Thomas Doubted, But Jesus Came for Him and Us
- Norine
- Apr 9, 2018
- 2 min read
Saint Thomas said, “I won’t believe it unless I can see Him and touch Him.”
And aren’t we glad he did?
Saint Thomas gets a bad rap for his doubt. It earned him the unhappy nickname, “Doubting Thomas.” But his lack of belief adds credibility for the rest of us in history who would have doubted in the same way. Being satisfied to see (and possibly touch, it doesn’t actually say), Thomas' experience gives us greater satisfaction too.
Upon hearing the Sunday Gospel yesterday, I was thinking about how Jesus planned His first arrival to the Apostles in their locked room. It’s not like Jesus didn’t know Thomas was absent. And I can only imagine how Thomas felt – that the others were crazy, and how uncool it would have been if Jesus had really given the others the gift of the Holy Spirit and left him out. I can hear him asking,"How could Jesus have come back from the dead? And why would Jesus come back without all of the Apostles present?" Thomas had to wait a whole week for his answer.
What Jesus does not do is send a message through Peter: “Sorry, Thomas, I’m not coming. You should have believed.” No, He hears that doubt and eventually comes to answer it in person.
And even though Jesus admonishes Thomas for not believing, He shows His mercy in understanding that most of the people His Father made would doubt in the same way.
How many of us have prayed, “Are you really God?” “If you’re real, show me a sign?” “If you’re really here, show me.” I have prayed these prayers. History is full of people who prayed these. And Jesus doesn’t say, “Sorry, guys. You should have believed.”
No, He comes.
He has come to me in signs, in thoughts, in people, in circumstances, in songs, in bible verses, in my feelings, in visions, in writing, in prayer, and more. History is full of stories about how He came to people in so many different ways.
Sometimes, down in that valley of suffering, we need to know He is real. We need to know He is with us. We need to touch His hands and His side to know He really is the God who didn’t just save, but identified with us in our sufferings.
Blessed are those whose faith was so strong they didn’t need to see. But blessed also are those who asked to see, and Jesus came.
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