👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽A Homily on the Apostle #Thomas and the #Tuesday After the #Resurrection
Grace and peace be unto you, beloved children of the Most High, who seek the wisdom of God through the traditions of the Holy Orthodox faith. Let us today meditate deeply on the mystery and meaning behind the Tuesday following the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord a day set aside by our Church in sacred memory of the Apostle Thomas, that blessed twin, whose journey from doubt to faith instructs us all.
I. The Identity and Meaning of Thomas
Thomas, one of the Twelve, is named in the Gospel according to Matthew (10:3). His name means “twin” Thomas in Aramaic, and Didymos in Greek. He is, therefore, the twin not merely in body, but in the mirror of our human condition. In him we see courage and frailty, boldness and doubt, despair and resurrection of faith.
When our Lord spoke of going to raise Lazarus, Thomas, with a bold heart not yet tempered by understanding, cried out to the others, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (John 11:16). Behold here a courage that is not illumined by divine understanding a zeal that leads to despair. For without knowledge of the Resurrection, even courage turns to fatalism.
Again, in the Upper Room, when our Lord spoke of His going and of the way, Thomas, still veiled in ignorance, said: “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). It is this very lack, this human limitation, which prepared the soil of his heart for the seed of divine revelation.
II. The Doubt of Thomas and the Mercy of the Risen Lord
We recall the moment of great divine pedagogy when Thomas was absent at the first appearance of the Risen Christ (John 20:24–25). The Lord, in His abundant compassion, allowed this moment not for Thomas' shame, but for our instruction.
For one week Thomas wrestled with doubt, declaring, “Unless I see the nail marks... unless I put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And yet, when the Risen One came again, He did not rebuke Thomas with wrath, but offered His very flesh to be touched. "Put your finger here," He said, "reach your hand and put it into My side" (John 20:27). What mercy! What condescension of divine love!
And Thomas, who had stumbled in doubt, now stood in revelation, exclaiming: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Not merely Teacher or Master, but Lord—ruler of all, and God co-eternal with the Father. Thus was doubt transformed into the highest confession.
III. The Sacred Tradition and Mystery of the Hand
It is not only in word but in Church history that the significance of Thomas is preserved. Tradition holds that Thomas carried the Gospel eastward, preaching in Persia and India, shedding the light of Christ upon those who sat in darkness.
And, O mystery of mysteries! it is told that the very hand which touched the sacred side of our Lord remains preserved in India, living with the Ark on the Throne, and each year, on the feast of the Theotokos, it is brought forth, raised in liturgical offering by Our Lady herself. She who bore the Word Incarnate honors the hand that bore witness to His Resurrection.
This is not myth, beloved, but mystery a living sign of the closeness between heaven and earth in the divine liturgy. The hand that touched the Incarnate Word now rests, to this day, in sacred service.
IV. The Role of the Priesthood in the Flesh and Blood of Christ
Recall also the deeper meaning of our Lord's gesture. When He allowed Thomas to touch His side and showed His hands and feet to the other apostles (Luke 24:39), He foreshadowed the sacred priesthood. Just as Thomas' hand touched the Word-made-flesh, so now the hands of the priest break His Body and pour forth His Blood on the altar. “That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched this we proclaim...” (1 John 1:1).
Continues 👇🏽