The Feast of St. Thomas
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, who is the patron saint of our Mission in Fullerton. The story of Thomas, often called “doubting Thomas,” has turned out to be one of the most retold of all the biblical stories.
An interesting piece of this story that many forget is that Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to the others in the locked upper room. I wonder how many of the other apostles (or us) would have had the same doubts? But either way, there was Thomas - with his doubts, with his stubbornness, and with his refusal to believe what the others had told him about Jesus.
I’m amazed by two things that Jesus then did in this story. 1) He came to and welcomed Thomas with his doubts. 2) Not only did he welcome him, but he actually did something to try to remove his doubts. In fact, that seems to be the theme of Jesus in John 20, and continues to be a theme of Jesus in our lives: he comes down, meets us where we are at, welcomes us, and takes the initiative to remove our barriers to discipleship.
The narrative of Thomas has always ministered to me, and it gives good expression to the underlying values that shape and guide our Mission. Simply put, Thomas was honest. Now that’s not to say that we should make a virtue out of Thomas’ doubts, Jesus does rebuke him. But the point is that Jesus can clearly handle them, he welcomes us with all of our imperfections. Honesty is the cornerstone of our spiritual lives. If we are going to go anywhere, we must be honest about where we currently find ourselves; the extent to which we are not honest is the extent to which we will not grow.
The big thing about honesty, that perhaps many miss, is its intrinsic missional quality. When we are honest, we allow others to be honest, and thus provide the space for a true encounter and growth with God. This is what happened to Thomas. He was honest about his doubts, and was transformed by Christ’s transformed wounds. Thomas was then sent out, according to tradition, further than anyone else on mission; it is said that he probably built five churches before being martyred by spear.
Our Mission in Fullerton has grown significantly since meeting on Wednesdays for Evening Prayer and in backyards for the Eucharist in Summer 2020. We now gather Wednesdays at 7pm and Sundays at 11am at First Lutheran Church in Downtown Fullerton. Our Children’s Ministry is growing, we have formed a Youth Group, Confirmation classes for children and adults happen periodically throughout the year, and we’ve found that we can throw one hell of a party! In everything we do we are trying to cultivate space where people can be honest, so that they can have a true encounter with God, and then invite others to do the same.
Today, please say a prayer for our Mission in Fullerton. Pray that God would prosper our work, and that he would continue to allow us to share what is uniquely ours with those around us. You can learn more about our mission by visiting our website: stthomasfullerton.com
I appreciate your prayers, and make sure to take a break from your Advent fasting to celebrate the work of Christ in St. Thomas' life!