That You May Come to Believe

[A reflection on the Gospel read at Mass for the Sunday after Easter, April 12, 2026, which may be found at: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/lectionary/easter-2a/]

By now, we should all be familiar with the story of Doubting Thomas (if you are not, due to whatever circumstances, please click on the link above and have a read), but one line always sticks out. It always had, to me, been a bit snarky at St. Thomas' expense, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." (Jn. 20.29b) It does, at first blush, seem a bit harsh, scolding Thomas for not believing until he had irrefutable, empirical proof, while others were going to need a LOT less to believe.

Upon reflection after over 50 years of hearing this story, I do not think it's a scold after all. St. Thomas had been traumatized; everyone close to Jesus had been. It was only the third day since the Crucifixion, and none of them had even really started to process their grief. A little skepticism could be forgiven. To be quite honest, in the Book of Acts, St. Paul does not come to believe until he comes to see the Risen Lord. Instead of a scold, I think this is an acknowledgement by Our Lord that for some, belief will be difficult, because they will not be guaranteed a personal visitation from Our Lord.

This is why this narrative is the very last account in St. John's Gospel, the very reason why this Gospel was written. Immediately after this account, the Evangelist writes, "But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name." (Jn. 20.31) The Evangelist knows that many will not get a personal visit, at least not in this lifetime, but still, they need something in order to come to the knowledge of Jesus and His message. The Apostles and Disciples had the privilege of Jesus' presence and company, but for many of us, that is not to be, so they began to tell anyone who would listen. This is the reason the Evangelist gives for writing this account, so that people may have the blessing of believing through the reading of the account. They have not seen, but they have read. They have not seen, but they have heard. They have not seen, but now they know.

So this Eastertide, rather than making fun of St. Thomas for being a bit bullheaded, let us rather contemplate the mystery that even though he had the privilege of being in front of the Risen Lord, we too can share in that belief through the telling of that and other accounts, thanks to the witness of the Apostles and the other Disciples down through the ages.