Homily on John 20:24–29 : Unless I See

Unless I See: A Life-Changing Reflection on Faith from John 20:24–29 with a beautiful story

Praise be to Jesus Christ

One day, a man was fixing a small radio. His little son watched him carefully. After a long time of adjusting wires and screws, the father turned the switch, and the radio started playing music. The boy jumped and said, “How did the music get inside?” The father smiled and said, “It is always there, but it needed the right touch to be heard.”

Faith is like that. The truth is always present, but we often do not feel it or believe it… until something touches us deeply.

Today, let us focus on the keyword of the reading, “unless.” Thomas says, “Unless I see the mark of the nails… I will not believe.” That word “unless” is small; however, it opens a wide door for our own struggles with faith. How many times in our families, in our personal prayer, in our disappointments, have we said to God, “Unless you do this.., I will not believe?” “Unless I get healed… unless I get a job… unless my prayer is answered…”

The problem is not that we doubt. Even in the Old Testament, Job cried out in his pain, “Oh that I knew where I might find Him” (Job 23:3). And yet, that cry itself was a form of faith, because he still turned to God in the dark.

What Thomas teaches us is not simply about doubt. It’s about how Jesus responds to our closed doors. Thomas was not there when Jesus first appeared. Maybe he was too wounded by the events of Good Friday. Maybe he was tired of hoping. And yet Jesus came again, just for him.

This is the Jesus who walks into our rooms even when the doors are locked. Locked by our fear. Locked by our questions. Locked by our family wounds and unspoken sorrows. But He comes. Not with punishment – but with peace.

Saint Gregory the Great, once said, “It was not an accident that Thomas was not present. His doubt has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples.” Because of Thomas, we all learned that Jesus welcomes even those who come slowly to belief.

Let’s not forget what happened next. Thomas, who had said “unless I see,” now says, “My Lord and my God!” – the most personal profession of faith in the Gospels. He moved from conditional belief to a living relationship.

In our families too, we often wait for others to believe. Maybe a husband no longer comes to church. Maybe a child has stopped praying. Maybe we ourselves are worn out by burdens. But let us not give up. Jesus knows how to come again and again until our hearts open.

Sometimes in life, faith doesn’t begin with seeing. It begins with staying. Staying in prayer even when God is silent. Staying in love even when people change. Staying in trust even when we feel empty. That’s when Jesus walks in – through closed doors.

And when He does, He does not scold. He simply says, “Peace be with you.” A peace that this world cannot give. A peace that slowly turns our “unless” into “my Lord and my God.”

Unless you bless me, I will not leave you