INTRODUCTION
The opening prayer on this Second Sunday of Easter addresses the Father as “God of everlasting Mercy”, thus giving us a taste of the liturgy of the day. It is DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY. The risen Christ who commissioned His disciples in the gospel today to spread the mission of mercy and forgiveness as a revelation of the true face of God is the same Jesus who revealed Himself to the Polish St. Faustina Kowalska to be an ‘apostle’ of divine mercy. Pope St. John Paul who lived the experience of mercy by forgiving Mehmet Ali Agca, the assassin who shot and wounded him on May 13, 1981 instituted this day (April 30, 2000, the Canonization of Faustina Kowalska) as a day to celebrate the DIVINE MERCY.
WE ARE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF MERCY.
FIRST READING: Acts 2:42-47
Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles gives us a succinct account of the interior life of the neophyte Church. He painted a picture of the Church as a true family of believers whereby every single member felt at home. The virtue of mercy was translated into an active solidarity: ‘those who had properties sold them and brought the money into a common purse from where it was distributed according to individual needs (offering the possibility of relief to poor members). Luke presented this as a practical expression of the faith of this young community that eventually became contagious to the external society, since many came to embrace the faith by seeing their exemplary lifestyle. And what was the secret behind this? It was the EUCHARIST. The Christ they shared in the Eucharist was a propelling force for their active faith. They understood that as Christ allowed Himself to be broken in the Eucharistic bread in order to feed their souls, that is how they too must be broken in order to feed one another materially.
From this we understand that the Eucharist we receive will make no meaning until we finish by giving ourselves to others. Christ offers Himself whole and entire in the Eucharistic. Hence our Eucharistic gatherings will just be a picnic if the Church does not offer herself in the service of charity especially to the less privileged.
We’ve got to ask ourselves:
1. How are we living the faith handed over to us by the early community?
2. Is the Church still a family for everyone without distinction and discrimination?
3. What do we ‘sell off’ as individuals, and what do we offer for the service of charity?
4. Does the Eucharist we receive truly a source of strength to love or do we allow the devil to make it a food of destruction like Judas? (Lk. 22:3; Jn. 13:27).
SECOND READING: I Peter 1:3-9
This epistle was addressed to the Christians during the time of persecution (probably the most horrible of all, the regime of emperor Nero). Peter wanted the brethren to understand that even though they are faced with suffering, they should be grateful because it is a privilege they’ve received from God to be reborn into a new life. He acknowledged that salvation is not meritorious but a free gift from God out of mercy, even though it does not exclude the effort of man. In fact St. Augustine of Hippo affirmed that, “God created us without us, but He will not save us without us.” Thus, the Apostle encouraged the brethren to persevere since perseverance is the measure of faith, and faith is faith when it survives trials. And this faith can only survive trials when it is convinced (even though it may not understand all) that what lies ahead (eternal life) is a priceless treasure, tested and proven to be imperishable and more precious than gold.
GOSPEL: John 20:19-31
‘Why hide behind closed doors?’
1. The master had been executed. This is enough reason for the disciples to go into hiding since they were part of the nuisance.
2. They were aware that the tomb was empty, and the news in the air was that his disciples came at night to steal his body (Mt. 28:13-15). This is a crime, and probably they feared being apprehended and executed.
In any case, there was no better way that John the author of the fourth gospel could have expressed the gathering of the apostles in the upper room than ‘a gathering as a result of fear’ (Jn. 20:19). They felt protected by simply bolting the door. But was that really enough to save them? John will say no, because they needed something more than just hiding behind closed doors. They needed their freedom. They needed peace. This is why he mentioned that the first word from Jesus was ‘peace.’ After restoring their peace, Jesus went ahead to show them His wounds. What does this mean? Far from just an empirical evidence that He is the one, this action of Jesus purports a deeper meaning. It would mean: ‘I am still the wounded Lamb of sacrifice. My resurrection is not an end to the wound. I still bleed for you and for the world.’
‘Now I send you into the world. Be ready to be wounded for the sake of the gospel just as you see it all over me.’
Immediately after this, Jesus empowered them with the ‘Pneuma’ (“Spirit”): ‘Receive the Holy Spirit, not just for you but for the mission which I commission you now.’ Which mission? The mission of ‘divine mercy and forgiveness.’
Where is the meeting point between the gift of peace, the Holy Spirit and the mission of mercy and forgiveness? Yes, the Church that has the fullness of the Spirit is a Church that is an agent of peace, and forgiveness and mercy. And there is no better way to vehicle the mission of salvation to the world than bringing humanity together (peace) to experience the forgiving mercy of God (salvation) made possible through the action of the Holy Spirit.
