Thursday 3 July 2025 - Do not doubt but believe

Thursday 3 July 2025

Today is Thursday the 3rd of July, the feast of Saint Thomas, in the 13th week of Ordinary Time. The community of Taizé sing ‘Dieu ne peut que donner son amour’: God can only give faithful love, tenderness and forgiveness. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John. John 20:24-29 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told 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 in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’ Hear the tone in Thomas’s voice. He seems to engage his head first, and then his heart... He’s sometimes referred to as ‘Doubting Thomas’. Do you feel that’s a fair description, an accurate assessment? Perhaps you would give him the dignity of another name. Or perhaps doubting is a very healthy part of our faith journey. How do you receive the doubts of others, bravely expressed? Present them with dogma? Panic? Embrace the dialogue? What descriptor would you put in front of your own name? Would Jesus agree, do you think? Listen to the passage again, and notice how Jesus responds to Thomas... John 20:24-29 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told 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 in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’ Why not have that conversation with Jesus now? Be direct. Ask questions. Allow the role of any doubt to play fully. Jesus responds to that. Ask for the grace to be open to the doubts of others too. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be World without end Amen