Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Thomas, the apostle who will forever be known as “doubting Thomas.” Yet, the first mention of him in the gospels is when a courageous Thomas urges his fellow disciples to accompany Jesus to Bethany, not far from the place where Jesus was nearly stoned to death a few days earlier. When the other disciples question the wisdom of returning that way, Thomas says, “Let us also go to die with him” (John 11:16).
On the evening of the first day of the week, the Risen Lord entered through locked doors and stood in the midst of the disciples, who were in hiding, and said to them, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19), but Thomas was not among them. He was somewhere else, alone in his grief, and he missed seeing with his own eyes and hearing with his own ears his beloved rabbi risen from the dead. So, when his brothers told him what happened, Thomas responded, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).
A week later, the Lord entered through locked doors to offer Thomas mercy by saying, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side…” (John 20:27). Thomas was redeemed when he confessed Christ’s divinity, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Tradition says that Thomas was martyred in Chennai, India, in 72 A.D., so he did, indeed, die with and for his Lord and Savior. Saint Thomas, Apostle, pray for us!