THE ABSENCE AND THE DOUBTS OF THOMAS
The second part of the gospel announces the absence of Thomas. The motive for his absence was unclear but his doubt was striking. He did not just say ‘unless I see Him, I will not believe’, rather “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.” What truly informed Thomas’ conviction that the risen Christ must still bear His wounds? This goes beyond a simple doubt. In order to understand the beauty of this passage, we must close our eyes from the traditional stereotypical interpretation of Thomas as a ‘doubting Thomas.’ First of all, Thomas must have been a courageous type to still move out amidst the wave of fear. Secondly, he refused to be intimidated by the voice of the majority. And lastly, he questioned faith (faith must work with reason). But at the back of it all, we must note that the doubt of Thomas was not nihilism nor pessimism of total negation but a doubt seeking personal encounter of the truth. And John says that eight days later Thomas saw (but there was no indication that he touched as he earlier said) and exclaimed. This simply means a faith seeking understanding. He refused to believe in the Jesus of hear-say, the Jesus of Peter, James, John and the rest. He didn’t want to subscribe to the Jesus of a faceless crowd. He needed a personal encounter with Jesus. You know what? When he finally encountered Jesus, he not only changed his life but he equally professed a faith that non of the other apostles was able to profess. The gospel told us that when the rest saw Jesus, they rejoiced, but Thomas did not just rejoice, he equally exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” This is the basis of our Christian faith. He formulated a theology that affirms the divinity of Jesus. Raymond Brown calls this “the supreme Christological pronouncement of the Fourth Gospel”. Here, the most outrageous doubter of the Resurrection of Jesus utters the greatest confession of belief in the Lord Who rose from the dead.
Thus, the doubt of Thomas must be seen beyond a personal problem. It is a problem linked to the fact of separation from the community. He left the place he was supposed to be, the place of revelation. The Church is the body of Christ and we cannot grasp the mystery of God outside His body, for faith is lived in communion.
LIFE MESSAGE
1. EASTER LIVED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
A friend of mine expressed a deep sense of displeasure for not having celebrated the Holy Week this year in the usual manner. And I guess many of us shared a similar sentiment too. But it is consoling to hear from the gospel today that even the apostles once experienced a ‘lockdown’ as a result of a different kind of ‘pandemic.’ They couldn’t go out in the open nor participate in prayers in the Temple and synagogues. And guess what, they encountered the risen Lord in the little room of quarantine.
The doors and iron bars of our homes have limited our sight; rendered our faces moody; our hearts arid and our hopes uncertain. But the gospel encourages us to know that our homes are the places of revelation of the face of the risen Lord. He makes His way through our closed doors, closed thoughts and preoccupations, and His word can only be ‘Peace!’
2. UNLESS I SEE, I WILL NOT BELIEVE
We live in a pragmatic world where faith is put into question. The people of our time want ‘to see.’ They are tired of our beautiful sermons and wonderful prayer sections that do less to change the heart of the world. They want to see us reflect Jesus. They want to see our selfless love and unconditional mercy and forgiveness. They want to see us in our offices, places of public services and in our neighbourhood as men and women of peace, integrity and humility. Mother saint Teresa of Calcutta and Pope saint John Paul II, to mention but a few are our contemporary saints who changed the lives of millions not by words but by what people saw. Let us allow people to ‘see.’
3. AND DEEP MY FINGERS IN HIS WOUNDS
Thomas desired to put his hands in Jesus’ marks to have a feel of them. How many of us truly desire to have a feel of Jesus’ wounds? Let’s not ask where we can find it. His wounds are everywhere. There are many wounded hands and feet and sides living in the ‘calvary’ of this life. And as Jesus invited Thomas to deep his fingers in His wounds, so does He invite us to deep our fingers in the pains and struggles of those around us to feel them. Are we still searching for the wounds? They are found in those wounded in various ways by the viral epidemic either as a result of the lost of their beloved ones or deprived of sufficient needs to survive the lockdown. They bear the mark of Christ’ suffering. They are bleeding in pain. Jesus wants us to feel their pain today in any practical way we can. This will bring a different taste to our DIVINE MERCY CELEBRATION.
PRAYER
May St. Faustina Kowalska who encountered the merciful Jesus lead us on the path of mercy towards others through her example and her intercession. Amen.
I WISH ALL DIVINE MERCY DEVOTEES A HAPPY CELEBRATION.
