. But these aren't the only words Thomas speaks in the scriptures. 

• When Jesus heard that his friend Lazarus had died - and suggested to his disciples that they go back to Bethany where Lazarus had lived -  the disciples reminded Jesus that they’d been there recently and the local religious leaders had threatened to kill him. Jesus says, "No, we need to go– for the glory of God. And Thomas speaks:
         

            “We’ll go with you, Lord – and we’ll die with you.”

That’s not doubting Thomas – that’s FAITHFUL, BOLD,  COURAGEOUS Thomas.

• And later in the gospel, at the last supper - on the night before he died - Jesus told his friends, “I’m about to leave you but I’m going to prepare a place for you in my Father’s house.
And don’t worry - you know how to get there.”   But Thomas speaks up and says,

            “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going 

                - how can we know the way?"

That’s not doubting Thomas – that’s LOGICAL, PRACTICAL, RATIONAL, PRAGMATIC Thomas.

• It’s only after the crucifixion and burial of the Jesus when Thomas first hears the report that Jesus has risen from the dead that he says:  

        “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.” 

Now, THAT’S “Doubting Thomas”   

 – OR – 

is that levelheaded Thomas? reasonably skeptical Thomas? scientific method Thomas?  I’m-not-a-religious-fanatic Thomas?


Well, in tonight's gospel it’s just a week later, when the risen Jesus appears to his friends again and he says to Thomas: “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

And Thomas speaks, now for the fourth time in the gospel, and he says: 

                "My Lord and my God!"

We should take note of two things here.

First, it’s JESUS who approaches THOMAS and invites him to believe. It’s Jesus who takes the initiative.

And second - if we read and listen carefully - we see that Thomas DOESN’T put his finger into the nail-marks in Jesus’ hands and he DOESN’T put his hand into Jesus’ side. Thomas simply makes a simple confession of his faith:  “My Lord and my God!” 

That same risen Jesus knows us, knows you and me, very well. He knows that while we are sometimes, like Thomas, FAITHFUL, BOLD and COURAGEOUS - we are likely, more often, LOGICAL, PRACTICAL, RATIONAL, SCIENCE INFLUENCED, REASONABLY SKEPTICAL, PRAGMATIC - 
                        - followers of Jesus - 
who don’t want to appear to be too SPIRITUAL, or RELIGIOUS, or HOLY or RADICAL in our faith.

But here’s the thing…

We believe, or at least we SAY we believe, that a little over 2,000 years ago, God spoke a word - so powerfully - that his Word became flesh - in a young woman’s womb... that she gave birth to her Child who was -and is- JESUS, the Son of God...  that Jesus, Mary's son, preached a message of mercy, forgiveness and peace...  that he was arrested by religious and government leaders, tortured and put to death by crucifixion - and that a few days later - HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD - and lives now at the right hand of God - and right here among us – in the presence and power of Spirit.
 

See, the thing is…  we have to be at least a little FAITHFUL, BOLD, COURAGEOUS, SPIRITUAL, RELIGIOUS, HOLY -and- RADICAL - to believe all that.

That’s why Jesus comes to this “upper room” tonight - in the face of all our LOGICAL, PRACTICAL, RATIONAL,  SCIENCE INFLUENCED, REASONABLY SKEPTICAL, PRAGMATIC ways - Jesus invites us to reach out and TOUCH him, to FIND him, and to KNOW him: in our prayer, in the scriptures we hear, in the Holy Spirit, in one another, and in the Bread and Cup of Communion at his table.

In all these ways, in heart of everyone here tonight, the Risen Jesus says: “Do not be unbelieving, but believe....” And he waits to hear each of us respond, as did Thomas: “My Lord and my God.”

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 4/12

 

On Sundays, Night Prayer takes its inspiration from an element of the day's mass. Every year on the Sunday after Easter we read the story of Doubting Thomas (a.k.a. Believing Thomas).  In the Christian life, the opposite of doubt (its antidote, its resolution) is faith, not proof.  As scripture and song tell us, We walk by faith and not by sight...  

We walk by faith, Lord, not by sight

    and so we pray tonight:

for the gift of faith
   for  all who seek it...

for the strengthening of faith

    in those who doubt...

 

for deeper faith 

   in harder times...

 

for faith to help us make it

   day by day and through each night...

for those whose faith
   is broken, shaken, lost... 

for the faith to act

    on our beliefs...

         for the faith to speak
             what faith believes...

for the wisdom of faith
   to inform our thinking...

for the prudence of faith

    to inform all our decisions...

for the grace we need

    to share our faith with others...  

Lord, grant us the faith we need

           to follow the gospel,

           to love our neighbor,

           to live the truth,

           to bear our grief,

           to do what is just, 

           to love those who hate us,

           to trust in you,

           to do the next right thing,

           to live in hope

           to work for peace,

           to act with justice

           and to follow where your Spirit leads... 

