Thomas. Doubting Thomas. Thomas the skeptic. That’s the Gospel from last Sunday; we’ve heard this story read in churches and retold many times, and it is really very straightforward.
Thomas is not present at one of the post-Easter appearances of Jesus and it’s a doozy.
Jesus appears, tells everyone to be at peace, shows off his wounds, hands and side wounded in the Crucifixion but healed by the Resurrection, tells them to be at peace again, and then breathes on them and says “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,” all this to folks who had locked themselves behind closed doors for fear of the political and religious authorities of the day.
When Thomas runs into the disciples, and hears them tell their account of their visit from the risen Christ, he doesn’t believe. Or rather, he makes his belief conditional: if Thomas puts his hands in the wounds, then, and only then, will he believe.
A week later, Jesus makes another appearance, again says “Peace be with you,” only this time Thomas is there. And Jesus comes again to that room with closed doors — he goes right through them, John tells us — and, basically, calls Thomas out. “Put your hands in my wounds, put your hands in my side and believe.” And Thomas does — in fact, he makes one of the great affirmations of Christ’s reign: “My Lord and my God!”
But honestly, he should have known better. He was one of the twelve. He had journeyed with Christ all over the countryside. He was present when Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, even though he thought he would die on that particular journey because of all the political upheaval in the area.
He’s the one who asked “How can we know the way?” when Jesus told the twelve that they would have to follow his path to death and then, only then, life. And Jesus told him “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life …”
How many miracles did Thomas see? Was he present when Jesus healed the man born blind? Was he around for the feeding of the Five Thousand? Did he help gather up basket after basket of excess food, the overflowing of God’s mercy and love and gift? And so, Jesus’ telling Thomas that the blessed ones are those who have not seen and yet believe might be a bit pointed: Thomas may have missed one post resurrection appearance but as Christ told the Twelve over and over, he, Jesus, and the Father are one; that Jesus is the Way to the Father; that Jesus is the Bread of Life.
But God’s mercy is wide, is infinite. And John ends this story of not one, but two appearances of the Risen Christ, with an abundance of grace: John concludes this chapter saying “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
The Gospel of John is full of signs, story after story after story. John invites us to listen in, to watch. He invites us to discipleship, to following on the paths. And like the disciples in that first week, we are invited to see, we are told to listen, to the poor, to the hungry, to the oppressed, to the sick, to those in jail. And we too have received the breath of God, and received the Holy Spirit, and as we all journey with other with the risen Christ. Jesus invites us, like Thomas, to believe, even when it seems really, really hard.
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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. The Rev. Dr. Keith Dorwick is a Deacon at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Port Angeles/St. Swithin’s Episcopal Church, Forks.
