St. Thomas and the Refining Fire of Doubt

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Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in tombs bestowing life.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Good morning brothers and sisters. The hymn I just quoted is believed to have been sung by Christians as far back as the second century and it's still sung by Christians around the world during Eastertide. I find myself singing or humming it a few times a day this time of year.

Why does such a simple hymn resonate so much? Because it conveys a reality to us, a truth about Christ’s Resurrection. It’s something we can root our faith in. But what about those times our faith leaves us a bit…wanting?

This week, we read about the Resurrected Christ with His disciples and specifically an interaction with about St. Thomas. Time hasn’t been great to our friend Thomas. I know that we all know the term "Doubting Thomas" to refer to someone who questions or is unbelieving. And I’m going to go ahead and say that I don’t like that nickname nor do I think it’s a fair assessment of this story in the Gospel.

When Jesus met the Apostles the first time, St. Thomas wasn’t there. We don’t know where he was or why he wasn’t with the other disciples, but he missed an encounter with Christ. Earlier in John’s Gospel, when Jesus was returning to Judea to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas declared, “Let us go, that we may die with him!” Thomas wasn’t a doubter, but a disciple willing to walk straight to death with the Lord who he loved.

When he returned to the disciples, they tell him, “We have seen the Lord!” (John 20:25.) Thomas can’t just believe these words and says, “Unless I see and touch…I will not believe” (John 20:25). I think it's important to remember when Christ had come, He showed his disciples the wounds in His hand and His side. Let's also remember that Peter denied Christ three times during His trial (Matthew 26:33-35, Mark 14:29-31, Luke 22:33-34, & John 13:36-38). At his crucifixion, all of the apostles fled out of fear, except St. John, our patron (John 19:26-27). And when the women came to the disciples and told them of the glorious Resurrection of Christ after they visited the tomb, the apostles didn't believe (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, & John 20). Thomas' questioning wasn't unique. It was human.

But Thomas had something else. He had a hunger that set him apart. He didn't just leave. He stayed. Yes, he questioned, but it's because Thomas wanted more.

Thomas has to wait a whole week, but his question is finally answered. He stood with the disciples in a locked room when Christ appeared. And when Christ saw Thomas, Christ doesn't scold him, but he invites Thomas to go ahead and touch the wounds in his hand and to touch his side and then tells him, “Do not doubt, but believe.” And believe he does.

And it's here that Thomas gives us the single greatest proclamation of faith in the whole of the Scriptures, “My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). He doesn’t merely acknowledge the Resurrection, but he proclaims Christ’s divinity. Thomas isn’t a doubter, but he’s the a man of faith who confesses Christ as fully God.

We know very little about Thomas from the Scriptures, but tradition tells us that he carried the Gospel of Christ farther than any of the other Apostles, going throughout Persia and ultimately to India where he died as a martyr.

His doubt didn’t’ define his life – it led to an encounter that changed him. St. Thomas is an example of faithfulness – he had questions, yet he showed up.

I can’t say for certain, but I’m willing to bet that each and every one of us, like Thomas, has wrestled with faith. Thomas sets example for all of us – he teaches us that doubt is not the enemy of faith, but can be more of a refining fire. When Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe,” he doesn’t shame Thomas for questioning, but he blesses all of us who wrestle (John 20:29).

St. Thomas is my patron saint and my namesake and, if I’m being honest, I have found myself saying, “Unless I see” and in those moments, I eventually have a “reach here,” moment. We can all turn our questions, our doubts, into a declaration of our faith. Whatever reason you doubt – from grief, anger, or confusion, come – touch His wounds. And the way that we touch his wounds today is we come to the table and as the Psalmist says, "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). Like Thomas became a witness who knows the cost of faith and offered it to a doubting world, we have that same opportunity.

So I pray today that the God who was and is and is to come, the Almighty Lord Jesus Christ, who still bears those wounds in heaven, in your locked rooms, turn your doubt into a proclamation of faith and send you out as his faithful servants. Amen.