Listen

After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”

Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”

John 20:26-29

Think

Finally, Thomas gets to see the risen Jesus. Notice that Jesus isn’t upset with Thomas. Jesus comes to Thomas and gives him what he needs — tangible proof that he is truly alive.

I hear warmth and an affectionate tone in Jesus’s voice here, similar to the gentle teasing that happens in our family sometimes when someone is finally proven right or wrong. This is the way people who are close to each other and who know each other’s tendencies talk.

While St. Thomas is remembered in Western Christianity as a doubter, that’s not his full story. You see, once Thomas had his questions answered, he was all in. He sailed to India and told Jesus’s story in such a powerful way that the St. Thomas Christians in India trace their lineage in an unbroken line all the way back to A.D. 52 to Thomas’s arrival on their shores.

At the end, John has Jesus speak to us as readers. “Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.” Those words are a blessing for us. We have our own resurrection stories to tell.

Daneen Akers

Pray

God of Love, thank you that our stories keep going.

Thank you for the witness of Thomas who braved honest questions, sat with his doubt, and knew when to be all in.

Help me know where I can share stories of resurrection this week, even if it’s just with myself.

Amen.

Go

Like the poet Wendell Berry says, “be joyful though you have considered all the facts.”

Practice resurrection.