By Amy Schisler
“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” ~ John 20:29
When Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament and establish His Kingdom, he introduced a new list of commandments, His “rules” for living a happy, Christian life. These rules, which begin the Sermon on the Mount, include the phrase, “Blessed are the/they…” Though the eight Beatitudes we know of and refer to are those listed in Matthew 5:3-11, these are not the only Beatitudes which Christ left us.
Who are the Ones Who See?
I once heard that the first Beatitude was said at the Visitation when Elizabeth extolls Mary, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45). I think this is the most beautiful Beatitude because it tells us the one thing that matters most: that we trust and believe in what the Lord promises.
In Luke, we hear a woman cry out from the crowd, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed” (Luke 11:27), to which Jesus replies, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:38). While some have said this means Mary is unimportant, that even Jesus dismisses her being blessed, the Lord’s statement confirms just the opposite. With almost identical words to Elizabeth’s, Jesus tells us that His mother is blessed because she heard the Word of God and observed it.
How Can We See The Lord?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus appears to the Apostles, the disciples, and His Mother in the Upper Room. All are there except for Thomas, and when he arrives, the others tell of seeing the Risen Lord, Thomas doesn’t believe them. Thomas saw Jesus arrested, just as the others did. He fled and didn’t take his place at the foot of the cross beside John, Mary, and Mary Magdalene. What must he be thinking when he returns and hears the stories from Mary, Peter and John, and all present in the Upper Room about Jesus appearing to them? He must feel that these things make no sense and couldn’t possibly be true. When the Lord suddenly appears before him, telling him to place his fingers in Jesus’ hands and his hand into Jesus’ side, Thomas immediately proclaims, “My Lord and my God!” (John 23:28).
Seeing and Believing
Here, Jesus gives us the final and most important Beatitude. He looks at Thomas and says, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 23:29). Without Thomas’s disbelief and proclamation that Jesus is Lord and God, we might not have the most important Beatitude of all.
We are blessed. We are called to live a happy, Christian life. We, who live today, two-thousand years beyond this scene, are the ones who have not seen yet believe.
Don’t ever think that you are not blessed by the Holy Spirit, that you are not seen by God, that you are not loved deeply by the Son. Remember, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
First published on April 27, 2025 at https://catholicvineyard.com/faith-beyond-sight/
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