April 16, 2023 – The Second Sunday of Easter

“My Lord and my God!”

I’ve always loved this story about Thomas – particularly because truth be told, I think I’d be the one right with Thomas asking to see proof. Having started my post-high school education with a degree in electrical engineering, my brain is wired to want to see the proof, the results, the data. And then, in obtaining my Master’s degree in education, I had to SHOW the data to prove my hypothesis. (You might be thinking to yourself, this has continued into my life now as I work to get survey responses so that I can analyze the data from those.)

And that’s how I always thought of the story of Thomas, Doubting Thomas. He was just the one who needed to see something in order to believe. But the more I thought about that this week, the more I doubted myself. 

You might recall Thomas from the times we’ve heard him speak earlier in John’s gospel. In Chapter 11, verse 16, we read, “Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’” I imagine him saying this in a dejected tone, almost like we might hear Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh series. “Ok guys, let’s go too… so that we can die, too.”

The next time we hear of Thomas is the verse from chapter 14 of John’s gospel which is often read at funerals. This is the reading that talks of the many rooms that are in the Father’s house and Thomas says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Thomas – practical, pragmatic Thomas – certainly voices what we might say. He’s got an inquiring mind and wants to know. Thomas asks the tough questions that others might be afraid to ask. The others might be embarrassed to ask, but reliable Thomas comes through.

And so it shouldn’t be a surprise that in today’s Gospel story, Thomas remains true to character. When Jesus appears to the disciples in the locked room, where’s Thomas? We are free to imagine where he is, what he’s doing, and what he may be thinking and feeling, based on what we know about Thomas, because the Gospel story doesn’t tell us. We don’t know where his friends find him, but they tell him the news. And how does Thomas react? Is he overjoyed and comforted? No. He reacts just as the disciples do when Mary tells them the same thing. Are they overjoyed? Do they run out to the garden to find Jesus? 

Thomas then makes his dramatic statement: “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” (Jn 20:25). This isn’t a simple “I’ll believe when I see” because Thomas has many conditions to make him believe. He puts conditions on his faith – he wants hard, unquestionable evidence and data that Jesus is risen.

But the thing is, if we’re honest, we shouldn’t blame him. First, he is just asking to see at least what all the other disciples already saw. And second, who doesn’t love a solid display or sign in a moment of crisis or vulnerability. So what happens?

Eight days later, his wish comes true. Jesus appeared and spoke directly to Thomas. Scripture doesn’t tell us that Thomas ever even touched the wounds. Once Thomas got a look at and felt the presence of the risen Lord, perhaps he forgot all his conditions. Perhaps the only thing he could spit out was, “My Lord and my God.” In other words, perhaps the presence of the risen Lord blotted out Thomas’s petty skepticisms and puny proofs and arrogant arguments. This was the glory of the risen Lord, and the only appropriate response was to confess him as Lord and God.

Thomas knew he was beat. He knew it was time to shut up. In my eyes, Thomas was blessed, and maybe I’m a little envious that he got such a wonderful opportunity. But you know what Jesus says? He says to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn 20:29). My friends, that includes each and every one of us. We are the blessed!

In Thomas, we see the pattern of Christian discipleship established from the beginning of John 1. One person encounters Jesus. They share their experience with the next person, who may express some reluctance. Then that person experiences Jesus on their own, directly, and becomes convinced about him and then shares the news about Jesus with the next person. Andrew tells Peter. Philip tells Nathanael. The Samaritan woman tells the townspeople. “Come and See” is the refrain.

With the resurrected Jesus, Mary Magdalene starts it off. She encounters Jesus, shares the news; the others don’t really buy it until they have their own experiences so that they can own the experience. They become convinced and then share it with Thomas. Like the other disciples, Thomas doesn’t come to the fullest faith until he has his own experience. Move from where you are to the next level.

Then the story moves through the chain, and you and I are up next. Thomas makes his confession and, through this text, testifies to us. Now what will we do? Will we hang in there with some level of interest and commitment until we encounter Jesus in a way that moves us to the next level? What would the next level look like for us, understanding that we are all in very different places? Are we there yet?

In the end, it’s not Thomas’s “doubting” or demanding that matters; it’s Thomas’s believing. Everybody doubts; not everyone believes. Be a believing Thomas; probe those wounds as hard as you need to until you are awestruck and moved to proclaim with him: “My Lord and my God!”