Episode 244: We’re All Thomas Now

April 12- We’re All Thomas Now Speaker: Rev. Paul WalkerScripture: John 20:24-31Thomas was absent when Jesus first appeared to the disciples in the upper room.Whereas the other disciples exclaimed that Jesus was risen from the dead, Thomas isnot so sure. Instead Thomas says, ““Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put myfinger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”(v25) Aweek passes by where Thomas remains skeptical about the resurrection. And whocould blame Thomas? Nobody thought the Messiah would die, let alone be risen fromthe dead. In a secular age we’ve all encountered the same roadblock to belief asThomas. As sons of the Enlightenment and daughters of Modernity, we’re all Thomasnow. But Jesus is not discouraged or upset by Thomas. Jesus appears to Thomas andallows him to touch the wounds of crucifixion. “Place your finger here”(Jn 20:27)Thomas then exclaims, “My Lord, and My God.” Jesus does not scold Thomas fordoubting. If Thomas goes from belief, doubt, and re-belief—- perhaps we are allowedto as well? What if doubt is not the enemy of faith but the evidence that we have a faiththat is seeking understanding? (Fides quaerens intellectum) What if doubt is acompanion on the journey of understanding as we pursue Endless Mystery? What ifdoubt is the doorway to each new way of knowing, each new perspective?