Is the St. Thomas Who Lives in You Outsourced?

Today, we are all familiar with the process of commercial outsourcing of jobs, wherein companies, especially those overseas, subcontract part of their operations to other companies, especially to those employees based in developing countries. The companies that outsource their tasks in this manner gain various benefits such as cost savings, timely completion, and streamlined operations.

Unique experiences stem from personal endeavors and initiatives. Outsourcing of personal needs and personal encounters makes one devoid of this unique experience. July 3rd brings us the refreshing memories of St. Thomas, the apostle of India, who dared not to outsource either his doubt or his belief. He was bold enough to take up the challenge personally and so he declared, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." (Jn 20:25) Rather than clear his doubts by banking on the words of other apostles, St. Thomas ardently desired for a personal experience. His zeal paid off when Jesus appeared and said, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." (Jn 20: 27)

Thomas's cry of faith to these words of Jesus proclaims the personal conviction and unique experience that he lived through from daring to express his doubt – "My Lord, and My God." If St. Thomas had contracted out his doubts to someone else to bring forth an explanation, we would have really missed the enthusiasm and zeal of this apostle, which made him proclaim the Gospel in India.

The modern trend of outsourcing is making deep inroads into the spiritual realm of human beings. With the advent of cutting-edge technologies, rationalized and liberalized theories, it's obvious for a man of faith to have an encounter with doubts. It's not the doubts that matter, but the way we deal with them. We have plenty of options before us to clear our doubts by asking scholars, searching the web, discussing with friends, and so on. These efforts usually solve our doubts too. The impact on an individual resulting from outsourced clarification of doubts, minus a personal experience, will mostly be nothing. It's similar to knowing Jesus and knowing about Jesus. The former results from the personal convictions and the latter from outsourced clarifications. Riding on the spiritual convictions of others is a dangerous affair. One of the challenges, which the church faces today, is the increased use of the second order language. The second order language is the third person usage. Outsourcing of one's belief results in the use of this second order language. The danger that one can face is that, when doubts get cleared by outsourcing, we say, "Oh! fine…doubts are cleared... thank you." and we again sink back to our normal routine.

The need of the hour is personal convictions – unique experiences that will enable us to proclaim, "My Lord and My God."

If we don't go for outsourcing, as St. Thomas did, the next question is, "When do I get the result? It's interesting to note that Jesus didn't appear to St. Thomas immediately. The Word of God says, "A week later his disciples were again in the house and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them." (Jn. 20:26) If St. Thomas had to wait for one week, we may have to wait a bit longer to have a substantial spiritual experience. St. Thomas is not only the greatest doubter but also the deeply convinced disciple of Jesus. Had he passed his doubts on to his fellow apostles, he would have surely got a temporal satisfaction. But his fervent desire for a personal experience made him the most convinced and faithful advocate for Jesus, carrying forward the Gospel to India himself without passing on the responsibility to anybody else.

St. Thomas is not dead and gone. A doubting St. Thomas still lives in our hearts and he longs to make us deeply convinced of our faith. But, inspired by the modern techno- savvy world, rather than crave for a unique and personal experience of the Risen Lord, we sometimes pass on our doubts and thus outsource the St. Thomas within us.

When one more July 3rd appears on the scene, St. Thomas stands tall in this outsourced world to be gazed upon. Let's raise our eyes and regain the outsourced St. Thomas.

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