Words of Light and Hope from Fran Neale AWA

We’ve probably heard in church or read again recently about “Doubting Thomas”.

I think Thomas gets an unfair press! In Luke’s account of events, and one version of Mark’s account, none of the disciples believed the women who said they had seen the risen Jesus – until they saw him for themselves. Thomas wasn’t with the other eleven the evening they saw him, so nor did he – until he saw Jesus for himself. So picking Thomas out for doubting doesn’t seem justified.

Not long before his death, Jesus had warned his followers there would be false prophets and false Messiahs. So wasn’t Thomas right to be wary of someone claiming to be Jesus?

We seem to like to type-cast people – Thomas was the doubter, Peter the denier, Judas the betrayer and so on. But surely there are elements of all three in many of us, at times in our lives. There is something reassuring in hearing about the short-comings of the disciples – we know we aren’t the only ones who get things wrong, don’t live up to even our own standards….and more.

Also, there is a place for doubt in our journey of faith. Jonathan Sacks (former Chief Rabbi in UK) said “Faith is not certainty but the courage to live with uncertainty.” Someone else said “Doubt is faith standing on tiptoe.” For a long time I have found great encouragement in Romans chapter 8, verses 24,25 – “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”