By: Admin Chris
St. Thomas the Apostle was famous for being the disciple who doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was a skeptic who told his fellow disciples that unless he sees the wounds of Christ and places his finger inside of it, he would not believe (John 20:24). 8 days later, Jesus Christ came to His disciples, and as He offered His side for Thomas to touch, he felt peace and worshipped Him.
This brings us to an interesting question. Why did Jesus not appear to Thomas for the first time, so he would not doubt in the first place? It is to demonstrate the providence of God. Thomas represents each one of us during the time of our doubts. Disbelief wounds our souls. We should reflect on this moment and acknowledge that by being united with Christ, His wounds that bring peace will heal our wounds that bring distress.
When Thomas proclaimed that Jesus is his Lord and God, did he believe by sight? No, rather it’s by faith that he believes. The author of Hebrews said that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of the things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Seeing is different from believing. What Thomas saw was a man, for God cannot be seen by sight. And yet, we know that people with pure heart can see God (Matthew 5:8). What Thomas saw was a wounded man, but his direct experience with Jesus purified his heart that he saw Him as God and worshipped Him.
Even I, a defender of the faith, have doubts in my life. I fixated myself on the wisdom of the world to the point that I was losing my grasp of the Wisdom of God. I have to remind myself as I remind everyone else. Apologetics is the defense, not the foundation, of our faith. We defend when we believe in God. We believe when we experience God.
Let us pray to Jesus, through the intercession of St. Thomas, that our wounds of disbelief may be healed by the wounds of His sacrifice as we worship Him as our Lord and God.
