The Positive Side of Doubts (John6:35, 41-51)

I am sure we all suffer from doubts. Can I trust today's weather forecast? Will the Covid– 9 viruses change the way we live forever? Do I have enough faith – or courage – or the ability to handle the situation I face?

Doubts are real, especially when we get caught between two or more alternatives, and we don't know what we should do, or who to believe. Such doubts can be either negative or positive. They can stop us in our tracks, or they can motivate us to learn something new; to seek advice or to develop new skills or wisdom.

In the history of Christianity, the Church hasn't handled people's ability to doubt very well. Take the Apostle, Thomas, for example. He doubted Jesus' resurrection. He wasn't the only Christian to do that. And because it didn't seem possible, Thomas wanted physical proof. He wanted to see and touch and prove to himself that what the other disciples were saying was accurate and true. Today, you might say that he showed good critical thinking skills, or that he was a good scientist. He wanted to collect his own evidence and test that evidence. He wanted to see Jesus with his own eyes and to touch him with his own hands. Yet we find that rather than approving of Thomas methodology, such attitude was not, and has not been encouraged by the Church. In fact, it has often been regarded as a sin. That is until Pope Francis shocked the more conservative Catholics in 2015 when he announced that doubt was the key to the life of faith:

“We do not need to be afraid of questions and doubts
because they are the beginning of a path of knowledge and going deeper;
one who does not ask questions cannot progress either in knowledge or in faith.,” 1

There is wisdom for us all of us in Pope Francis' insight. The important thing is not to focus on our doubts and questions and uncertainties – rather, it is what we do with our doubts that is important. Do we use them as an excuse, or do we use them as an incentive to seek new answers? The Irish writer, lecturer, storyteller, and public speaker, Peter Rollins subtitled his book 'Insurrection' with the engaging maxim: "To Believe Is Human To Doubt, Divine". That is because an absolute faith leaves no room for the mystery of God to enter. Rather, as St Augustine once said, we are to ''seek God to find God; and to find God means we need to keep searching for God forever”.2

This week's Gospel reading is from the Gospel of John (6:35, 41-51). We hear how the Jewish gatekeepers were upset about the things Jesus was doing and saying. In their world, he had become a 'loose canon' (or' loose archer' would be a more historically accurate metaphor). His popularity among the 'uneducated classes' was rated higher than theirs. The crowds were following him and his teaching was increasingly subversive and hard to believe. Such an approach was not well received by the Jewish hierarchy because it threatened their power base and authority.

Yet to understand John's Gospel we need to appreciate that the author was a Jewish Mystic who drew heavily on Hebraic images and metaphors. All the language and images in John's Gospel are drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Gospel was written to provide readings to coincide with each Sabbath for the whole of the Jewish liturgical year.

For example, in the Gospel we encounter God who is the great “I AM” and as a result, each one of us can also affirm that we also share the life of the “I AM” – and hear the same song of the“I AM” echoing throughout the cosmos. In each moment, it is potentially possible for us to experience as Jesus did the mystical Oneness of God whose life and love form the foundation of all that exists, and for each one of us to encounter this mystery of eternity.

No wonder Jesus said to his listeners: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty". And it is little wonder that his listeners – and maybe us too – doubted his authenticity until we taste that living bread for ourselves.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga
May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil
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Spong, JS, The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic.HarperOne, 2014
Green, A, Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology, Jewish Lights, 2012
1“Pope Francis says doubt is key to life of faith' C Wooden Nov 23, 2016, Catholic News Service. https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/11/pope-francis-says-doubt-key-life-faith/
2https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2013/09/30/big-heart-open-god-interview-pope-francis