By Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
July 3, 2024: Celebrating St. Thomas the Apostle to India
Isaiah 52: 7-10; Ephesians 2: 19-22; John 20: 24-29
The one who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (Jn 11:16)…
went all the way in his life for his Saviour…
and upto India, he came, and he died!!!
The Apostles are the foundations of our faith says the reading and the liturgy proclaims the same truth too! Celebrating St. Thomas today, the diverse legends notwithstanding, we thank God for this great Apostle, specially for having brought Christian faith to the South of India.
“Bringing Faith”, “Passing on Faith”, “Transmitting or Communicating Faith” – these terms puzzle me. Faith is a gift from God, a grace, an inspired response given by a person to the Self-revealing God! If so, can faith be ‘brought’, ‘passed on’ or ‘transmitted or communicated’? The question does not in anyway negate the process that is referred to here with gratitude and recognition of history; instead it offers an opportunity to bring forth a nuance that dazzles within it.
Transmitting faith or Communicating faith, means primarily testimony of one’s faith, that inspires faith in others! The testimony of one’s personal response to God, that inspires the others to respond likewise! The Apostles’ way of transmitting faith was that, they responded to the God who revealed God’s self and in that response they challenged all who were around to respond to the same Lord!
The story told of St. Thomas and his evangelising activity in the southern part of India, is basically a testimony lived and held out as a challenge. The Challenge is not merely to accept the testimony, but to become a testimony ourselves and continue being the salt and the light of the earth!
Feast of St. Thomas leaves us with three lessons…
1. We are One Church built on the Apostles.
The feasts of the apostles, any apostle for that matter, is a reminder of the essential unity that has to exist within the Church. As Paul so vehemently opposes (cf. I Cor 1:10-13), right from the earliest times division has always been a dreaded scandal within the Church. In spite of this reality, the divided body of Christ today drains the Church of its witnessing power and evangelical authority.
2. The Church in India has a special responsibility.
The Church in India, boasting a direct handing over of faith by an apostle, has a special responsibility towards establishing the Reign of God on earth. It is unfair to claim privileges but refrain from the duties that come with it. Every person who has received the gift of faith in this country of ancient heritage and culture, has to stand firm in witness to the Gospel thus received challenging the society towards a holistic transformation, ushering in the Reign of God here and now.
3. Doubts don’t matter as long as the Lord remains close to us.
Thomas was not only the one who wanted to touch the wounds that nails made and put his hand into the hole on Jesus’ side, but he was also the one who said, “let us also go, that we may die with him” (Jn 11:16). His personal attachment to Jesus covered up for his obstinacy not to believe when the rest of the apostles reported Jesus’ resurrection. In our lives too, when doubts assail, when clouds gather over our heads and we tend to be overwhelmed by them, the only thing that can sustain us is our personal relationship with Jesus!
May St. Thomas show us Christians in India, the most fitting way of living out the Gospel in our context, so that we may be ambassadors of the Reign of God, here and now.
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005 and has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (specialisation in Catechetics). He has a Doctorate in Theology with specialisation in Catechetics and youth ministry at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the young towards a World of Peace and dialogue is the passion that fires him.