John 20:19 - 31
I got confirmed in the seventh grade, back before Vatican II. We had to select confirmation names, and I had been told that Thomas Aquinas was the greatest theologian the church had ever produced, so that seemed like a cool name. But as the years went by I identified more with Thomas the apostle, who gets to be called “Doubting Thomas” because of this story in the gospel of John, Every year, every single year, Catholics and many other Christians rub it in on the first Sunday after Easter. But we will get to why I identify with him later.
But I have to defend Thomas. Jesus has appeared to the other disciples -- came in through a locked door at that. The Gospel of Luke tells us that he even asked for a piece of fish; conquering sin and death takes a lot out of you. And Jesus gives the apostles power - to forgive sins! And he gives them his own holy Spirit and sends them forth. And a week later, they tell Thomas about this, all excited of course -- and Thomas, who is no slouch, notices that they are still in the locked room. Why should he believe them? Why would you believe them? They aren’t doing what they claim Jesus told them to do. And I think that’s one thing we can take home today. It isn’t the fault of our friends, or our children, or our co-workers that they are falling away from the church, it’s ours. They look at what we are saying and they don’t see that we’ve been set on fire, they hear our proclamation that Christ is risen and death is defeated and God’s mercy is available for the taking, and we live as though these are only words. Jesus told us that if we were his disciples the world would hate us, because it hated him first. Are we hated? Not really.
But notice another thing about this passage. Thomas believes when Jesus joins the disciples. We are imperfect, we are sinners, we are really useless servants … but there is hope, because where two or three are gathered together, Jesus is there. And with Jesus things can be accomplished that can’t be done without him. And Jesus promised to be with his followers till the end of time, and Thomas and the others spread the gospel throughout the Roman empire and into India and Persia -- all within those first hundred years -- and they suffered and died for the gospel as well, because they knew Jesus was with them, just as he is with us if we are doing what he calls us to do -- to evangelize, to preach the gospel, to be conscious at all times of our role in bringing about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus told us to “pray always” and that’s what he is talking about.
And there is still another thing to notice in this passage. Thomas, like the others, had witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus. Not up close, but from far off, or maybe he heard it from a reliable witness, I don’t know. And I don’t know why he wasn’t with the apostles at that first appearance of Jesus. But I’m sure all his hopes were dashed, I’m sure he was broken-hearted, I’m sure he doubted. And you know, I doubt sometimes myself. I’ve gone through spells where I wonder if there’s a god at all, or whether my faith is just wishful thinking. My faith blows hot and cold. But Thomas teaches us that the best place to be when you doubt is among believers. If you crawl away by yourself you can sink into despair, or even worse, indifference; but if you stay with believers, and live like a believer, your faith will come back, your doubts will disappear. Everyone’s faith grows in fits and starts, but only when you keep in contact with the believing community.
But doesn’t Jesus himself condemn Thomas’ unbelief? The trouble with the words Jesus speaks to Thomas is that they don’t convey what the Greek words mean, exactly. The word that is translated as “blessed” is “makarios” which can also be translated as “happy” or “to be envied”. So Jesus issort of saying “you, Thomas, like the other apostles, have believed because you have seen me. Be envious of those who believe who have not seen me.” In other words, those who believe who have not seen have been given a special grace, they are, in a sense, favored by God. You and I have been given that grace at baptism. Whether we choose to use it or not is as always up to us; God leaves us completely free. But we are exposed to the truths of our faith; Our theologians and philosophers have shown us that those truths are reasonable; our saints have shown us that they are life-giving; our martyrs have shown us that they are worth dying for. That’s why we are the ones that the apostles envy.
Mercy Sunday. Doubting Thomas. The forgiveness of sins by God through the ministry of our priests. Being sent forth by Jesus himself. Being accompanied by Jesus whenever we undertake something to bring about his kingdom. Being recipients of the Body and Blood of our Saviour; being the souls in whom the Father and Son come to dwell, and the Holy Spirit animates. We are indeed to be envied.
