3 July 2018
Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle
You would think it would be fairly straightforward for the Apostles to convince Thomas that they had seen the Risen Lord. They had seen Him with their own eyes, they could corroborate each other’s testimony, and they were in sure possession of the truth. They probably did try for quite some time to convince Thomas that they had seen Jesus, using every argument they could think of. But it was all to no avail. Ultimately, Thomas was only convinced by his own encounter with Jesus.
We often find ourselves in similar situations. We want to convince people to accept the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, or show them the truth of a moral position, but they will not budge. But perhaps if they have their own encounter with Jesus, they might experience a moment of conversion. In the end, it is not our arguments that will win people over, but entrusting them to the Lord, as the Apostles did with Thomas. We should talk with them as needed to address their doubts, of course, but ultimately we should entrust them to the Lord in prayer, that they may be convinced by their own encounter with Jesus.