Doubt gives way to a deeper faith
Like Thomas, we encounter the Risen Christ through our faith in him
April 15, 2007 -- Second Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Michael Stubbs
Some primitive cultures regard the birth of twins as an unnatural disaster, requiring the death of one of the twins in order to restore the order of the universe. The reasoning goes that there should be only one of each of us, and no more. That superstitious attitude disappears in more civilized cultures. But still, there remains a sense of curiosity and wonder about twins. They can attract a lot of attention.
The gospel of John several times refers to the disciple Thomas as a twin, in John 11:16, 20:24, and 21:2. In fact, the name "Thomas" derives from the Aramaic word for "twin." The Greek text of the gospel appends the Greek word for twin, "Didymus" to clarify matters. That is the term which appears in the translation for the lectionary reading for Sunday, John 20:19-31. So, it is very possible that "Thomas" was a nickname, and not the man's actual name.
Neither do we know who was the other twin. Many theories have been proposed. Since the earliest centuries, the mystery surrounding Thomas has spawned a considerable amount of apocryphal literature about him, including the gnostic Gospel of Thomas. For example, some heresies even identified Jesus as Thomas' twin. Others speculate that Thomas serves as a foil to the reader of the gospel. In that case, each one of us would turn out to be Thomas' twin. Of course, it is very possible that Thomas was a twin in the normal sense of the word,
that he had a brother or sister who was born with him. At the same time, that would not prevent a gospel writer to attach some symbolic meaning to the name as well. That could especially be possible in the case of the gospel of John, which pays particular attention to Thomas.
We see a good example of that possibility in Sunday's gospel reading. When Thomas hears his fellow disciples' testimony about the Risen Christ, he reacts with skepticism. Just as the male disciples had earlier refused to believe their female counterparts, so also Thomas now refuses to believe. "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."
A week later, when the Risen Christ appears also to Thomas, he completely changes his attitude. Thomas proclaims, "My Lord and my God!" By those words, Thomas moves beyond the stance of his fellow disciples. They had acknowledged Jesus' resurrection only, and nothing more. In contrast, Thomas also recognizes Jesus' divinity. While Thomas earlier had made his appearance as a doubter, he now comes across as someone with a stronger and deeper faith than the other disciples.
The gospel presents Thomas as a believer with whom we can identify. After all, like Thomas, we also are challenged to believe, even though we have not seen with our own eyes. The gospel calls us, like Thomas, to accept the testimony of those who have preceded us. And if we encounter the Risen Christ through our faith in him, we also, like Thomas, will also arrive at faith in his divinity. We also, like Thomas, will acclaim him, "My Lord and my God!" We will be Thomas's twin.
(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)
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