Cellular phone services have become increasingly necessary,, to the point of becoming indispensable for some.
At the beginning of this technology, as the market was growing, prices were no longer so excessive. It was then that more people were able to buy our devices and get our cell phone number.
I still remember having a cell phone that looked like a brick, as it had very similar dimensions. And the weight, almost the same. They had a very thin and delicate antenna that was retractable. If damaged, reception was greatly reduced.
Cell phone companies found an open market, and they managed to get the largest number of customers. Their television commercials became increasingly clever.
One of those commercials caught my attention so much, that I still remember it. It was from ATT. The new thing at that time was family contracts, where the price per line in a family contract was more affordable than the individual line contract.
As I remember the commercial, a family appeared in the kitchen of their house. The mother arrived, she put a box of a new cell phone on the table, and began to energetically yell at one of her teenage daughters:
—Look what I brought you!
—And why did you bring it to me!
–Because I love you!
—Well, I love you too!
The dialogue continued in an agitated and shouting manner. Until the narrator said:
—ATT, changing the way we talk.
In the commercial, the words between the mother and her daughter, and the way they spoke to each other were not congruent. The dialogue was loving, with words of appreciation between them. However, they were shouting at each other as if they were in a very heated discussion.
The commercial was in English (Spanish is my first language), and if I had not understood the language, I would have interpreted the commercial as one of reproach and condemnation. But it was not like that.
Could it be that something similar happens when we listen to the dialogue between Jesus and Thomas after the resurrection?
To an incredulous Thomas, Jesus invites him to explore his wounds. And he suggests to him that those who trust are blessed.
How do you imagine the scene?
In the commercial, words do not match the way they speak. They screamed, and the movements of their hands, arms and body were defiant and aggressive. The facial expressions were intense and reflected tension.
For a long time, Jesus was presented to me in this Bible passage as scolding or rebuking Thomas.
How do you perceive him?
Jesus invites Thomas to explore his wounds, so that he may believe that he has risen.
Jesus was a friend of his disciples. And Jesus’ actions with his friends, before and after the resurrection, are actions moved by love. Could it be that he spoke to Tomás like the family in the commercial spoke to each other?
What if the way Jesus and Thomas spoke was different? What if Jesus had spoken with a tenderness and compassion that was not detailed in the narrative?
Suddenly, the scene takes on another connotation.
Now it would seem that Jesus would find Thomas in his doubt, meeting him with love, and even giving him what he needs to believe. It is true, Jesus praises those who believe without seen. And he also gives Thomas what he needs to believe.
Where are you in your faith?
If you believe without seen, Jesus praises you.
If you need evidence like Thomas, it seems like Jesus could give it to you.
Jesus the carpenter meets us where we are. In doubt, on the way to trust, or when we trust.
You can be honest with God in your personal prayer, if you do not believe, or if you have blind faith. There is where God’s love finds you. Do you receive it? This can change the way you talk with God.
Marisol
P.S. We can hear the story of Jesus inviting Thomas to explore his wounds in the readings of the Second Sunday of Easter, year / cycle B.
