St. Thomas the Apostle: A Poem

The Gospel reading for this week is the familiar story of Thomas who says he must, "see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side" in order to believe that Jesus has risen.

We invite you to listen closely to the gospel reading this morning and then encounter dear, familiar "Doubting Thomas" through the fresh lens of poetry.  This piece can be found in Guite's 2012 collection, Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for the Christian Year.

St. Thomas the Apostle
By Malcolm Guite
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“We do not know . . . how can we know the way?”
Courageous master of the awkward question,
You spoke the words the others dared not say
And cut through their evasion and abstraction.
O doubting Thomas, father of my faith,
You put your finger on the nub of things:
We cannot love some disembodied wraith,
But flesh and blood must be our king of kings.
Your teaching is to touch, embrace, anoint,
Feel after him and find him in the flesh.
Because he loved your awkward counter-point,
The Word has heard and granted you your wish.
O place my hands with yours, help me divine
The wounded God whose wounds are healing mine.