Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle
A doubting? - St. Thomas the Apostle
Is he the patron of the doubters? But also, a patron of those who really want to "touch" the living God. Saint Thomas the Apostle, known as the doubting Thomas, is sometimes considered a not very good apostle, although better than Judas, but somewhere in the penultimate place. However, when we take a closer look at the evangelical scenes with his participation, we will see that without his "doubting" we would be poorer by very important statements of Jesus. If Thomas were "passive but faithful," the Gospel would be poorer. Let us recall these scenes.
"We do not know"
During the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus says to his disciples: You know the way where I am going (cf. Jn. 14: 4). The audience probably thought that they did not know what was going on, but just in case it was better not to ask. Master knows what he is doing. And if necessary, it will explain it one day. And Tomas - no! He did not keep quiet. He asked a question that might suggest that Jesus was not in complete control of the situation, that he had said something that was not true because they did not know where He was going. He asked: Lord, we do not know where you are going. So how can we know the way? (cf. Jn. 14: 5). Luckily, the Lord Jesus did not rebuke him for such a brazen question. He did not tell him to be silent and listen when He was speaking. He did not tell him, "Oh, foolish ..." or anything like that. Yet we know that Jesus did not shy away from such expression, even after his Resurrection.
The Lord Jesus answered, starting with one of the most famous Gospel sentences: I am the way, the truth and the life (cf. Jn. 14: 6). And then he added about the relationship between Him and the Father. Philip was also emboldened by how Jesus treated courageous Thomas. And he spoke up. But probably because he was the second (and therefore not so bold), in response he heard a slight hint of objection: ... you still do not know me, Philip? (…) How can you say (…) Do you not believe? (cf. Jn. 14: 9-10). In this scene, you can see Thomas provoking an explanation, a very powerful explanation. And as we can see, he is not punished for this boldness by the Master. On the contrary. He is better treated than those who have found it harder to break with their passivity.
"Let us go"
Thomas was like that. When Christ decided to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus, Thomas said to the other disciples: Let us also go to die with him. (cf. Jn. 11:16). Bethany was near Jerusalem, just beyond the Mount of Olives. This trip was death threatening. Again, Thomas went a little ahead of the line. He acts differently from the rest of the disciples who advise against going near Jerusalem. However, this time the apostle Thomas does not provoke Jesus' explanations, but after His words, he makes a decision for others, or perhaps only proposes a change of attitude. Thomas proposes something crazy, i.e., going to death. But isn't that an expression of fidelity? He wants to die with his Master. In this scene, he shows himself as a very faithful disciple. Is he then rightly called a doubter? Let us look at the scene that became a pretext for such stigmatization of this irascible apostle.
"Unless I see"
As we remember, Thomas was not with the other disciples on the day of the Resurrection. So, he listened to the verbal account of the meeting with the Lord. He did not want to lean on it. He demanded a personal, that is, visual and tactile experience. He had the opportunity to see it after a week. Then he heard: ... and do not be an unbeliever, but a believer (cf. Jn. 20:27). The Lord Jesus does not accuse him of being unfaithful, but of unbelief. Another apostle, Peter, who also wanted to perish with the Master, turned out to be unfaithful. He denied acquaintance with this Galilean. On the other hand, Thomas probably fled with the other disciples, but in this scene after the Resurrection, he did not turn out to be doubting, but rather unbeliever. He did not believe the apostles' accounts. Why? Maybe he knew them too well. Maybe he did not even value them. Maybe he taught that he is better, more dynamic, more faithful (but not passive), ready for sacrifice. Or was he just expecting the beloved Master to come to him personally? We do not know. Although looking at the previous scenes, I would be inclined to think that he wanted to provoke the Lord Jesus to something special, great again. Perhaps he did not think that such a great mystery as the Resurrection should be "only" told to him by his colleagues.
Thomas is consistently dissatisfied with the explanations. He is looking for something more. He is open to criticism. But thanks to his inquisitive character, we can contemplate the most beautiful sayings of our Master, such as this: Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. (cf. Jn. 20:29). We are Thomas’ debtors, so let us not hurt him with the adjective "unfaithful or doubting ", especially since it is not taken from the Bible. Thomas was not passive, but he was faithful. If he risked himself, he believed the one that he trusted.
"My Lord and my God"
“My Lord and my God "(cf. Jn. 20:28), confesses Thomas, defeated by Jesus. Total peace, crushed pride, silenced demands of the mind, a wise agreement that faith is entrusting oneself to a mystery greater than man. Thanks to Thomas, we heard the blessing: "Blessed are those who have not seen and believed." As a comment, I write the words of Benedict XVI: "Faith is communing with the mystery of God, and believing - that is," entrusting oneself "to the very essential truth of the words of the living God. (...) God hides in a secret: to try to understand Him would mean to try to enclose Him in our concepts, in our knowledge, and this would ultimately lead to the loss of Him. Through faith, we can break through the concepts (...) and "touch" the living God.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george