On the Sunday of the Divine Mercy, the gospel begins by saying ‘the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews.’ They were sad, disappointed and afraid after all that they had seen and gone through a few days earlier.
Jesus knows their fears and comes in person to dispel their anxieties, fills them with his Spirit and enables them to overcome the forces of evil. The episode of the doubt of Thomas is also a portrait of the mercy of God. John portrays Thomas as a symbol of difficulties in faith faced by every disciple. Perhaps Thomas had greater difficulty or took longer than others to have faith.
According to tradition, Thomas was martyred in India in A.D. 72, about twenty years before John wrote the Gospel, about A.D. 95. Through the story of doubting Thomas, the evangelist attempts to address doubts about the Lord’s resurrection in his community. Many of them had not seen Jesus, nor even knew any of the apostles. They found it hard to believe. They wanted to see, touch, and verify if the Lord had indeed risen.
Is it still possible for us to encounter the Risen Lord? Is there evidence that he is alive? How can it be that he no longer appears? These are questions that many still ask today. This passage responds to all such questions: John aims to tell the doubters in his community that, despite living with Jesus for three years, not even all the apostles could see the Risen Lord. That’s why the Lord himself teaches Thomas to have faith in what is not yet visible. If anyone insists on seeing, observing, and touching to believe, they are rejecting the grace of faith.
The doubters will never obtain any evidence. Contrary to what we see depicted in paintings, not even Thomas had his hands on the wounds of the Lord. The Gospel does not say that he has touched the Risen One. He pronounces his profession of faith after hearing the voice of the Risen Lord, while he is with his community. And this capacity to experience the Lord is offered to Christians of every age… every Sunday.
When Jesus appeared, he did not judge Thomas for his lack of faith. He accepted Thomas, and he still accepts those who have doubts. There is no need to panic, worry, or get upset when we have doubts. We all go through times when our faith is not strong as we would like it to be. Jesus accepts us as he accepted Thomas.
When we face doubts in our faith, can we look to this great disciple of faith, Thomas and make his prayer ours today, ‘My Lord and my God.’
Father Josekutty Mathew CMF
