"THE LEAP OF FAITH" - One Bread, One Body, 7/3/2009

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Friday, July 3, 2009, St. Thomas

Ephesians 2:19-22, Psalm 117:1-2, John 20:24-29
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/nab/070309.shtml

"THE LEAP OF FAITH"

"You became a believer because you saw Me." —John 20:29

Did Thomas believe because he saw Jesus? Is seeing believing? The writer
of Hebrews said that believing (faith) was assurance about the invisible,
the unseeable (Heb 11:1). So believing isn't seeing, and seeing doesn't
seem to be believing. We walk by faith, not sight (2 Cor 5:7). Therefore,
when Jesus said to Thomas: "You became a believer because you saw Me,"
what did He mean? The translators of the New American Standard Version of
the Bible recognize the problem. They translate John 20:29 with a question
mark instead of a period. The New American Standard Version Bible reads:
"Because you have seen Me, have you believed?"

Jesus may be saying in this passage that seeing precedes faith, although
He seems to prefer hearing as a prelude to faith (see Rm 10:17). Seeing
and/or hearing only give us a basis for faith. To accept God's gift of
faith we must use seeing or hearing as a springboard to make what the
philosopher, Blase Pascal, called "the leap of faith." For example, Thomas
leaped from recognizing Jesus risen to acknowledging Him as "Lord and God"
(see Jn 20:28). Just because a person is risen doesn't mean he or she is
God. Lazarus was risen, but he wasn't God. When Thomas recognized Jesus as
Lord and God, he had jumped to that conclusion and made "the leap of
faith." Nathanael did a similar thing when he acknowledged Jesus as "Son
of God" and "King of Israel" after merely hearing Jesus tell him: "I saw
you under the fig tree" (Jn 1:49, 50). Thomas, Nathanael, and all true
believers become believers not because of seeing or hearing, but because
of leaping to total commitment to Jesus after seeing or hearing.

Prayer: Father, may I jump to the conclusion of faith.

Promise: "In Him you are being built into this temple, to become a
dwelling place for God in the Spirit." —Eph 2:22

Praise: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28)

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Rescript: In accord with the "Code of Canon Law", I hereby grant my
permission to publish "One Bread, One Body" covering the period from June
1, 2009 through July 31, 2009
†Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of
Cincinnati, January 5, 2009

The rescript is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be
free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have
granted ecclesial permission agree with the contents, opinions, or
statements expressed.

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