Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
Thomas is often criticized for his absence and blamed for being himself response for missing the earlier appearance of Jesus to the disciples. There could of course be some merit in this idea, but it is hard to say for sure. The disciples were, after all, huddled in fear. Thomas could at least be understood for not wanting to be part of that sort of gathering. Nor should he be blamed as though he might have somehow known that the risen Lord would appear to them thus gathered.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
We may be tempted to see this demand as petulant or even jealous of the claims made be the others. But instead we may also see him as simply being reasonable, simply insisting on what it he thought it would take for him to believe what he imagined to be impossible. That he came to make this statement might have seemed unfortunate, as though things would have been better if he had simply believed his brothers. But the Lord had allowed things to progress to this point for his own purposes, so that he could demonstrate his mercy. The Lord was, after all, more than able to appear to individuals, such as Mary Magdalene, or disciples not joined to the group and heading in the wrong direction, such as he did for those on the road to Emmaus. But Thomas had to suffer a privation of such an experience so that his eventual coming to faith would avail not only for him but for us and for all who benefit from his testimony.
It was not an accident that that particular disciple was not present. The Divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple should, by feeling in his Master the wounds of the flesh, heal in us the wounds of unbelief. The unbelief of Thomas is more profitable to our faith, than the belief of the other disciples; for, the touch by which he is brought to believe, confirming our minds in belief, beyond all question.- Saint Gregory the Great
Thomas had no doubt come to deeply wish that the testimony he heard as true even if, in defense of his own wounded heart, he tried to close himself to hearing that testimony. But then all at once it was revealed to him that Jesus had not forgotten him, had not truly even been absent when Thomas could not see him. For Jesus already knew the demands Thomas made without him having to restate them again, which, no doubt, he would not have dared to do. Yet Jesus himself invited Thomas to do precisely what he had said he would need in order to believe, without even being asked. He preempted any attempts by Thomas to second guess himself on that point. Jesus knew the broken heart of Thomas and would do what was necessary to heal it and bring it to faith.
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas was thus able to help clarify for all subsequent generations that this Jesus whom they beheld was truly the same Lord that they had seen suffer and die. The one who could now pass through walls into locked rooms was the same one who bore the wounds of his passion. These wounds themselves could be touched, and in them could be found extraordinary faith. In response to this experience Thomas was able to clearly exclaim what the others might have only dared to guess or whisper when he "answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”"
Thomas saw and touched the man, and confessed the God whom he neither saw nor touched. By means of the one he believed the other undoubtingly: Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God.- Saint Augustine
So let us perhaps be a little less eager to blame Thomas for an absence that was clearly a part of the Lord's providential plan, not only for him, but for all who would believe in part because of his testimony. That he came to believe in the way he did was not some sort of second class faith. It was a great gift that was meant not only for him but for all.
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Jesus himself knew that if some had not seen him and believed there would be none who had not seen him to believe in turn. He was not deprecating the mode of faith of those who saw the risen Lord. He was instead preparing our own hearts to receive testimony, first from the Scriptures given through the Church as witnesses to the resurrection, and second, from brothers and sisters whose lives have been touched in a way that only Jesus himself, risen from the dead, can explain.
We have thus attempted to excuse Thomas for being absent from the group of gathered disciples. But let us not similarly attempt to excuse our own. Let us instead participate as the early disciples did described by Luke:
They devoted themselves
to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life,
to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
We are no longer meant to be gathered in fear. We have within our walls a testimony of Good News that the world desperately needs. It is together that we gain the strength so that we can go out and make this news known to the world. The breaking of the bread changes everything, because in it we recognize that the risen Lord himself becomes present and lets us touch him, just as he did for Thomas. We do not see him, but he himself assures us: blessed are we!
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