Name Your Doubt
Dear Jeremy, Tate, and Katelyn,
I remember driving home from church one evening. Jeremy, you were five and buckled in the back seat of our Honda Accord with your little brother beside you. Out of nowhere - or so it seemed - you asked, “Mom, how do we know all this God stuff is true?” I was shocked. I might have expected this question coming from a teenager but not from a kindergartner. I don’t exactly recall how I answered you, but I’ve never forgotten the question. I hope all three of you continue asking the big questions.
-Mom
Inside Out Lectionary Letters
Year A - 2nd Sunday of Easter (Texts, Art, Hymns)
Readings for Easter Sunday, April 12, 2026
Acts 2:14a, 22-32 / Psalm 16 / 1 Peter 1:3-9 / John 20:19-31
Summary of John 20:19-31
This week’s gospel reading paints a picture of the disciples in crisis. Their beloved Rabbi (teacher) has been tortured, crucified and buried. They’ve heard rumors that he has been seen alive. But how are they to believe that? What they do believe is that the authorities are now coming after them. So they huddle together, behind bolted doors, uncertain of their safety or their future when Jesus shows up. Thomas is the only one of them not present for the big reveal. A week later, he gets his turn.
Scripture as a Mirror of the Soul
Jesus understands how mind-boggling it has to be for his friends to see him alive! Almost immediately after making this unexpected appearance, he offers them his scarred hands and side. He does this without waiting for them to ask or chiding them for needing proof. Perhaps one of history’s greatest “show and tell” moments.
Afterwards, can you imagine their eagerness to let Thomas know that they have seen Jesus alive? Thomas requests the same opportunity that they had, the same chance to see the hands and side of Jesus. So why all this contempt down through time for Thomas? Why is “Doubting Thomas” a moniker for lack of faith or faithlessness? Could our disdain for Thomas say more about us than about him? Do we have doubts that we dare not look at, let alone speak? Questions we pretend don’t exist so we cover them up with masks of certainty and bluster?
Thomas is no different than all the other followers of Jesus who also had their doubts. As do we. But Thomas seems to have the ability - and the courage - to look inside. To notice his doubt and expose it. Have we been formed in the belief that our questions and doubts are unacceptable? Even shameful? Some would say sinful?
What if we were able to look inward and acknowledge that we have doubts…about our faith? Yes, surely. But also about ourselves, our worthiness, our loveability. Could our doubts, instead of being a barrier to our wholeness, be a path to our healing? What if instead of hiding our doubts behind closed doors, we exposed them to the light and love of God?
There’s another place in scripture where Jesus gives us a show-and-tell moment. It’s when he places a child among these same disciples and stresses how important it is for us to become like one of them. That has many potential applications, but I have to wonder if one of them might be in the willingness to admit doubts. To question. I was fortunate enough to experience such a sacred moment as I sped down a darkened road with two young boys in tow. Forty years later, the memory of a 5-year-olds freedom to express his doubt reminds me that I am perfectly safe to bring my questions and even my doubts to a loving God.