From the Pulpit: ‘Doubting Thomas’

After his resurrection, Jesus appears to his disciples, but Thomas isn’t there. When the others tell him, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas replies, “Unless I see it for myself, I won’t believe.” This is where “Doubting Thomas” gets his derogatory nickname. But what if doubt is not the opposite of faith? What if instead, true faith is able to hold both our certainties and our questions. 

Let’s remember, Thomas was grieving. His last memory of Jesus was his arrest and execution. He was in a place of trauma, and he needed to experience the truth for himself before he could believe. In fact, in his trauma, Jesus meets Thomas exactly where he’s at – with all his questions and his grief. And in that place of truth, Jesus reveals himself, wounds and all. He doesn’t reject him; he draws Thomas closer, and he draws us closer, too. We don’t have to present ourselves as perfect or pretend we have it all together.

Christians struggle with presenting ourselves honestly – acting like our faith is stronger than it really is, hiding our wounds, avoiding our questions. But we see something different in Thomas. He doesn’t pretend. He doesn’t force himself to say he understands when he doesn’t. And in that honesty, we’re invited to do the same – bringing our real doubts, our real questions, and trusting that Jesus meets us there, just as we are, and reveals himself to us.