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| Source: prayerrope.co |
"My Lord and my God!" (Jn. 20:28)
"Who do people men say that the Son of man?" asks Jesus of his disciples (Matt. 16:13). This is a question that still demands an answer to this day, as the figure of Jesus of Nazareth continues to engage the world, if not "haunt" the imagination. In the immediate context of that question being asked, Peter spoke up, seemingly on behalf of the other disciples, and declared: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). Today, using a bit of jargon, we would call this a Christological confession of faith. At that moment, and if only momentarily because of his later betrayal of the Master, Peter the fisherman and disciple discerned the true identity of the Son of man, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus makes it clear, though, "flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (v. 17).
Perhaps not quite as well known, but no less powerful in its Christological confession of faith, we hear these words from Mary, the sister of Lazarus: "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (Jn. 11:27). Overwhelmed with grief because her beloved brother had just died, Mary had the insight to proclaim these words to Jesus, trusting that he could still do "something" on behalf of her brother. This second confession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God, now comes from a woman who was close to Christ during his ministry. Jesus then demonstrated the truth of her confession by raising her dead brother back to life again.
These two confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God had been made before the Passion and Resurrection. They were deep and incisive confessions of faith that will resonate wherever this Gospel is preached until the end of time. And these confessions of faith shape the way that we see and understand who Jesus is in our personal lives and in our liturgical and theological traditions.
Yet, following the Death and Resurrection of Christ, there is another confession of faith that reveals the fullness of the identity of the Lord. For Thomas "one of the twelve, called the twin," (Jn. 20:24) will be transformed from unbelief to belief when he encounters the risen Lord in the upper room eight days after the other disciples saw their Lord risen from death. And they "were glad when they saw the Lord." (v. 20) When Thomas encounters Christ and after he is invited to touch the wounds of the Lord, he cries out: "My Lord and my God!" (v. 28). Accepting this confession of faith from Thomas, Jesus utters words that are directed to all of us who throughout the centuries come to faith in him: "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (v. 29).
At the beginning of the Gospel, the evangelist John reveals the true nature of Jesus Christ as the Word of God incarnate (Jn. 1:1-18). At the end of the Gospel, a human being - the disciple Thomas - now accepts that revelation and knows if for himself within the depths of his being. When we make that same confusion of faith - openly or inwardly - we join countless believers throughout the ages who believe "that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name" (Jn. 20:31).
