If I were asked what proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ exist, I would think of only three, and none of them conclusive if isolated from faith: the empty tomb, the apparitions of the Risen One, and a kind of “anthropic principle” (the expansion and subsistence of the Christian Church for two thousand years, in spite of itself). Of these, the empty tomb may have explanations that are not necessarily supernatural, while the apparitions, narrated late, have a purpose that goes beyond “demonstrating” the resurrection.
In particular, the three apparitions narrated by St. John seek to revive, almost “resurrect” the faith of second-generation Christian communities, after the death of the Twelve Apostles, in a less “idyllic” context with the Roman Empire than in the early days. In fact, the Church was at that time suffering the first persecutions and dealing with internal conflicts (“heresies”, we call them) that were shaking the faith. All this generated a climate of discouragement and pessimism in the face of which it was necessary to turn to the post-Easter experience of the disciples and to the words of Jesus Christ himself.
The episode of St. Thomas does not mean anything else, whose moral is “Blessed are those who believe without having seen” and something similar is taught by the last apparition on the shore of the Lake of Galilee, where Jesus, without being recognized, encourages the saddened disciples, who had caught nothing during a whole “night” of work, to cast their nets again, thus achieving an exceptional catch (Jn 21:1-13). Jesus seems to be saying to them, “Take heart! I am here, even if you don’t recognize me, to support you in your mission.”
I suffer the same feelings of discouragement, along with many Bolivians, for the present and future of the country, when we see around us only signs of darkness: rampant violence, corruption, institutionalized injustices, incompetence everywhere, femicides, anomie and a clear ethical regression of our society that seems to render useless any effort to change that gloomy panorama.
But, precisely in this context, someone appears, “on the shore of the lake”, who with his gestures and words gives us back optimism and hope. That someone has just manifested itself in me thanks to a short video of the life and achievements of an ophthalmologist friend, Dr. Joel Moya, who, for years, accompanied by his brigades of “warriors against blindness” has restored the sight of hundreds of humble people in the countryside affected by cataracts and other eye diseases. through free operations carried out in the same peasant communities.
Joel, born in Vallegrande and raised in Uncía, earned a master’s degree and doctorate, has directed the Institute of Ophthalmology for years, has collaborated with his team in the Ultraviolet Radiation campaigns between 1997 and 2015 and, most importantly, he did it with great humility and a spirit of service. How many Bolivians know the testimony of selfless service to the country of Dr. Moya and, I am sure, of many other exemplary Bolivians, who restore the soul to hope for the future of the country? Other exemplary public servants, such as Juan Antonio Morales, have been “rewarded” by the State with judicial persecution and others, such as José María Bakovic, even with death. I don’t know if my friend Joel Moya will qualify for the devalued decoration “Condor of the Andes,” if he will be interested, after receiving something much better: the gratitude of “God will repay you, doctor” from the humblest of his patients. What I do know is that at least a “Hummingbird of the Valleys” granted by the silent majority of Bolivians would be more than deserved in his case.