"Believing" Thomas

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Our new hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, celebrates the Apostle Thomas on July 3. This is a change from a long tradition of commemorating him on Dec. 21. When I found the new date in the new hymnal, I was excited! July 3 is my birthday, the day I received the name Thomas.

The New Testament doesn't say much about Thomas, and Thomas doesn't say much in the New Testament. Perhaps, like me, he was a quiet man.
In John 11, Jesus wants to return to Judea, but the disciples are fearful for Jesus' safety. Thomas boldly says to the other disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with [Jesus]."

Thomas speaks again in John 14. Jesus says his Father's house has many dwelling places, and that he will go prepare a place there for his followers. Thomas is puzzled when Jesus says, "And you know the way to the place where I am going" (14:4). Thomas asks, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus' reply is often quoted: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

But Thomas' most infamous moment—which earns him the nickname "Doubting Thomas"—comes after the Resurrection. Thomas is absent when Jesus appears to the disciples, and he has difficulty believing that Jesus has returned. A week later, Jesus appears to them again, and this time Thomas is among them. Jesus invites Thomas to touch the wounds in his hands and his side. Jesus says, "Do not doubt but believe." John's gospel does not say whether Thomas touched Jesus or not, but it does record his confession, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus asks "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

I, like Thomas of the New Testament, have times of doubt. Times when it is difficult to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Times when it is difficult to understand what God is doing in my life and in the world. Times when I want to hold on to something tangible like flesh and blood, rather than the abstract like faith, hope, and truth.

But in my years of ministry at Christ Lutheran, I have seen and been touched by the risen Christ. I have touched the hands of Christ when I am greeted with a handshake before an evening meeting or when the peace of the Lord is shared on Sunday mornings. I have felt the arms of Christ surround me as I have been hugged around my knees by a small child, embraced in a gesture of forgiveness, patted on the back in congratulations. I have been served by Christ when my feet have been washed on Maundy Thursday, when I have been fed by the women of the Wednesday circle, when I have worked along side the young people in the congregation. I have tasted the body and blood of Christ as I have been fed each week at the Lord's Supper on Sunday mornings, at our synod's camps during the summer, and at our Wednesday services of healing and wholeness.

As my birthday approaches, I remember Thomas and his faith in Christ. I have been blessed. I have seen. I have believed.