Thomas seems to have been one of the most dynamic apostles. When Jesus said: "You know the way that leads where I go" (Jn 14:4), Thomas was bold enough to interject, "Lord...we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?" (Jn 14:5). It was to Thomas that Jesus gave one of His greatest revelations: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (Jn 14:6).

The "doubting Thomas" of John 20 has gone down in history, but very few remember the courageous Thomas of John 11. When Jesus was returning to the hostile territory of Judea, Thomas "said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us go along, to die with Him' " (Jn 11:16).

Thomas seems to have had a lot more going for him than most of the other apostles. Yet this strength was precisely the problem for Thomas. "In weakness power reaches perfection" (2 Cor 12:9). Thomas needed to humble himself, become like a little child, and so be exalted and enter the kingdom of God (Mt 18:3; 23:12). Thomas may have been one of the learned and clever from whom the things of God are hidden (Lk 10:21). Finally, however, faced with the wounds of the crucified Jesus, Thomas humbled himself and cried out: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28) We enter God's kingdom not by strength but by humility.

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 29, 2012

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