"Doubting" Thomas

Here is a devotion I wrote for Fourth Church's Daily Devotions.

Scripture Reading: John 20:24–31

Reflection
More so than the other canonical gospels, the Gospel of John is deeply concerned with the notion of correct belief. The cluster of Greek words from the root pistis, which is usually translated as both “faith” and “belief,” appear more times in this gospel than in the other three combined.

It therefore makes perfect sense that scholars think that today’s passage was the original ending to the gospel. For one last time, our story returns to the question of belief, personified in the figure of “doubting” Thomas, with whom we as readers are surely intended to identify.

In the end, Thomas is transformed into a paradigm of faith as conceived by the author of the gospel. The implication, it seems, is that we are to surpass the faith of Thomas and believe without the luxury of seeing Jesus firsthand, a situation in which the vast majority of Christians, both ancient and modern, find themselves.

But I always wonder if the lesson of Thomas is really about finding faith through blind trust. It seems to me that Thomas is a paradigm of faith at least as much for his honest questions as for the belief he ultimately discovers. Christianity is at its best when we allow people the freedom to ask questions and encourage them to do so. This, it seems to me, must be the starting point of faithful discipleship.

Prayer
Patient and gentle God, thank you for listening to my questions and being with me as I search for truth and seek to follow the ways of living to which you call me. Amen.