The Pilgrimage of Israel to Christ is
now the pilgrimage of Christ to the Father.
Thomas asked Jesus to show him the
destination, but Christ did not reveal this to us. The only way we
can experience the end of a pilgrimage is to make a pilgrimage. Why
was it that Thomas, of all Apostles, asked Jesus “We do not know
where you are going; how will we know the way?”
Thomas was anxious and doubtful. He had
seen the power of God active in his own life but he could not
overcome his worries. There are likewise many of us who experience
doubts, whether it is the promise of tomorrow or the promise of
eternal life. Jesus reassures and challenges Thomas simultaneously:
Do not be afraid, if you follow Me you will be exactly where you need
to be.
Did not Jesus begin by saying “Do not
let your hearts be troubled”? All the same there are many things
that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard.”
Jesus asks us to trust him, and should
we have any reason to doubt his assurances? Yet even when we do
doubt Jesus makes every effort to calm the storm in our hearts. If we
are lost he will find us, if we are troubled he will comfort us, and
if we rejoice he gently guides us. Perhaps Thomas' worry was that he
might lose sight of Christ on this pilgrimage—Jesus reassures him
that he would not be able to take the first step if He was not with
him. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Apart from Him we do not journey. Let
us, then, join the procession of Abraham, the patriarchs, the
prophets, and all holy men and women who have walked where we now
walk. Truly, on this pilgrimage you are precisely where you need to
be.
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