In this first week after Easter, I’m grateful that the writer of John’s Gospel deemed the story of “Doubting Thomas” an essential one to help us “come to believe.” I love that a mere seven days after we sing, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today!” John invites us to face our doubts, and yearn for more — more intimacy, more experience of the living, breathing Christ.
What strikes me most about Thomas’s story is not that he doubted, but that he did so publicly, without shame or guilt, and that his faith community allowed him to do so. What I love about Jesus’s response is that he met Thomas right where he was, freely offering the disciple the testimony of his own scars, his own pain. I can only imagine the tenderness and urgency Thomas was able to repeat Christ’s words to other doubters: “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.”
I've hardly ever experienced sudden transformation; the changes that matter most have always come sideways and in fits and starts, often without my conscious understanding or effort. Anyone who has battled an addiction, or stuck it out in a challenging relationship, or lived with a chronic illness, will testify that genuine conversion is lifelong. Maybe this is why the earliest Christians referred to their new faith as "The Way." A "way" is not a destination. It's an invitation to journey.
So. If you’re finding the joy of Easter difficult to access right now, rest in the fact that Thomas took his time. Lean into the amazing truth that Jesus allowed him to do so. Hang onto the fact that Jesus opened a way for Thomas through the marks of his own suffering and trauma, sharing his broken body so that Thomas could find his way to wholeness. Consider the impact and the attractiveness of a faith community that holds space for the wary and the skeptical. Contemplate the wonderful story of a determined doubter who gradually found his way to faith, who came to see the Wounded One as Lord and God in his own time.