There is a disciple of Christ who occasionally had a little doubt in his faith, that is Saint Thomas. Thomas is the most energetic disciple of Jesus. However, after witnessing his life and death on the cross by being with him in public life, when others said, ‘We have seen the risen Lord’, we can see the doubting Thomas who exclaims that if I put my finger in his nailed hands, I will believe. Why would Saint Thomas have said that then?
When life and faith are weighed on two scales, we must have felt at least once in a while whether Jesus is truly resurrected. No one is known to have risen after the death of those around us. Therefore, it is natural for an ordinary believer to doubt whether the Lord, who was also a man, was resurrected. Saint Thomas raised his doubt with energy to answer that one doubt for generations. But we can see that Jesus does not answer Thomas so quickly.
The Lord appears after days and invites Thomas to lay his hands on his side. He is calling us to ‘become believers without being disbelievers’. Despite receiving such a big invitation, Thomas does not even once touch its nail holes. That assurance in the call ‘My Lord, my God’ was enough for that disciple. Saint Thomas, the beloved Beloved disciple of Christ who removed doubts for us centuries ago for all our doubts. The reason behind that question was not disbelief in His resurrection. On the contrary, we can read in that question the excessive desire and God’s will that no one should have a disbelief in His resurrection.
As far as the Church of India is concerned, it has received the great presence of the disciple of Christ who confirmed its resurrection before the world. We can also be proud of being able to lead our lives forward in the light of faith imparted by his disciple, who saw his life, death and resurrection first-hand. May all of us be able to be examples to the generations to come in the spirit of faith imparted by Saint Thomas by confidently confessing ‘My Lord, My God’ without any doubts in the life of faith. May we also deserve to be called true disciples of Christ at the moment when heaven lifts us to the unique moments in store for supreme bliss. Prayers and blessings of the Feast of St. Thomas!