Thomas: Doubting Scoundrel or Doubting Saint?

 

By Caravaggio (1573–1610) painted in 1603

The risen Lord said to doubting Thomas:

 “Give me your hand and put it into my side." (Jn20: 27).

Thomas: Doubting Scoundrel or Doubting Saint?

April 15, 2012, Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:32-35         1 John 5:1-6       John 20:19-31

The first reading from Acts

The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Glory to you, Lord.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

One of the Twelve, Thomas (called the Twin), was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to 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 into the nail-marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “"Peace be with you." Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Give me your hand and put it into my side. Stop your doubting, and believe!” Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus did many other wonderful signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

The yearly scolding

This Second Sunday of Easter is always Doubting Thomas Sunday. The lectionary assigns three different gospel readings for every Sunday of the year (one for each of the three liturgical cycles of A, B and C). The Second Sunday of Easter, however, is an exception: it has one and the same gospel of the Doubting Thomas assigned to all three cycles. That’s to make sure the scolding dished out to Thomas is yearly dished out to the doubting faithful: “You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (Jn. 20:27-29)

Scolding doubting Thomas

Tradition (following the lead of scripture) has been tough on Thomas; it has given him his other name: Doubting Thomas.  In his Easter evening appearance Jesus shows his wounded hands and side to the gathered disciples. Thomas, who is out about town, is not present. When he returns, he tells the others he won’t believe that the Lord is risen unless he gets the same assurance they received. (Jn. 20:24-25) He gets his assurance a week later: the risen Lord appears again, and says to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Give me your hand and put it into my side.” Then the risen Lord scolds doubting Thomas saying, “You believe because you see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Whose scolding is this?

Since Jesus is now ascended into heaven and there are no more post-resurrection appearances, wouldn’t it be convenient now to tell the people, “Don’t be like doubting Thomas who needs to see for himself! Believe, because we say so. Blessed are those who believe even though they haven’t seen.” At the end of the day, we wonder whose scolding is this, in the first place.  Is this the scolding of the Jesus? Or is it the scolding of the early Church, which is afraid of doubters, and which put these words into the mouth of Jesus?!

In praise of doubting Thomas

On Doubting Thomas Sunday there is a temptation for preachers to scold the doubters among us. It therefore comes as a surprise (and also a relief to all of us who are doubters) to hear something in praise of doubting Thomas. In praise of those who don’t believe until they can see for themselves, as Thomas didn’t believe until he saw for himself. Instead of scolding doubting Thomas (who wants `hands-on-proof’), the risen Lord offers to meet his conditions: He says to Thomas: “Give me your hand and put it into my side. Stop your doubting and believe!” (Jn20: 27) 

Look at what happened when Thomas saw for himself the risen Lord: he cried out, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28) And that’s the high point of John’s Gospel. No one else offers such devotion or names Jesus as God.

Attraction to doubting Thomas

One gentleman of the cloth confesses a sneaking attraction to Thomas the doubter - a man who needed to see for himself. He writes

Perhaps because I’ve often found myself in Christian communities where no one voices doubt or struggle, I am reluctant to dismiss Thomas as a villain. At my evangelical college, we didn’t talk about our fears or failures because we thought others would judge us as unspiritual. I’ve watched people struggling alone with deep questions of faith because they were afraid of how others might react to their doubts. Doubt and uncertainty frighten us. That’s why we reject Thomas -- he dares to bring doubt into our lives of faith.

A long line of doubting Thomases

Seattle's Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen (b.1921-) is a doubting Thomas, who dares to bring doubt into our lives of faith. A great advocate for the poor and ignored, he implicitly called into doubt the Church’s stance on such issues as artificial contraception and homosexuality. In a letter he publicly defended the rights of gays and lesbians, and he permitted a homosexual group called Dignity to hold its own Mass in his cathedral. “They're Catholics too,” he explained. "They need a place to pray.” He paid for his doubting Thomas stance. Some people in Seattle grumbled greatly at his views and managed to have Rome strip him of some of his episcopal authority, because “his lack of clarity about homosexuality had confused the faithful.”

Bishop Kenneth Untener of Saginaw (1937- 2004) was also a doubting Thomas, who dared to bring doubt into our lives of faith. 1993 was the 25^th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter Humanae vitae (1968), which reaffirmed the Church's stand against artificial birth control. Bishop Untener implicitly called into doubt the Church’s stand against artificial birth control, when he invited the Church to use the anniversary as an occasion to start a new, honest and open discussion on birth control. His invitation was turned down.
Retired auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Thomas John Gumbleton (b. 1930), is also a doubting Thomas, who dares to bring doubt into our lives of faith. He also implicitly calls into doubt the Church’s stance on birth control. In a letter to America magazine (Nov. 20, 1963,) he wrote, "I can vouch for the fact that very many bishops share the same conviction (that not every contraceptive act is intrinsically evil). However, sadly enough, fewer and fewer are willing to say this publicly.” And Bishop Gumbleton implicitly calls into doubt Pope John Paul II’s definitive stand against the ordination of women, when he says, “Priestesses will inevitably come. Already, female parochial administrators are proving their competency and laying the groundwork for the ordination of women.” Gumbleton also paid for his doubting Thomas stance: when he (still in good health) petitioned Rome for permission to stay on as bishop beyond his 75^th year, the canonical age for retirement (often waived for a good reason) his petition was refused with e-mail speed.

Conclusion

Doubting scoundrel or doubting saint?

After all these centuries, it’s time to rehabilitate Thomas. He is not the traditional doubting scoundrel depicted by the early Church (which wants to keep the faithful believing, even though the risen Lord is no longer in their midst). Rather Thomas is a doubting saint. He doubts that his Lord has risen from the dead and has appeared to the disciples in the upper room. And he works hard at clearing up his doubt: "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail-marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." (Jn. 20:25) And he is rewarded for his efforts: at the high point of John’s Gospel Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28)