Thoughts for the Day

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Don't you just love Thomas? He really stands for most of us. His name isn't actually given at all. He is called 'Didymus' in Greek, and in Aramaic (the language of Jesus) 'tĕʾomâ,' both of which mean 'the twin'. Having a brother and sister who are twins I can understand this as we might refer to them collectively as "the twins", and certainly once having had some identical twins in a choir I could never tell them apart, so the word "twin" was often used for them.

Thomas is usually called 'Doubting Thomas' which is very hard since despite Jesus warning all of the disciples frequently of what would happen after his death they continually failed to understand him. Similarly they failed to believe that Jesus had risen on the third day. All the Gospels record the events. In Luke's for instance, we read that Mary Magdalen and 'the other women' told the disciples of the empty tomb and that they had seen two men in dazzling clothes who had told them that Jesus had risen, but that "the words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them." (Luke 24.1-11). Peter does eventually go and look and is amazed to see an empty tomb, but then simply goes home!

Today, we should thank John for recording the story of Thomas, for he represents each of us who have doubted that Jesus rose from the tomb. We cannot touch Jesus' hands or side to prove the resurrection, but we can be thankful at Thomas' stubbornness and his insistence at proving it for himself. Jesus says we are blessed when we believe, and when we join in Thomas in crying "My Lord, and my God!"

Lord Jesus Christ,
when we doubt Your existence,
forgive us.
When we doubt that You died for us,
forgive us.
When we doubt that You rose again,
forgive us.
When we doubt that You care for us,
forgive us.
Send Your Holy Spirit to give us
new faith that we may believe.
Amen.