Peace in a place of doubt
Author: Adam Benson (North Carolina, US)
At the end of the eight-mile hike to the top of Half-Dome in Yosemite National Park, we came face to face with the metal cables that would guide us to the top. Our whole group had hiked for hours, but when I finally saw the cables I refused to climb them, feeling it was dangerous and that I might fall 2,000 feet to my death. Watching my friends climb to the top, I started to feel embarrassed.
Then, someone came behind me and said, ‘I’ll go with you.’ Our group leader had pulled back from the group to make sure that I would not be left behind or fall off the cables. I slowly made it to the top, and we celebrated at the summit. In today’s reading – the account of Jesus’ appearing to his disciples after the crucifixion – Thomas stubbornly refused to believe his friends’ testimony that they had seen Jesus.
In doing so, Thomas separated himself from the rest of the group. Then, without warning, Jesus appeared among them. In times of doubt, it can feel as if God is absent. But, like our group leader who helped me get up the cables, God comes to us even at the height of doubt. When we are ready to turn back, he whispers, ‘I’ll go with you.’
Prayer: Loving God, thank you for your persistent love that brings you alongside us even in our difficult and painful moments of doubt. Amen
