Feast of St. Thomas 2009

THE FEAST OF ST. THOMAS

21 December Anno T Domini 2009

"My God and My Lord!”

John 20:24-29

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Just days before our commemoration of the swaddled Babe's bed in the manger, the Church takes us to the Sunday after the resurrection, to St. Thomas' great confession.  Here we see the destiny of the Babe born to the Virgin, rejected by the innkeeper, scarred by the sins of selfish men, but alive by the power of the Most High.  He is the Son of God and the Son of Mary.  God in our skin, one of us, but without the inherited corruption of Adam.  As one of us He subjects Himself to the miseries of men, to the sufferings caused by sinners in a chaotic dog-eat-dog world.  As an infant, He will be swaddled with our sin, know hardship, hunger, loneliness, sorrow, and pain.  For this He came: to suffer the Father's wrath and experience the torture of Hell we deserve; to die our death and be raised up for our justification.  That is the reason for the season.

And so it is good to be taken to the upper room this day, for as we prepare for the celebration of our Lord's Incarnation, it is proper for us to be reminded of the identity of the One who assumed human flesh and dwelt among us, and of the reason He did so.  And, there in the upper room, we have the greatest reminder of all.

For there we see the truth in all its fullness, namely that the One who was born of the Virgin Mary is both God and Man in One Flesh.  As God, He has no beginning and no ending; He is the Alpha and Omega.  He is outside of time.  He is the Light, the Life, and the Way.  His Divinity is shown forth by the fact that He who was dead according to the Flesh appears to the disciples in that upper room.  He is the source and Author of Life; death could not hold Him.  He lives, now in a glorified, resurrected Body, one that is able to enter a room through locked doors. 

But, He is fully human as well.  He is no apparition, no ghost, but real Flesh and Blood.  That's the lesson we learn because of the doubts of St. Thomas.  The One who has no beginning and no ending does have a beginning, but no ending, according to the Flesh.  He became a Man in our time in order to fulfill the Law in our place and to suffer and die for our sins.  And now, having completed our salvation, He ever remains in the Flesh He assumed.  He is the eternal God-Man.

This is the lesson we learn from the upper room, for at the command of Him who orders wind and wave, Thomas places his doubting hand into the side from whence flowed the Water and the Blood.  He retracts his hand now cleansed, now pure, now believing.  With God, all things are possible.  Thomas is ordained an Apostle.  He is sent to preach and preach he does.  He preaches to those who have not seen, but by that preaching they are blessed, that is, they hear the Word of God and believe!  He lays that once-doubting hand that felt the life-giving scars upon the sick, the dying, and those to be placed into his office, and they too are blessed.  Having not seen, but hearing the Word of God, they believe.  They believe that the Word is Flesh by way of the virgin, crucified, and raised.  They confess with St. Thomas that this Son of Mary is the God of Moses, the Lord, the great I AM who makes for Himself a people by grace.  He is steadfast and compassionate.  He did not give up on Thomas.  He does not give us on us.

Thanks be to God for St. Thomas!  His doubting has served our faith more than the belief of the other Apostles.  His physical touch has confirmed for us what the prophets have taught, that the Promised One who came is truly Immanuel, God with us, the eternal God come in the Flesh.  

And now it is that the same Jesus touches us through the same Flesh in the Holy Communion.  Here is the Blood that issued from that pierced side that Thomas touched.  Here is the Body swaddled and laid in the animals' feeding trough given for you.  This Altar is for you who are humble enough to come to a feeding trough as repentant sinners.  Here you eat the Bread of Life that bestows life, salvation, forgiveness, joy, and peace.  Here you join in Thomas' confession, for here you, too, say, "My God and My Lord.”  Here, you are able to touch the same Flesh that Thomas touched in that upper room, and here you come with the prayer on your lips, "Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief!”  Truly blessed are you, dear friends, you who have not seen, not in full, and yet have believed.  In Jesus' Holy and Precious Name.  Amen.

Now the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, unto life everlasting.  Amen.