Thomas the Twin

There has always been particular interest in a few of those who traveled with Jesus--Judas, of course, and Mary of Magdala, but also Peter, the rock, and John, thought to be "the one whom Jesus loved," and Matthew, the tax collector. Often readers identify with one of these.

Then there is Thomas, whose feast day was/is December 21. Thomas is often tagged "Didymus," but this is redundant. "Didymus" is the Greek word for "twin," but"Thomas" itself is derived from the Hebrew word "teom," which also means "twin." So one of the things we know about the man called Thomas is that he was a twin, but we do not know whose twin he was.

It seems to some of us that Thomas has gotten a bad rap, being dubbed for centuries "Doubting Thomas." Thomas's doubt--that Jesus had been resurrected--seems, again to some of us, not a failing, but an indication of how deeply he loved Jesus, and his need for absolute certainty to assuage his grief and give him peace.

A few years ago, a collection of fragments was published as "The Gospel of Thomas," and there has been doubt about that; doubt, as well, that he journeyed to India as some legends have it.

But is doubt necessarily a bad thing? Not if it leads somewhere. Peter Abelard wrote "The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting." And Paul Tillich wrote "Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith."