But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them
when Jesus
came. John 20: 24
While we are not told who all were present for the
meeting on that first Sunday of Resurrection with the Risen Lord, we are
explicitly in this verse that Thomas was not present. Thomas, by his absence,
thus becomes a representative of all those who may be absent, for a short
time, or for a longer time, from the
presence of the Lord.
Our ideal must be to be with the Lord always. In spirit, we are with the Lord and we enjoy his company when we obey his commandments, when we walk in the path shown by Him. On several occasions though, we are found wanting in our spiritual
journey, we fall short. We go astray. We realize, that the Lord is not with us. We then experience the same feeling of loneliness that Thomas must have felt when he was absent, when others were enjoying the presence of the Lord.
Those are occasions for us to realize, Thomas represented us and our absence from the Lord during the Risen Lord's first meeting with the rest. When we are far off from the presence of the Lord, when our circumstances in life place us away from the Church on Sunday mornings, we can find courage in the truth that our Father Thomas embodies our absence and brings it to the Lord.
Thomas, in his absence, also represented the
Church of the Gentiles, the Church he was to minister to, the Church of the
Far East, including the Indian Church. Thoughts about salvation for anyone
apart from the Jews, much less any one from far away lands of India, was
absolutely absent from the thoughts of the little group gathered there. This
may be seen as the gathering of the Fathers of the
Church minus Thomas - the gathering on the first day of Resurrection. This verse John 20:24 (Thomas) "was not with them" conveys a feeling of imperfection, incompleteness. They felt the absence of Thomas; perhaps they spoke about it amongst themselves - "wish Thomas was here!". We then see that this incompleteness was removed, they were made whole a week later, when the Lord appeared to them with Thomas present amongst them;just as the incompleteness in their awareness of the mission of the Lord, that it was indeed a mission for the entire world, was revealed to them only later in time.
That meeting a week later, then, could be seen as representing the assembly of the whole Church including the Jews and the Gentiles. Thus in a special way, we can see Thomas as representing the unseen part of the Lord's redemptive mission, hidden to them at the time - the Church of the Gentiles, to whom Thomas would be sent later with the message of the Gospel.
Thank God, the Lord of Thomas who used him to give hope to those who were absent then, who are absent now and who will be absent in future, from the Lord's presence, that they too may be found worthy to enjoy His divine company if they truly miss the Lord's presence like Thomas did.
Character of Thomas : When and where the Lord comes
Source: ICON
came. John 20: 24
 |
| St.Thomas |
presence of the Lord.
Our ideal must be to be with the Lord always. In spirit, we are with the Lord and we enjoy his company when we obey his commandments, when we walk in the path shown by Him. On several occasions though, we are found wanting in our spiritual
journey, we fall short. We go astray. We realize, that the Lord is not with us. We then experience the same feeling of loneliness that Thomas must have felt when he was absent, when others were enjoying the presence of the Lord.
Those are occasions for us to realize, Thomas represented us and our absence from the Lord during the Risen Lord's first meeting with the rest. When we are far off from the presence of the Lord, when our circumstances in life place us away from the Church on Sunday mornings, we can find courage in the truth that our Father Thomas embodies our absence and brings it to the Lord.
Church minus Thomas - the gathering on the first day of Resurrection. This verse John 20:24 (Thomas) "was not with them" conveys a feeling of imperfection, incompleteness. They felt the absence of Thomas; perhaps they spoke about it amongst themselves - "wish Thomas was here!". We then see that this incompleteness was removed, they were made whole a week later, when the Lord appeared to them with Thomas present amongst them;just as the incompleteness in their awareness of the mission of the Lord, that it was indeed a mission for the entire world, was revealed to them only later in time.
That meeting a week later, then, could be seen as representing the assembly of the whole Church including the Jews and the Gentiles. Thus in a special way, we can see Thomas as representing the unseen part of the Lord's redemptive mission, hidden to them at the time - the Church of the Gentiles, to whom Thomas would be sent later with the message of the Gospel.
Thank God, the Lord of Thomas who used him to give hope to those who were absent then, who are absent now and who will be absent in future, from the Lord's presence, that they too may be found worthy to enjoy His divine company if they truly miss the Lord's presence like Thomas did.
Character of Thomas : When and where the Lord comes
Source: ICON
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