To see the unseen

"Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." (From today’s Gospel message, Jn. 20:29). In other words, blessed are those who see the unseen presence of God in all of living creation – within us and all around us. As Ignatius writes in his Spiritual Exercises, let us be continually aware of how God dwells in all creatures – from the flowers, to the crops, to the carabaos – all the way to the birds, the trees, and every human person.

Not only that. The unseen God lovingly works to keep creation in its place. Otherwise, creation would collapse into nothingness. To see the unseen, laboring God in this way is the beginning of God’s Kingdom here on earth. The Kingdom of God, not the Kingdom of Satan.

In his masterful work, Jesus and The Cosmos, Theologian Denis Edwards describes the risen Jesus as an "intrinsic principle" and a "determining feature" of the whole cosmos. Moreover, Edwards refers to a previous and even more-renowned theologian, Karl Rahner, in caring for the Earth in the light of the historical Jesus.

In bringing together the story of Jesus of Nazareth and the story of the cosmos, Edwards draws our attention to three interrelated realities: the integrity of creation; the value of the human person; and cosmic praxis.

The integrity of creation. "If we are profoundly related to all creation, forming one world with all living things, and with the whole material universe, if we are related as ‘companions’ to other creatures, if we are responsible before the God of creation for our interaction with these creatures, if we are called to love the world as God loves the world, if his whole material world is to be taken up into the consummation and share in the resurrection, and if Jesus Christ is at the heart of the whole evolving world, then we are committed to attend to the ecological whole even we act in any one area of the planet." (p. 137)

The value of the human person. The human person is "the cosmos come to consciousness," the "recipient of God’s self-communication." (p.139). More than ever before, we must fearlessly work for a social morality that is in solidarity with the poor and the oppressed, as Jesus did. "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Lk. 6:20). The educated, the wealthy, the privileged ones, and the powers-that-be become part of God’s kingdom only if and when they share equitably what they possess with those who have much less or none at all.

Violence against the human person belongs to the Kingdom of Satan. The recent murder of Eddie Gumanoy and Eden Marcellana is doubly diabolical, for they were activist – defenders of the human rights of the poor. Whoever they are, the killers will never be a part of God’s Kingdom unless they humbly admit their guilt and submit themselves to a just punishment for their heinous crime. God is ready and waiting to forgive them, if they submit themselves to His one and only law – the law of love and compassion.

Cosmic praxis. You and I, all of us, are called to participate in the shaping of today’s world. "This is our common human task. It is our call to be participators in God’s continuous creation. Our action and our love at this moment have final significance for God’s future, a future which will grow out of the world we make, through the transforming power of God." (p.140).

The risen Jesus did not ascend to heaven up, up there. He is very much with us, and full of His love and compassion, as ever before.

"Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.