Beyond a Shadow of Doubt

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, April 7th, 2024:
Divine Mercy Sunday

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John
20.19-31

​It was evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “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.” But Thomas, who was called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.”

After eight days his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

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 Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Let's forget for a moment that Jesus told Thomas not to doubt. Consider this: when Jesus shows Thomas His hands and side, He gives Thomas the same evidence of His resurrection as He had given the rest of the disciples. It was only after the disciples saw Jesus' wounds that they were able to see and recognize Jesus as the risen God: “[...] He showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”

So is it completely unreasonable that Thomas, who missed this event, would ask for the same degree of knowing when it required a belief in resurrection? Sometimes, the desire for proof is motivated by all the wrong reasons. But well-considered and earnestly asked questions can lead to revelations of truth. Maybe Thomas had a penchant for challenging ideas. What if this habit helped others better understand what they needed to know? Could we imagine that God might have allowed His absence so that Thomas would make a very necessary inquiry in order to reveal a very necessary truth? 

There is nothing in the Catholic faith that promotes blind belief. This is ironic when we hear Jesus telling Thomas that those who believe without seeing are blessed. But blind faith is belief in something without concrete or definitive evidence of it being true. Inspired faith is rooted in the reality of what Jesus did on the cross. For Thomas, Jesus had died a gruesome death just a short time ago. He has seen no evidence of a resurrection, and he says so out loud.

Thomas gets an undeserved bad rap for vocalizing a sentiment that we, and most of the disciples, might have thought. Contrary to popular interpretation, Jesus doesn’t chastise him for his lack of belief, telling him he shouldn’t have asked for proof. Rather, Jesus honours Thomas’s request by allowing Thomas to see and touch. The resulting proclamation is an echoing witness to all of us: “My Lord and my God!” 

True discipleship is not for the faint of heart. To be willing to die for something (which, as His disciples, we will all be asked to do in some shape or form in this life), you should know it to be true beyond a shadow of doubt. Blind faith won’t cut it. This is Thomas’s gift to us. He shows us that while faith is above reason, it is in no way opposed to reason. In fact, reason supports the strengthening of faith. Faith itself seeks understanding. Faith is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed, and only God can reveal (CCC 150-159).

So what does Jesus mean when He says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet come to believe”? I believe Jesus is prefiguring the future. We are the legacy of Thomas and the disciples' conviction. We are those blessed people He refers to; the generations upon generations who will still come to believe while unable to see Him face to face.

And blessed we are! There is no need to blindly hope, because faith in Jesus is certain. Jesus wants to reveal this truth to you too. This Easter, don’t be afraid to use your reason to help you “see” what Christ won for you on the cross. And while we’re at it, let’s thank God for Thomas’s questioning mind. Maybe we can all quit giving Thomas such a bad rap!




Michelynne Gomez

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