“Unless I see the mark of the nails in
his hand and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I
will not believe.” This statement of
Thomas in the New Testament is so memorable.
In many ways, Thomas' proclamation is symbolic of how so many people in the
modern world view faith today. We need
proof – we need to see – we need tangible evidence. Many people in our present day see faith as
an excuse to say that you believe in something and want it to be true.
No one today can see and experience
Christ in the way Thomas did in that locked room in Jerusalem. Thomas saw the risen Christ eat and pray and
explain the events of the past week to his group of disciples. We cannot literally put our fingers in the
wounds in his hands and in his side like Thomas did. Christ seemed to know this when he said –
“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” We might not see him in a literal the way
Thomas did, but all who believe see Christ somehow in their lives. They see him for who he is. We must see him somehow with our own
eyes. Like Thomas and the other
disciples, we will only become one of Christ’s followers through our
faith. And through witnessing Christ’s
presence in our lives, we in turn are called to be witnesses ourselves, just as
Thomas did in his life when he became a missionary to Syria, Persia, and
India. Thomas, in a way, is a patron
saint to all of his. In the midst of our
doubts and in our disbelief, we can believe, just like so many other followers
of Christ have done before us.
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