Standing on her tiptoes…
she reaches up and drops the envelope into the special Santa mailbox in the department store…
“But Mama,” she asks, “How will he know there’s a letter here?”
“He picks them up every night…”
“But how will he know it’s from me?”
“He just knows. You can believe in Santa….”
“You can have faith he’ll pick up the letters.”
The little girl looks at her mama…
Eyebrows knitting together in a tight line that reflects deep and ponderous ponderings…
Suddenly her face relaxes into a smile…
“I know Mama!”
“I’ll stay here all night!”
“That way, I’ll see him pick up the mail.”
“Then I’ll know for certain!”
In her moment of doubt…
In her search for certainty…
She sounds so much like Thomas…
Who sought certainty not about Santa Claus…
But about the risen Christ Himself…
…But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” John 20:25
Thomas sounds so much like all of us…
Seeking faith…
But asking for certainty…
Never realizing that we can have faith or certainty but not both…
“…the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.” ― Anne Lamott, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
Wanting to see…
Forgetting that when Thomas saw Jesus…
…he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” John 20:27
When Thomas believed what he had seen…
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:28
Jesus replied…
…“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29
And in so saying, called us to live a life of faith in him…
In the midst of the world’s uncertainty…
For faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
