On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So, Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

Scientists who have experienced difficult times in life and have reasoned themselves away from the belief in the existence of God do not easily become believers. Ellie Arroway was such a scientist. If she had discovered anything about a Supreme Being, it was that there was no scientific proof for such an existence, and that fit her life. She made that point eminently clear in her interview with the committee for the selection of a candidate to travel in the machine. Then something happened. She was not able to explain it. In fact, the people who interrogated her turned away in disgust as she tried to explain. “I had an experience,” Ellie says, “I can’t prove it. I was given something wonderful, a vision that tells us that we belong to something that is greater than ourselves, that we are not alone.” Because of the vision, the scientist became a believer. As she tried to make sense of what happened to her, the idea that she could never accept—faith in a Supreme Being—became a reality to her.

The philosophy of a believer in God is an easy one. It may move into complicated theories and explanatory reasoning, but the foundation of faith is straight to the point: believers do not know whether what they believe is true. There may be powerful indications that God exists, but in the final analysis, belief by its very nature cannot be certain. The Gospel of John tells us that Peter and the beloved disciple became believers at the moment they found out about Jesus’ resurrection. With no reason to believe other than the empty tomb, their belief then became the guide of their lives.

Not unlike scientists that want certitude before they will accept something, believers in a Supreme Being often find themselves wanting reasons to believe. They look for evidence. They explore possibilities. They create “belief scenarios.” There is nothing wrong with such behavior for the believer. It becomes a problem when the believer creates a premise that demands a certitude which faith, by definition, can never give.                   

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we believe that you exist, but often we want more proof than our faith can give. Help us understand that our faith will never give us certitude, but that certitude is not our priority. Our priority should be to live the faith that your Son has given to us. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America