Stop Calling Thomas Names
The gospel reading for the second Sunday of Easter is always the great story of Thomas. We often call him Doubting Thomas and he gets a lot of negative press. But that might be a little unfair. Let’s look at the story again. A few days earlier (John 11) Jesus had said his friend Lazarus was asleep and that he was returning to Jerusalem. The disciples were shocked and afraid, but “…Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11: 16). Then Jesus is arrested, the male disciples scatter, and Jesus is crucified. Three days later Mary Magdalene meets the risen crucified Jesus in the garden and goes to tell the disciples that she has seen the Lord. They respond by hiding behind locked doors. We might call them doubting disciples. Thomas is not with them. Then the risen crucified Jesus joins then and gives them peace. They then find Thomas and tell him they too have seen the Lord. But he is not so easily convinced. He thought he w...