The Heartbreak of Thomas

I was reading a reflection with questions to ponder for the Easter liturgical season and one of them was to consider which Easter Scripture reading resonated the most for you this year. For me, it’s the reading about Thomas.

Thomas loved and followed Jesus closely as one of His beloved disciples. Thomas believed He was the Messiah during those days of following Jesus. But then things didn’t turn out the way Thomas thought they would. Jesus died a painful death, and clearly Thomas became heartbroken and grief-stricken, and then skeptical of Jesus rising from the dead and being physically present to him.

Have you had an experience with God that didn’t go the way you thought it would? Maybe it led you to heartbreak, confusion, distrust, skepticism, and doubt that Jesus is everything He says He is and will do everything He says He will do. Heartbreak and grief have a way of closing our hearts to the Lord sometimes, instead of opening them up.

Thomas shows what each of us believers will encounter at some point in our lives. A moment of doubt, skepticism, and unbelief. A moment when the heartbreak weighs heavy on us and we just can’t see Jesus in the midst of it. A moment when things didn’t turn out like we thought they would. A moment when we need to see to believe.

We all will have a moment like this - maybe several.

But the wonderful thing about this scene is that Jesus came to Thomas. He met him where he was. He let him touch his scars. He gave him what he needed to lead him back to closeness and trust. He does that same thing for us too if we notice all the graces, signs, and ways He is leading us each and every day. He wants to heal our unbelief, skepticism, doubt, and distrust.

Open your eyes and your heart. See the Lord – and believe!