“I came, I saw, I conquered!” Probably this is the shortest report on a successful military campaign ever written (Julius Caesar, to the Senate of Rome, 47 BC).
It could easily be accommodated as a short report by Thomas the apostle on the resurrection (cf. the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Easter): “I came, I saw, I believed!”
Perhaps Thomas’s report could serve as a short report about each of our lives:
– I came (to know Christ through his disciples),
– I saw (his love and mercy in them), and
– believed (and lived my life accordingly).
But, is that our report? Is it a good summary description to date of the ongoing campaign and struggle of our lives? Are we clear sighted, do we really see? Is ours a victory story—or is the battle still raging?
They called him Doubting Thomas, because even with the unanimous testimony of all of his closest friends and colleagues, he wouldn’t, couldn’t believe their excited reports that they had seen the risen Jesus.
To be brutally honest, it makes sense. Put yourself in his shoes:
– Dead people don’t come back to life—but it’s understandable that love and desire can blind even your best friends to facts and logic.
– Delusional thinking isn’t just a personal peculiarity—even groups can succumb to it, whether family, neighborhoods, tribes, or nations.
– You have to think with your head and feel with your heart, not vice-versa. God gave us capacities to love strongly and to think clearly, but there’s no virtue in mixing them up.
– To use a tired contemporary phrase, isn’t this a good example of “Fake News”? Everybody saying what they want to be true doesn’t make it true.
Sure, that all makes sense—but we’re still faced with what seems to be too good to be true! (What a weird expression—how can something be “too good to be true”? The degree of goodness has nothing to do with veracity.
Just because everybody “believes” something doesn’t make it true—but the clear and uncontested testimony of more than one eyewitness is still a commonly accepted standard for judgement.
When Thomas saw Jesus with his own eyes, he believed—actually, he didn’t “believe,” he “knew.” I wonder how many people to whom he gave his testimony in the ensuring years believed him?
Anyway, as far as you and I are concerned, let’s think critically and have no delusions, but let’s not forget to trust in the proven testimony of witnesses, even if we’ve never had their experience.
Let’s not cling to past events, and experiences, and religious practices as though they are unalterable and deny the possibility of new ones.
Caesar didn’t win his victories by clinging to the proven tactics and strategies of the past. New enemies may mean new challenges and demand new solutions. He did it. He came and saw what needed to be done, and he did it. He reported victory!
Thomas brought Gospel tidings all the way to southern India. He “conquered” with new language, new tactics, new strategies—and brought Good News.
Our campaign is not over yet, no matter what—so God speed with your life, eyes and heart wide open, and trust in all the testimonies of the love and mercy of God.
19 April 2020