Jn 20:24-29
My Lord and my God: Peter is known for his proud confession, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). Thomas, on the other hand, is remembered for going through a period of doubt and questioning before professing his faith: “My Lord and my God.”
My Lord and my God: Peter is known for his proud confession, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). Thomas, on the other hand, is remembered for going through a period of doubt and questioning before professing his faith: “My Lord and my God.”
The small Christian communities for whom John the evangelist writes have not known Jesus Christ during his earthly life, and the Risen One has not revealed himself to them personally in an apparition. In their faith they are dependent upon the witness of the apostles. It is not always easy to trust in the Risen One by pure faith. The Christians know Thomas’ skepticism: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (v 25).
In the story of doubting Thomas, John tells his fellow Christians that faith is ignited not by meeting the earthly Jesus, but by meeting the Risen One. For him, one comes to believe in the Risen Lord because God gives him the grace of faith. One is called to “believe without seeing,” insofar as he relies on the faith of the Church and makes his way through life trusting in Jesus.