On this day we celebrate the memory of the Apostle Thomas. St. Thomas gave us one of the greatest quotations of any apostle in the gospels when he said of the Risen Christ, “My Lord and my God!” He was skeptical of the news that Jesus had risen from the dead - after all, who could have returned to life after the treatment that Jesus received at the hands of the soldiers? But when he saw the Lord, he saw that this One before him was a new creature, a conqueror not simply over certain physical wounds, but of death itself.
“My Lord and my God!” Say this with St. Thomas! Say it when you cannot possibly imagine how God can redeem a person, a situation, a life. Say it when all is bleak and you find yourself doubting any good news at all.
“My Lord and my God!” Say this with St. Thomas! Say it when the wisdom of this world seems to laugh at the wisdom of God, and you don’t know where to turn for a trustworthy answer. Say it when you’re weak and don’t want to follow the path of God, but want instead to just give in to the temptations the world offers.
“My Lord and my God!” Say this with St. Thomas! Say it when death has visited, and resurrection seems impossible. When illness has come, and healing seems unlikely. When strife has entered, and a resolution cannot be found. When the world struts, and the church seems to cower.
Then say these words with St. Thomas, and rest in the One who surprises us with His glory and mercy!
--Father David Smith
