I used to love the Doubting Thomas story.
To me, it was always a microcosm of us. We're all followers of Christ who go through periods of varying degrees of understanding - who eventually become passionate believers through the Resurrection.
Then one day I saw something in that story that made me very sad.
First, Jesus shows the eleven "his hands and sides". Then, later, when Thomas arrives, he says "Put your finger here and see my hands".
This, of course, is meant to convince them that He was the same One who was nailed to the cross just days ago.
But can't we look at that same image, and imagine God saying "Look at what you did. I came down from Heaven to live among you, and you pierced me"? I mean, wouldn't the storybook version of the resurrected God have Him look pristine and whole?
Think about that.
God came here to live with us - which is unfathomable in its own right - and we thanked Him by putting nails into His hands.
Who does that???
Answer: we do.
And by the way, how sad is it that it is these holes that finally help the Apostles (and us) believe. Not some glorious piece of evidence, mind you, but icons of the suffering we put Him through.
Yes, Christ showed us his scars so that the twelve, and eventually all of us, all may believe. But for me it is also a very sad reminder of what our sins did to Him.
God Bless you.
What really stuck with me this week, was that Thomas gets a bad rap.
Nine times out of ten, he is singled out as Doubting Thomas, not grouped with the other Apostles.
And part of that does wonders for our faith. As Victor so astutely points out in this post, Thomas provided us with even more evidence of Christ's Resurrection.
But the ironic thing - the thing that kept nagging at me all week - was that all of the Apostles were doubting Thomases, were they not?
Jesus told them that He was going to rise on the third day, and they still sat locked in their homes after His death, afraid and confused. It was not until they saw Him that they believed.
Likewise, when Mary Magdalene tells the Apostles that she saw the risen Lord, Luke tells us they did not believe her. It was not until John and Peter see the empty tomb that they believed her.
Weren't they just like Thomas? Did they not need visible proof before they believed?
Don't get me wrong, I don't think we need to add "Doubting" in front of every Apostle's name. Heck, if that were the case, we'd have to add it to all of ours as well. But maybe we can add an asterisk or something next to Thomas' to clarify that he wasn't the only one. Or put air quotes around "doubting" to indicate the irony.
Perhaps I will send a note to our newly elected Pope and see if he will champion this cause for me.
(Yes, I know what you are thinking. You'll believe it when you see it...)
Blessed are those who have not seen but believe.
