Apostolate: St. Thomas - Sermon 05/25/25

Rethinking Doubt: The Story of Thomas the Brave

We all know the story of Thomas—the one we call “doubter.” Maybe you’ve heard it so many times that the edges have worn smooth, and you already know what comes next. For many of us, it’s been told as a cautionary tale: don’t doubt your faith, or you’ll end up like Thomas. So we hear the story and jump straight to shame, wishing we felt more certain in our own faith. Maybe you’ve felt that pang of guilt for your own doubts—about God, Jesus, the resurrection, the Holy Spirit, or even the very existence of Thomas.

But what if there’s more to his story?

The Weight of Other People’s Miracles

Not long ago, a pastor friend shared a story with me about a small miracle that happened on Ash Wednesday. As the sign of the cross was marked in ash, it was as if lightning passed through both of them—they felt the Holy Spirit, and for a moment, the presence of God was more real than ever.

Photo by David Bumgardner on Unsplash

It’s easy to hear stories like that and feel a mix of emotions. In a post-enlightenment world where mystery is often dismissed, the obvious reaction is doubt. “Really, Pastor? That was the work of God? Why not just two people caught up in emotion?”

Or maybe you hear stories like that and wonder: “Why not me?” It can feel like miracles are happening for everyone else, while you’re on the outside looking in. It’s easy to feel left out, as if faith is happening for others, while you’re missing out.

Thomas knows that feeling.

Thomas: More Than a Doubter

Let’s look at Thomas—not just at the end of John’s Gospel, but all the way through. He’s not just a doubter. He’s brave, outspoken, honest. Remember when Jesus wanted to go back to Judea, and everyone else was afraid? Thomas was the one who said, “Let’s go die with him.” That’s not doubt. That’s courage.

Now, let’s bring that spirit of bravery into the story of “doubting Thomas” from John chapter 20.

Where Was Thomas?

After the resurrection, the disciples were huddled in a locked room, afraid. The Gospel says:

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”

But Thomas wasn’t there. He wasn’t locked away with them. John tells us:

“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’”

Thomas wasn’t content to hide behind locked doors. He wasn’t hiding. He wasn’t afraid. He was out in the world, while the others locked themselves away. His bravery is still showing.

Yet, when the others tell him about seeing Jesus, he says:

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

He would fit in perfectly in our time and place.

The Need for Proof in a World of Illusions

Every time I read this, I think of David Blaine—the magician who does tricks that leave us wide-eyed, in disbelief, like kids again. There’s one trick where he throws a deck of cards at a window, and somehow the chosen card appears stuck on the other side. Don’t tell me how it’s done—I like the mystery. It’s a taste of wonder, even if it’s just a trick.

Jesus isn’t a magician, but there’s more than a bit of that wonder in this story. Thomas wants to know how it’s done. He wants to touch the wounds, to see with his own eyes.

Today, even touching the nail scars might not be enough. In a world of deepfakes, AI, and digital illusions, our instincts for truth are destabilized. We can’t always trust our eyes or our senses. We live in a world of magic tricks and deepfakes, where it’s hard to know what’s real. Thomas wanted something real. We do too.

Is “Doubter” the Right Name?

So Thomas. We call him “Doubting Thomas,” but is that fair? He wants proof, sure. But remember, the other disciples got to see Jesus’s wounds without even asking. Thomas just wants what they already had. And notice—he wasn’t locked away, hiding. Maybe he was the only one brave enough to be out in the world.

Maybe we shouldn’t call Thomas “doubter” at all. Maybe we should call him Thomas the Brave.

It’s a shame that we’ve boxed Thomas in with one word—doubter. We do that, don’t we? We misdefine each other. We decide who people are with a glance, a label, a story we tell ourselves. We turn living, breathing people into cardboard cutouts, flat and easy to dismiss. We do it to ourselves, too, limiting ourselves by comparing our faith to others.

The Rest of the Story

Let’s skip to the end. Thomas ended up taking his faith farther than any other disciple. He went to India—maybe even China. Christians there still honor him as their founder.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had the bravery to ask for what we need from God? Thomas needed assurance. He needed experience. He needed direct, clear proof of the resurrection to move forward with life in Christ. Maybe you need that too.

You might feel stuck, wandering, seeing people hidden away and afraid while you’re out, exposed, but left out and lonely. May we find the bravery to ask Christ for what we need.

What We Can Carry Away

Here’s what I hope we’ll carry away from today: Thomas wasn’t just one thing. He wasn’t just a doubter. Honestly, I’m not sure he ever doubted Jesus—just his friends who told an unbelievable tale.

Thomas kept showing up. He wanted more than hearsay. He was brave enough to ask Jesus for what he needed.

Maybe you’ve been boxed in by names—doubter, skeptic, outsider. But Thomas was more than that. So are you.

Maybe you feel like you’re always on the outside, missing the miracle, wishing you could be certain, wishing your faith looked more like someone else’s highlight reel.

But the good news is that Jesus meets us right where we are, wounds and all, and gives us exactly what we need to move forward. For all our questions and all our courage, we can take the story of Jesus farther than anyone ever expected—because we dare to want more, to see more, to go further.

So may we be brave enough to ask for what we need from God. May we be honest about our doubts, and open to wonder. And may we, like Thomas, take our faith farther than we ever imagined.