Acts 5:12-16 / Apocalypse 1:9-13, 17-19 / John 20:19-31
The ability to see is indeed a wonderful gift that we must not take for granted.
Some may need reading glasses, some may need spectacles of different specifications, some may use contact lens, some may have embedded visual aids.
Whatever it is, to be able to see would mean that we can admire the beauty of this world, be able to perceive unspoken body language, be able to communicate by visual means and to interact in a visual world.
As it is usually said, seeing is believing, although not absolutely. Our eyes can be tricked by illusions, or hampered by unclarity, whether it is the lack of light or when the light is too bright.
So, visual clarity has its limitations, but still, our eyes are a great help in knowing what is around us.
As Christians, we walk by faith and not just by sight. But that does not mean that we can walk around with our eyes closed.
In fact, we need to use our eyes to look at what God is showing us, to judge with the eyes of faith and to act with love.
But there are things that we do not see and yet we say we believe in it. We have not seen God and yet we say that we believe in him.
In the Easter celebrations, we say that we believe in Jesus who rose from the dead, and yet we have not seen the Risen Jesus.
In the gospel, Jesus appeared to His disciples after His Resurrection. The disciples were filled with joy, but whether they really believed in what they were seeing is another matter.
They told Thomas, who was not with them that day, that they had seen the Lord. They didn't seem that convincing to Thomas, and he said that he would not believe unless he could physically touch the wounds of Jesus.
Thomas may be called “Doubting Thomas”, but it was he who proclaimed his faith in Jesus when he said “My Lord and my God”.
And it was through Thomas, that Jesus gave us a blessing when He said, “You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe”.
And indeed, we are blessed because though we have not seen the Risen Lord, yet by faith we believe in the Resurrection.
If it is said that seeing is believing, then for us Christians, in believing we will see, and we will see what God wants to show us.
It had been a rough two years, but we have kept the faith and held on with hope.
Now we are beginning to see God's blessings as we joyfully prepare for the celebration of the ordination of a Deacon Simon Ho in this church on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
We see God's blessings as the faithful come back to church and fill the pews in the Eucharist.
We see God's blessings on our efforts to hold the faith of the community through the online initiatives during the past two years.
Yes, let us believe, and we will see the signs and wonders that God wants to show us.