 

We walk by faith and not by sight

    so grant us, Lord, the grace to see

        what only faith reveals...

Protect us, Lord while we're awake

    and watch over us when we sleep

that awake, we might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

 

We Walk by Faith by Marty Haugen

 

Although most of us will know this hymn through Marty Haugen's melody, the lyrics were written in 1844 by the Brittish  composer, Henry  Alford. The second verse of this song includes Thomas' response upon meeting the risen Jesus: "My Lord and my God!"

 

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We walk by faith and not by sight
No gracious words we hear
Of him who spoke as none e'er spoke
Yet we believe him near

 
We may not touch his hands and side
Or follow where he trod
Yet in his promise we rejoice
And cry "My Lord and God"

 
Help then, oh Lord, our unbelief
And may our faith abound
To call on you when you are near
And seek where you are found

 
That when our life of faith is done
In realms of clearer light
We may behold you as you are
In full and endless sight

 
We walk  by faith and not by sight
No gracious words we hear
Of him who spoke as none e'er spoke
Yet we believe him near

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A homily for peace...

    Art by Paul Oman

 This homily was delivered by Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., at a Vigil for Peace on April 11, 2026.  (Emphasis added) 

In the appearances of the Risen Lord to the Apostles in today’s reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus’s first words are always, “Peace be with you.” For peace is the ultimate fruit and gift of the Resurrection: an inner conviction that Christ has conquered death once and for all.

The peace of the Resurrection understands that we have been placed on this Earth with a mission and a purpose that calls us to ennoble the world and prepare ourselves for the kingdom of God. The peace of the Resurrection assures us that all those whom we have loved deeply in this life and who have gone before us in death are not gone from us forever, but we will see them once again face-to-face, and see and know and love in them all the qualities that we saw and knew and loved in them here in this world.

The peace of the Resurrection reveals to us that we are already citizens of heaven.

It is in the peace of the Resurrection that we find the only essential compass that we need for our lives on this Earth. It is pure gift.

But it is also a responsibility. For as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called profoundly to be peacemakers in the world in which we live.

We are called in the first place to be builders of peace within our own hearts and souls, refusing to give in to the urges of anger and judgmentalism and selfishness that can so easily warp our lives and dim the light of the Resurrection.

We are called to be bridge builders and reconcilers in our family life, overcoming the normal tensions which have been exacerbated by the social isolation and technological suffocation that have proliferated in the age in which we live.

We are called to be peacemakers within this nation which we love so deeply, refusing to allow the cancer of polarization to swallow up the noblest dreams of our founders in this very year in which we celebrate our 250th birthday as a country.

Finally, we must be builders of peace among nations, rejecting the pathway of war that lures us toward the ending of civilizations and the pursuit of domination rather than true peace.

It is this last responsibility which weighs most heavily upon us this night. For we are in the midst of an immoral war. We entered this war not out of necessity but rather choice. We failed to ardently pursue the pathway of negotiation to its end before turning to war. We had no clear intention, instead darting from unconditional surrender to regime change to the degradation of conventional weapons to the removal of nuclear materials. And we blinded ourselves to the cascade of global destructiveness that would likely flow from our attacks – the expansion of the war far beyond Iran, the disruption of the world economy, and the loss of life. Each of these policy failures is equally a moral failure which under Catholic just war principles renders both the initiation of this war and any continuation of it morally illegitimate.

Pope Leo has made it totally clear that the only pathway which Catholic teaching allows at this moment is the permanent cessation of hostilities and vigorous steps to build up the conditions for a lasting peace. It is, as he points out, in the conversion of hearts and souls that the only true pathway to just and lasting peace can be found, a conversion which casts aside our weapons and begins with reconciliation first.

Tonight we gather in prayer. We pray that the ceasefire holds and that it leads to a substantive foundation for the emergence of peace in the Middle East. We are aware of the barbaric nature of the Iranian regime and the enormous destruction U.S. and Israeli bombing has visited on Iran. And so we pray all the harder. We must do so. We desperately ask our God, the Prince of Peace, to open the minds and hearts of all those in positions of power to look beyond their own interests and see in its fullness the well-being of all those ensnared in this bitter and needless conflict.

And when we leave this church this night, we must move beyond prayer. As citizens and believers in this democracy that we cherish so deeply, we must advocate for peace with our representatives and leaders. It is not enough to say we have prayed. We must also act. For it is very possible that the negotiations will fail because of recalcitrance on one or both sides, and our president will move to reenter this immoral war. At that critical juncture, as disciples of Jesus Christ called to be peacemakers in the world, we must answer vocally and in unison: No. Not in our name. Not at this moment. Not with our country.

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To conquer the world with words...

I just discovered Jonathan Woody's muscal setting of Arab poet Nizar Qabbani's I Conquer The World With Love. Qabbani (1923-1998) was popularly known as Syria's National Poet.  His resistance to both foreign imperialism and domestic authoritarianism makes this poem all the more telling in our own global circumstances.  The recording here comes from the vocal group Skylark who will be appearing in the greater Boston area three times this month.

