Sharing of the living and the lived faith is called mission. Vision is the transfiguration of humanity. Without the Holy Spirit, the Christian mission is reduced to mere propaganda. The manner in which mission has been carried out has not been much appreciated and has even criticized by democratic and secular thinkers. Mission/propaganda had been quite easy when it was done by coercion rather than by persuasion. Persuasion works slowly. Coercion aids the rapid increase in the number of followers. The establishment of the church during the colonisation period was fast and far reaching. With the dawn of the Age of Reason, the church suffered a setback. The Renaissance forced the church into the Reformation of itself. Religion and science were initially compartmentalised but they gradually got accepted as complementary to each other.
The publication of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin was like darkness descending at noon in the history of Christianity. The church in the modern times, with the second Vatican Council, has opened vistas of faith experiences. With it, the church has undergone many paradigm shifts with regard to its identity and existence. The practice of faith in the western Christian countries has taken different paths. Starting with a single church, innumerable denominations and cults found various ways for the expression of faith. Our real challenge is to make our church all embracing and inclusive as the term 'Catholic' suggests. The Covid-19 pandemic time poses challenges to community worship and gatherings. It forces us to take faith into one’s personal life in tune with the spirit of the church.
St Thomas the Apostle is one of our patriarchs of faith. He is known by the nickname 'Doubting Thomas'. St Thomas is more a disciple of honest questioning than of stubborn skepticism. Meeting Christ gave him a second birth but missing Christ was painful for him. When his fellow disciples told him they had met the risen Christ, he cried over his missed opportunity. Just over a week later, St Thomas' wish to touch Christ came true. As the disciples gathered in a locked room, Jesus suddenly appeared. The savior looked at St Thomas and said, 'Stop doubting and believe.' His uncertainty gave way to immediate and total trust. 'My Lord and My God!' is the uttering of a seeker on the discovery of God in person or the Word in person. This mystical experience is the soul-force to witness Christ for those who have not yet had a chance to know him.
The Word incarnate is the ripe fruit which is to be carried by a disciple, much as a bird does, to faraway lands and to indifferent hearts. Nature has its own way of propagation of seeds. For disciples, God's words are seeds to be taken to the ‘ends of the world’. The Word sown in the field of hearts is to be borne as fruits of love and compassion. The transformation of the world is only possible through the love of God and the love of others. The 'cost of discipleship' points to the 'insecurities' of the Gospel. In the case of St Thomas, the ultimate witnessing was martyrdom. The mantle of faith we have received from him demands new ways of witnessing in this new age.
'No' is the first step. 'No' is to be transformed into 'Yes'. Doubt is not potential disbelief but potential belief. In the modern world of science and technology, faith should have new versions of witnessing and living. Doubt is very much an aspect of critical thinking and democratic practice. St Thomas is an apostle of the critical age.
