I had a differnt reflection on the gospel the other day about St. Thomas. He is the apostle who did not believe the others when they told him that the Lord showed himself to them. He said, “”Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later Jesus showed himself to them; He showed the print of the nails on His hands to Thomas and even asked him to touch the mark of the nails and His pierced side. Then he believed.
Instead of thinking of the doubt and wavering faith of Thomas, the Lord led me to a different angle of the story. I see how sweet and personal Jesus is to His people. I think in order for Thomas to believe he has to see it, he has to touch it. He may be one of those who felt abandoned because Jesus died. Just when he gave everything up for the Lord, he felt betrayed because Jesus is dead and the best way to convince him that the Lord did not abandon him is for him to see and touch Jesus, for Jesus to come face to face with him. In other words Thomas’ love language is physical touch/ physical presence.
The Lord will reveal himself to us in ways that we want to be loved. He will meet us where we want to be met. When Thomas expressed that he wants to see and touch Jesus, Jesus revealed Himself to him and let him touch His marks. He met Thomas in a situation where with the rest of the apostles, he confessed and made his acknowledgement to God. Most of us know our love language let us use this not just to understand and serve each other but for us to know more, love more and serve Him more. The Lord is sweet and personal to us too.