If you find your mind and soul torn by the news these days, I encourage you to spend some time with these words - and especially with their musical expression on the recording. (If a video doesn't appear above, click here!)

I conquer the world with words,
Conquer the mother tongue,
Verbs, nouns, syntax.
I sweep away the beginning of things
And with a new language
That has the music of water the message of fire
I light the coming age and stop time in your eyes
And wipe away the line that separates time
From this single moment.

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Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 4/12

Thomas was a doubter
    and sometimes, Lord 

        - I'm a doubter, too...

 

Sometimes I doubt 

    your love for me,

    your care for me,     

    your word to me,

    the mercy and the peace 

        you offer me... 

 

And often, Lord, 

 I doubt myself...

 

Oh, others may believe in me

 - but still, I second-guess my self,

        undervalue myself,

            sell myself short,

    

Doubt can back me into corners

    and leave me short on hope…

 

Doubt can blind me to reality 

    staring me right in my face…

 

In an instant, 

    doubt can render void 

        whatever wisdom may be mine...

 

Doubt can rob me of the truth 

    truth I know,

        truth I depend upon 

            and cherish...

 

Yes, doubt can be a devil

    when it’s an angel's grace I need... 

 

Thomas was a doubter, Lord,

  'til he saw your suffering's wounds...

 

Thomas was a doubter, Lord, 

before believing in your glory

    risen, present, waiting for his touch...

 

Sometimes it's my own wounds, Lord,

    that keep me from believing, from trusting 

        that you're always there, by my side,

    that even in my deepest doubts

       your healing peace awaits me...

 

Don't let my wounds,

    my suffering, pain and loss,

keep me from discovering, Lord,

    from discerning and delighting in

        your pardon and your peace...

 

Help me look with Thomas, Lord, 

    upon the wounds you bore for me
to remind me you're no stranger

    to what suffering may be mine...

Remind me that my own pain

    marks just the very place
where you, Lord, come to meet me,

    to mend my soul and heal my doubt,

        to lead me to your peace... 

 

Like Thomas, I'm a doubter, Lord,

 help me, like him then, come to faith

   and cry, "My Lord and God!"

Amen.

 

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NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 4/11

As we have at other times, this evening we'll pray with art: images depicting the story in tomorrow's gospel: doubting Thomas.  

Many of the images in this post were influenced by Caravaggio's masterpiece: The Incredulity of Thomas (just below this paragraph). Every year, the gospel on the Sunday after Easter tells, the story of Thomas.  I hope these images (some classical and some very contemporary) might pique your interest and lead you to spend some time in prayer with them.  AND... a regular Night Prayer follows the gallery...

Here are some questions to guide you prayerfully through this gallery: 

    - What do you see in the apostles faces?

            fear? wonder? amazement? doubt? belief? 

    - What does their body language tell you 

            about the experience they're having?

    - What do you see in the face of Jesus?

            Where is he directing his gaze?

    - Where do you find yourself in these images?

    - How might you have responded

                had you been Thomas?

                

The Incredulity of Thomas by Caravaggio

 

The Doubting Thomas by Rocco Normanno

Incredulidad de Santo Tomas by Reubens

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Cope Amezcua

Doubting Thomas by John Gregory Granville

Image source

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Doubting Thomas by Generic Art Solutions 

 

 

 

                  Doubting Thomas by Jonathan Hilson

 

 

 

 

The Doubt of St. Thomas by He Qi

Doubting Thomas by Michael Smither 

    Doubting Thomas by Krishen Khanna

Doubting Thomas by Ben Steele

For some insightful commentary on Ben Steele's work (above) check out Anneke Majors' post at A Motley Vision.  Steele's subject and title form a visual pun playing on the work of Thomas Kinkade.

NIGHT PRAYER

 

I'm a believer, Lord 

    - you know that -

but you also know my doubts, my misgivings,

    my unsurety, my skepticism, my mistrust...

 

Sometimes doubt leads me to probe and clarify

   what I wasn't sure of, what I didn't understand,

      what I struggled with

but sometimes my doubt leads me to confusion,

   uncertainty and a kind of lonely fear

that leaves me wondering who I am, where I'm going

   and what path leads to truth...

I believe, Lord: help my unbelief...

Give me the grace to explore my doubt,

    trusting your Spirit to lead and guide me

        to light, to wisdom, to truth

and most of all to you, O Lord,

    to faith in you, my God...

 

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me when I sleep

that awake I might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

 

Amen.

 

Tonight's song is the Thomas section of a very old hymn, O Sons and Daughters, composed by Jean Tisserand, a monk who died in 1494.

 

 O Sons and Daughters  

   sung by Saint Francis Sunday 7 PM Choir

 

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