PC
THOMAS
On
July 3, the Church honors the solemn feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. The auspicious occasion marks the remembrance
of the patron Saint Thomas who was among the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ who
appears in the gospel. He is the closet
follower of the Christ, having doubts about Jesus. His disbelief helps us
understand how important the gift of faith is.
The
Gospel of John records three statements of St. Thomas that gives glimpses of
his character. First when Jesus desires
to go to Bethany, bordering Jerusalem, the other disciples try to prevent him
from going, since he was almost stoned there for claiming kinship with
God. Thomas, however, sticks by Jesus,
and says, ‘Let us go that we may die with Him’ (John 11:16), which shows
Thomas’ courage and his commitment to Jesus.
Second,
when Jesus announces his imminent death and assures his disciples that he will
prepare a place for them, he adds, ‘You know the way to the place where I’m
going’. Thomas answers candidly, ‘Lord
we do not know where you are going, then how can we know the way?’(John 14:15).
This prompts Jesus to reply, ‘I am the way’.
The
third statement sees in John 20:23, which caused Thomas to be remembered as the
‘Doubting Thomas’ It reads:- On the evening of Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas was
not with the other disciples in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, so he was not
present when Jesus appeared to them and showed them the wounds on his hands and
his side. Later, the other Apostle told
Thomas. ‘We have seen the Lord’ (John 20:25) when Thomas uttered, ‘unless I see
the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the holes and lay my
hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).
A
week later, Jesus again came to the Apostle.
After wishing them peace, Jesus called Thomas and told him to look at
his hands, put his finger into the holes and to touch his side. Thomas was grieved
that he had doubted Jesus’ resurrection.
He cries out: ‘My Lord, My God’.
Then Jesus said, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed”.
The
surrender of Thomas ‘My Lord and my God’ is the clearest affirmation of the
divinity of Christ that any of the apostles ever gave. This, then, is the substance of the Thomas’
faith:- he believed and proclaimed the divinity of Christ, and became a devout defender of the faith something
which none of the other apostles had yet done.
This is the great example today for many of us because we doubt. We
honour St. Thomas as Saint, he is considered to be the Patron Saint of India.
His life teaches us to trust in everything the Lord has promised us so that we,
the faithful can rise to new life, as Jesus did. This article published in Metro Vaartha on July 3, 2020
