For July 3
Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle

Today the church celebrates the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle. My middle name is Thomas, and as I was growing up I decided I did not much like that “doubting Thomas” as he is often called. So I claimed to be named after Saint Thomas Aquinas. In fact I was named after my godfather. Gradually I learned that doubting and questioning can lead to a deepening of faith, as in today’s gospel.

The context is that when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, twice wished them peace, and they in return rejoiced, Thomas was absent. When Thomas returned and they joyfully tell him of having seen the Lord, he objects. He insists he has to see the nail marks in Jesus’ hand and worse put his finger into the nail marks and his hand into his side. Then Jesus shows up again and wishes them peace, chides Thomas for his unbelief, and yet tells him to touch and see his hands, to put his hand into his side. Note that Thomas does not actually touch Jesus as he was permitted and as he had previously insisted.

Rather Thomas offers a profound profession of faith in Jesus as Lord and God, what the famous American scripture scholar Father Raymond Brown described as the “supreme Christological pronouncement of the Fourth Gospel.” The selection concludes by praising us who have not seen but have believed.

In a 7^th century homily Pope Saint Gregory considers this event as fortuitous. He writes: Do you really believe that it was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and believed? It was not by chance but in God’s providence. In a marvelous way God’s mercy arranged that the disbelieving disciple should heal our disbelief. The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples. As he is won over to belief, every doubt is cast away and our faith is strengthened.

The first reading invites us to reflect on the self-understanding the early church had, including its apostolic foundation. Paul is telling newly baptized Christians that they are no longer strangers but fellow citizens with the ‘holy ones,” with all other believers. Parenthetically, one author notes that those who enjoyed the security of citizenship would have been a minority in many ancient cities. In affirming them as members of the household of God, is Paul subtly referring to the practice back then of Sunday worship taking place in local houses?

Note that Jesus is the capstone of the community, sometimes translated cornerstone or keystone, referencing a frequently quoted verse from Psalm 118: the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. He is the one that holds it all together as the church grows (and continues to grow) into the temple of the Lord and the dwelling place of God. A conclusion one author derives is that we as believers are the mode of God’s presence and action in the world.
—Edward Thomas O’Donnell SJ

Today’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website.