Thomas has been treated harshly by tradition, but Christ did not scold him. He met him with open hands and visible wounds. This sonnet honors the honest asker, the one who needs to touch before he can believe, and the patient Lord who lets him.
The Sonnet
I will not say I have believed enough, That what the others saw is what I know, That secondhand assurance is enough, That I can trust the wind without the blow. I want to see. I want to touch the wound, To press my doubting finger to the proof, To know the risen body, scarred yet sound, Is not a story raised upon some roof. And Christ, astonishingly, does not turn, But comes into the room and offers there The very hands that doubting hearts may yearn To touch, and says, behold, be unafraid. So bless the honest asker, brave and slow, The Lord still meets the ones who need to know.
Reflection
Christianity has often been impatient with doubt, but Christ Himself was not. When Thomas asked to touch the wounds, Jesus did not lecture him on the virtue of secondhand belief. He came back into the room. He offered his hands. He met the question with presence, not with shame.
This is good news for the honest asker. Faith that has never had to verify anything is sometimes only inheritance. Faith that has asked the hard question and stayed long enough to receive an answer is faith that has actually become its own. The Lord who met Thomas meets the doubter still. He is not embarrassed by our needing to see.
If you carry doubt today, do not be ashamed of it. Bring it. The risen Christ has scarred hands and open arms, and the room you stand in is not closed to Him.
