The steps to grace

 

As I read the Scriptures preparing for my reflection today, the juxtaposition of two figures that are well known to Christians shouted out to me:  Paul and Thomas.

It’s probable that Paul never knew Jesus prior to when He was crucified and resurrected but came to know Him when Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).  Despite not having known Jesus during Jesus’s earthly ministry, Paul’s heart clearly was on fire.  Twenty centuries later, one can almost hear the power of his voice urgently proclaiming the Good News that Jesus died to atone for our sins (Acts 13:26-33).

And then we have Thomas in the Gospel.  Thomas was apparently the disciple who wanted to make sure that everything was in order before being convinced.  Before being sure that Jesus actually rose, he wanted to touch His hands and sides (John 20:24-29).  Then, even Jesus’s soothing words that the Father’s house has many rooms, and that Jesus would come back to guide the disciples home wasn’t good enough for Thomas; he wanted to know exactly where Jesus was going for fear that Thomas would get left behind (John 14:1-6).

So it’s easy to admire Paul and belittle Thomas, but I know I have a lot of Thomas in me; and I bet I’m not alone.  It seems clear to me that Thomas wasn’t in any way a person lacking in faith.  He was just a bit of a worrier.  He worried about what would happen the next day and about whether Jesus and God would really be there for him.  I imagine he worried about a lot of the things that many of us do.

There aren’t really that many Pauls among us.  Personally, I’d have a hard time running into a place of worship and boldly proclaiming the Resurrection to a bunch of people that I didn’t know.  But that was Paul’s greatest gift.

We all have gifts, and we all fail to use them at various points in our lives.  Maybe that makes us all a little bit like Thomas.  But look how much Jesus loved Thomas, because rather than rebuking him Jesus responded with one of the most loving passages in the Gospels: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6)

Those three words – way, truth, life – reflect who Jesus can be to every one of us.

There’s only one way – Jesus’ way.  Most of us want to live as Jesus would have us live, because we want to go to heaven when we’ve finished our earthly journey.  We want to be Christ to others; we want to turn the other cheek (that’s a hard one) and we have to serve others in whatever capacity the Lord sees fit.  We want to see our Father’s house at the end of this journey.

There’s only one truth – that Jesus Christ is Lord, and He is our one saving grace.  His words and actions should be reflected and shared through us to others.  In trusting in Him, we know that He’ll lead us to His truth, enabling us to see through the mess through which some have blurred the clear vision of truth.

There’s only one life – a life sharing Jesus with others and living in a way that promotes His unending and beautiful love.  And in living this life, we’re reminded of the steps to grace that we can accomplish, enabling ourselves and others the chance of entering the gates of Heaven:

To hear Christ’s words and put them into practice (Matthew 7:24).

To believe in Him and have an everlasting faith; “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will have everlasting life”. (John 3:16)

To repent from our sins. (Luke 5:31-32)

To confess Christ to others. (Matthew 10:32)

To being baptized into Christ’s death, and living and sharing His Passion.  (Mark 16:15-16)

To remember a constant commitment in presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God. (Romans 12:1-2)

If Jesus was there for Thomas, we can rest assured that He’s here for us now.