Blessed Are Those Who Don’t See and Yet Believe

On Proofing & Faithing

John 20:24-29 | Hebrews 11:1

Thomas gets a bad rep. Well, at least, a worse reputation than perhaps he should. Can you blame him?

We don’t have much concerning who Thomas was, but the bit we do have - particularly in the gospel of John - shows us that he is a bold individual. He asks questions others don’t, even though they may be thinking them.

Despite the depiction in Caravaggio’s beautiful and intriguing painting of Thomas that is so well-known, the text does not say he ever actually touches Jesus. Seeing him was enough.

Please note yet again the first words on the post-resurrection Christ’s lips when he appears to the disciples - “Peace be with you.” Each time he appears to them, he begins with these words. It’s like he knows they’ve been through something and firstly always wants to convey peace.

Often you might hear someone say, “The Bible is God’s love letter to me.” That’s nice, but it’s not really true. The Bible was not written to us, though we are indeed today’s recipients. The Church has given the Bible to us, for sure, but it’s writing was not for us. That said, while it’s rare that can we truly believe something in the text was specifically for us, Jesus does indeed speak about us in this passage. It’s one of the most comforting things to find in scripture:

“Blessed are those who don’t see and yet believe.”

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John 20:24-31

Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”

After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”

Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.

Prayer

God,

We humans are good at proofing. Is it “proving”? I don’t know…my math degree makes me want to say proofing because I’m talking about the desire in us, Lord, to have all the exact things we would need before deciding for sure. Regarding a math proof/problem, this makes sense. or in a court of law, I suppose making sure we have all the evidence is fair and best. But even there, we can’t have it all.

We haven’t been given full access to all the stuff in life, God, and frankly, it can be frustrating. Especially for a people who have been shaped to believe that you can do anything. If you can do anything, why don’t you? Maybe you can’t do just anything…

It does seem clear that the phenomenon of me believing in you is to be a choice, a choice to live into a situation in which I don’t have full access to everything. And so I do. I do choose to believe, to believe in love (which is you), and to believe that I, too, can love.

So help me, God.

By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.