Touching the Truth – Thomas Sunday – From Doubt to Declaration

Reading: John 20:24–29 (NKJV)

In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
May the blessing of the Father who calls us and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ who saves us, and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies and transforms us be with us all, that we may hear His word and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Amen.

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

I. The Struggle of Doubt

Eight days after the Resurrection, the disciples were behind closed doors. The tomb was empty. Christ had already appeared to others, but Thomas wasn’t there. And when they told him, he said:

“Unless I see… unless I touch… I will not believe.”

We often feel like Thomas today—doubtful, overwhelmed, asking: “How can I believe without seeing?” Yet, even in our doubt, Christ comes near.

II. The Four Levels of Belief

John: believed at the empty tomb.
Mary Magdalene: believed at His voice.
The Eleven: believed at His appearance.
Thomas: believed only after touching the wounds.

How Each Believed in the Risen Christ

1. Mary Magdalene

Gospel References: John 20:11–18; Mark 16:9
How she believed: Mary first saw the empty tomb and was overwhelmed with sorrow. She recognized Jesus not by sight—but by hearing His voice when He called her by name: “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’” (John 20:16)

2. Other Women (Salome, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James)

Gospel References: Matthew 28:8–10; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10
How they believed: They first received the message of Christ’s Resurrection from the angel at the tomb. As they ran to tell the disciples, Jesus Himself met them, and they worshiped Him, taking hold of His feet (Matthew 28:9).

3. Cleopas and the Other Disciple (The Emmaus Disciples)

Gospel References: Luke 24:13–35; Mark 16:12–13
How they believed: Jesus walked with them, explained the Scriptures, and their hearts burned within them. They recognized Him in the breaking of the bread at the meal: “Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him.” (Luke 24:30–31)

4. The Ten Apostles (Without Thomas)

Gospel References: John 20:19–20; Luke 24:36–43
How they believed: Jesus appeared to them while the doors were shut and said, “Peace be with you.” He showed them His hands, His feet, and His side. He invited them to handle Him, saying: “Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39)
Although Scripture does not say they actually touched Him, they believed upon seeing and hearing Him, and He ate in front of them to prove He was not a spirit.

5. Thomas

Gospel References: John 20:24–29
How he believed: Thomas had insisted: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)
A week later, Jesus appeared again and invited Thomas to touch His wounds. Thomas touched and confessed: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
Jesus then said: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Mary believed by hearing.
The women believed by worshiping.
The Emmaus disciples believed by breaking bread.
The Apostles believed by seeing and hearing.
And Thomas believed by touching and confessing.

St. Cyril of Alexandria reminds us: “Thomas did not disbelieve out of wickedness, but because he was exceedingly amazed.”

Interpretation: St. Cyril defends Thomas, highlighting his desire for certainty rather than accusing him of stubbornness. Thomas becomes a model for sincere inquiry and a symbol of those who come to believe through evidence and reason.

III. The Lord Who Draws Near

Jesus didn’t rebuke Thomas—He returned for him. He said: “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands… Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (John 20:27)

St. Cyril of Alexandria sees Thomas’ absence from the first appearance as a divine lesson for the whole Church.

He teaches that Thomas’ unbelief was permitted by Christ so that the resurrection could be more clearly proven — not just by words, but by sight and touch.

Thus, Thomas becomes a witness for the faith through his very struggle with doubt.

St. Cyril stresses that Christ grants Thomas’ demand, offering His side and His hands, not because Christ had to prove Himself, but because He was lovingly accommodating human weakness.

Christ’s response shows His patience and His desire that none should perish through unbelief.

Importantly, Saint Cyril points out that Christ knew exactly what Thomas had said, even though He was not visibly present when Thomas uttered the words. This shows Christ’s omniscience — a further proof that He is truly God.

St. Cyril pays very close attention to Thomas’ final declaration:

“My Lord and my God.”

He explains that this confession unites the two natures of Christ:

“Lord” referring to Christ’s humanity (His dominion as the risen man),
“God” referring to His divinity (His eternal nature as Son of God).

Thus, Thomas is not only affirming the Resurrection, but is worshiping Christ as fully God and fully man.

Saint Cyril then highlights Christ’s closing words, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” as the foundation of faith for all future generations.

St. Cyril notes that while Thomas needed sight to believe, the true blessedness belongs to those who, enlightened by the Spirit, believe the truth without demanding physical proof.

Key Quotes:

“He permitted the soul of the disciple to pass through doubt, that faith might be established the more firmly for all.”

“In showing His hands and side, He gives proof of His Resurrection in the flesh, while His knowledge of hidden words reveals His divine nature.”

“Blessed indeed are they who embrace the faith without the crutch of bodily sight, for they see with the eyes of the mind.”

Thus, Saint Cyril of Alexandria shows Thomas’ story not simply as a rebuke, but as an act of divine condescension and mercy, leading to a full and perfect confession of Christ’s two natures — human and divine — and establishing the model of faith by spiritual sight for all who would follow.

St. Gregory the Great: “The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples.”

Interpretation: St. Gregory sees Thomas’s doubt as a divine arrangement—not a failure, but a testimony for all future generations. His confession, “My Lord and my God,” is the clearest declaration of Christ’s divinity in the Gospels.

St. Augustine reflects: “He touched the Man—and confessed the God.”

IV. A True Story: The Samurai Who Chose Christ

Let me tell you the true story of a man who faced the ultimate test of faith—a samurai, a warrior, and a Christian.

His name was Dom Justo Ukon Takayama. Born in 1552 in Japan, he was baptized at age eleven by Portuguese Jesuit missionaries and later fully embraced the Christian faith after surviving a near-fatal sword duel. He rose through the ranks of Japanese nobility, serving as a powerful warlord and military leader under the famous Oda Nobunaga, who at the time tolerated Christianity.

But everything changed when Nobunaga died, and the new ruler, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, saw Christianity as a threat to Japan’s unity and sovereignty. He ordered all Christian leaders to renounce their faith—or lose everything.

Imagine: Ukon had a castle, wealth, land, soldiers, and honor. Hideyoshi told him, “You can keep it all… just deny Christ.”

And Ukon said no. Without a moment of hesitation, he gave it all up. In the world’s eyes, he became a failure—a homeless samurai.

He took refuge under another lord for a few years. But when that lord died, and the Tokugawa shogunate rose to power, Ukon was forced into exile—he was shipped off to Manila in the Spanish Philippines. He would never see his homeland again.

He arrived in Manila weak and ill. Forty-four days later, he died—landless, poor, and forgotten by his nation. But not by Heaven.

Because in 2016, Pope Francis declared him a martyr, and in 2017, he was officially beatified by the Catholic Church.

Why? Because Ukon didn’t just suffer—he chose to suffer for the sake of Christ. He lost this world, to win the next.

And his final testimony?

“Better to lose this world than to lose my soul.” – Blessed Justo Takayama

Faith sometimes means walking blind into exile—but finding eternity waiting there.

This is the heart of Thomas Sunday. Even when the world asks you to touch and see before you believe, Ukon reminds us: Like Thomas, Ukon didn’t just believe in comfort—he believed through sacrifice.

V. From Doubt to Devotion

Thomas stayed in the upper room—even in doubt. And because he stayed—Jesus came.

So stay, beloved. Stay even in your silence. Stay even when you feel nothing. Christ will come to you.

Let your doubt become your declaration. Let your weakness become your worship. Say with Thomas today:

“My Lord and my God!”

Closing Blessing:

May the Lord bless us, transform our hearts and minds, that our homes may stand on the Rock, our hands serve in the harvest, and our hearts long for Heaven. Amen.