07032022 – John 14. 1-7, St. Thomas
This is intentionally going to be a strange one! So please, bear with me:
You are a FOURTH century Christian or later.
You have heard about the work at Nicea.
But you probably have no idea WHERE THAT ACTUALLY IS…or WHAT THEY did.
It is “an ancient Greek city” in northwestern ANATOLIA, and was the site of the first and second councils of Nicea.
Today, that would make its placement in modern-day Turkey…wherever that is…
Today is “St. Thomas day”…PROBABLY the day of his MARTYRDOM.
You have no doubt heard his name WAS NOT really Thomas, at all, but rather, JUDAS THOMAS…that came from the Syrian faction of the church.
The church has spread, against all odds, it has indeed extended itself…to what seems to be the very ends of the world.
This is a saint day, a festival day, a day of celebration, a holy day. We hold fast and honor ALL the saints of the church.
You have heard of the GOSPEL OF THOMAS, right? …it starts out by saying, “These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymus, Judas Thomas, recorded.
“Secret SAYINGS”… “secret KNOWLEDGE” there is a lot of THAT going around the church today, GNOSIS we call it. It seems like everyone has “secret or special knowledge about one thing or another.”
Did you know that a large section of the church identify Thomas as also being known as “JUDE?”
There is this writing, this scroll entitled, “THE BOOK OF THOMAS THE CONTENDER” it must be “more of that secret knowledge stuff”…because in it, it says that Thomas was Jesus’ twin…his actual brother.
I didn’t even know Jesus had a twin brother!
There is this line in that book about THOMAS THE CONTENDER that says, “Now since it has been said that you are my twin and true companion, examine yourself.” Strange. But then, these are strange days AND TIMES.
There are a lot of WEIRD WRITINGS floating around these days. More than most people care to EVEN know about.
It is sometimes hard to know WHAT to believe. So, was Jesus a twin or not?
Just so you know there is also another story going around about old Thomas, it says, he has a twin sister, named LYDIA. Is this the Lydia who was wealthy?
Some say, Thomas, or Jude, or Judas OR Judas Thomas, “whoever he was,” was the son of James, whoever that might have been. The names get pretty confusing…and so do the dates, that are attributed to them.
The DIDASCALIA is another scroll, which I have seen. The ancient church father Eusebius, stated that Thomas and Bartholomew, two of the twelve disciples were assigned to PARTHIA and INDIA. Just so you know Parthia would be the area of Iran today. Ancient India was part of the INDO-SCYTHIAN Kingdom, a name which comes from the INDUS River.
I don’t know where any of those places are, either!
But on THIS Saint day, the BEST STORY OF ALL is about “THE PASSING OF MARY”…you know the mother of Jesus? Yep, that’s another scroll. That document it has been said was written by JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA.
And it states that Thomas was the only witness of the ASSUMPTION OF MARY into heaven. The other apostles were all miraculously transported to Jerusalem to witness her death. Poor old Thomas was left in India. But after her burial he was transported to her tomb, where he witnessed her bodily assumption in to heaven, from which she dropped her GIRDLE.
Now, I know what you are thinking, but a girdle in her time, was her belt, a cincture…that wrapped around her waist. So, NOT what you were thinking!
MARY DIDN’T WEAR A GIRDLE! Does anyone wear girdles anymore?
So, now the SANDAL was on the other foot, and the other disciples DID NOT BELIEVE THOMAS, THAT IS, until they saw the empty tomb and the girdle that Thomas held, belonging to Mary.
Today, it is called the Girdle of Thomas, the Virgin’s Girdle, the Holy Belt, or the SACRA CINTOLA. Today it is a “holy relic”…a knotted textile cord, worthy of veneration.
Word TODAY is that because of Thomas, ALL idolatry vanished from India.
Through Thomas or Didymus the CHINESE and the ETHIOPIANS were converted. Because of Thomas they were baptized. It was Thomas who taught them all about the blessed TRINITY…and it was Thomas who taught them the love of the ONE TRUE GOD. Through Thomas the Kingdom of Heaven took wing and ascended ALL THE WAY to China.
FINALLY, let me remind you about the scroll called THE ACTS OF JUDAS THOMAS.
In it, we learn of THOMAS’ death, because he had converted QUEEN TERTIA of India, the King’s son, the King’s sister-in-law, and her friend, – Thomas was led out of the city AND four soldiers were ordered to take him to a nearby hill, where he was SPEARED TO DEATH
And so, Thomas is remembered today.
All of this – from the guy who said, unless I see the nail marks in his hand and the hole in his side, I will not believe.
Even doubters go to heaven.
Amen.