The World of Grandpa Don

Why did Thomas Doubt?

In his homily for the Second Sunday of Easter, Fr. Tony Puchenski put a different slant on the story of Doubting Thomas. He pointed out that most people feel that the story is about believing in God even though we do not have hard evidence of Him. But Fr Tony suggested that the story tell us more about the love that God has for us and the faith He has in us.

Think about it. What if you had friends who swore that they would always be with you but when you fell on hard times, they all disappeared.  None of them were there to assist you and, in fact, they denied even knowing you. When you recovered, would you seek them out and greet them with "Peace be to you"? Jesus did. 

Maybe that is what made Thomas doubt that Jesus had come to the Apostles. He just could not imagine that Jesus, after being treated like that could want to associate with them again. They may have even had thoughts that Jesus would want to strike them dead if He did come back!

 I think that Thomas, when he saw Jesus, became aware of the Divine love and forgiveness and he proclaimed, "My Lord and my God"! Thomas was one of the first to fully realize that God has an infinite capacity for forgiveness. If only we could be as forgiving!

No wonder Thomas doubted!

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