Changing our failures into successes
John 20:24-29
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them
when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and
put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not
believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with
them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and
said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and
see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be
unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my
God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Sometimes, our biggest blunders can
turn out to be our most smashing successes.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen tells the story of serving as a small boy one
Sunday in the cathedral for Archbishop Spalding. As Sheen was bringing over the water cruet,
he tripped and dropped it. He recalled:
“There is no atomic explosion that can equal in decibels the sound of a cruet
smashing on marble floor in a cathedral before a bishop.” After Mass the bishop wanted to speak to
Sheen, who expected to be roundly rebuked.
But the bishop asked him, “Where will you go to school?” Sheen diplomatically answered, “Why Spalding
Academy, of course!” referring to the high school named for the bishop. “No,” Spalding said, “Tell your mother that I
said when you get big you will go to Louvain University and some day you will
be just as I am.” You know, for 19 years
as a priest I’ve hoped for some server to drop the water cruet so I could tell
him he will be just like me! One of the
most endearing qualities of Fulton Sheen is that he didn’t hide his mistakes;
rather, he saw them as moments of grace and blessing.
Today is the Feast of St. Thomas
the Apostle, whose biggest blunder was also a moment of great grace. Today’s gospel recounts what Thomas is most
commonly known for: doubting Jesus’ resurrection, hence his moniker of
“Doubting Thomas.” Thomas mistake was
much greater than dropping a water cruet at Mass, but like Sheen, he didn’t
hide it, but used it as a teaching moment.
Thomas helped all future disciples - you and me - see that it’s okay to
have doubts, but keep believing in spite of them. That’s why Jesus predicted in the gospel:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” In other words, Thomas’ failure would help
all future disciples success; Thomas' sin would be our grace; Thomas' curse
would be our blessing, because he did not hide his mistakes.
Today, ask
yourself: what do I do with my failure and sins – when we lose a job, or when
our marriage fails, or when we commit the same stubborn sins over and over
again? If you’re like most people, you
sweep them under the rug or shove them into the closet and slam the door shut,
and try to forget our failures. But
that’s not your only option, nor your best option. Those blunders can also be moments of
blinding grace, if we take them to Jesus and ask him to teach us through our
failures and sins. One way to do that is
by going to confession, where Jesus turns our “frown upside-down,” that is,
into a smile. I think parents do their
children a great disservice when they never talk about their own
struggles. Like for Sheen and for
Thomas, a father or mother’s moment of weakness may become their son or
daughter’s moment of strength. One of my
favorite Scriptures is Romans 5:20, which reads, “Where sins abounds, there
grace abounds all the more.” But grace
cannot abound when we hide our sins.
Now, back to praying for a server to drop the water cruet…
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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