April 3, 2016
Second Sunday of Easter (Divine
Mercy Sunday)
Acts 5:12-16; Psalm 118;
Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31
I remember reading this story
from the book The Name of God is Mercy.
There was a young German soldier who was captured by the French army and
sentenced to death. Before his execution, a priest came to talk to him. Upon
hearing the confession of this soldier, the priest said to him: “In order for
you to obtain forgiveness and absolution, you need to repent and feel sorry for
your sins.” The soldier answered the priest: “But how can I repent Father? I
enjoyed indulging myself in sin. In fact, if I will be given a chance to live
longer, I will do the same sins again and again.” The priest looked at him and
was hesitant to give him absolution because there was no sincere sorrow for his
sins. But the merciful priest wanted to absolve this man. So the priest asked
him, “But are you sorry that you are not sorry for your sins?” The soldier
replied saying, “Yes father, I am sorry that I am not sorry.” With that, the
priest absolved him from his sins.
My brothers and sisters, this is
the mercy of God that does not give up in forgiving sinners. Today, the Second
Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. Mercy is one of the messages of the
Risen Jesus to his disciples. In what ways did Jesus show mercy after His
resurrection? How did the apostles experience it? What effect did this mercy
bring to the apostles?
Let us reflect on this in three
points:
GOD’S MERCY CAN PENETRATE THE
HEARTS OF PEOPLE. In the gospel we see that even if the disciples locked
themselves in a room, Jesus was able enter the room. What were the first words
of Jesus to his disciples? He said to them: “Peace be with you.” This greeting
is very significant. Remember that during the passion and suffering of Jesus,
where did the disciples go? They ran away and hid themselves. They abandoned
Jesus at the moment when He needed the support of His close friends. But
instead of reprimanding His disciples, instead of revenge, Jesus appeared to
them and offered peace, mercy and reconciliation. This is how the mercy of God
penetrates our hearts. Even if the doors of our hearts remain closed, God’s
mercy can penetrate and enter our hearts not to seek revenge, but to offer us
His peace, mercy and reconciliation. This is the good news of the Divine Mercy.
GOD’S MERCY CAN HEAL OUR WOUNDS.
One of the prominent characters in the gospel today is Thomas the apostle. He
is known as the “doubting Thomas” because he doubted the report of his fellow
apostles that they had seen the Risen Jesus. Where did this doubt of Thomas
come from? My brothers and sisters, we also need to understand Thomas. He was
also hurt. He was also wounded. He was grieving at the death of Jesus. Perhaps
the reason why he was absent when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, was
that he wanted to have some time alone by himself. Thomas was also in pain.
That is why Jesus never gave up on Thomas. After a week, Jesus appeared again
to the disciples and greeted Thomas “Peace be with you.” This encounter with
the Risen Jesus healed the wounded heart of Thomas. This healing led Thomas to
believe and say: “My Lord and my God!”
My brothers and sisters, we are
all like Thomas. We come to the Lord as wounded people. Jesus himself was
wounded. The Risen Lord had nail marks
on his hands and feet. Those nail marks indicate that the Lord knows how
painful it is to be wounded. That is why when Jesus appeared to wounded Thomas,
instead of anger and hatred, the Lord showed him mercy. Like the wounded
Thomas, our encounter with God’s mercy can bring healing to our wounds, doubts
and unbelief. What happened to Thomas and to the disciples after experiencing
God’s mercy?
EXPERIENCING GOD’S MERCY WILL
STRENGTHEN US TO BE “MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER.” The theme for the Year of Mercy
captures this. Pope Francis invites us not only to experience the mercy of God
but to share this mercy to others. Thus the theme rightly says, “be merciful
like the Father.” This is precisely what the disciples of Jesus did. They were
transformed after experiencing the mercy of Jesus. As they continued to preach
about Jesus, people will persecute them and put them to prison. Learning from
Jesus, their only response to these challenges, their only response to the
wounds inflicted on them is mercy – not revenge, not violence, not anger, not
hatred but mercy. Pope Francis tells us
that the mercy of God transforms us. It is true. It did transform and
strengthened the disciples of Jesus to be merciful like the Father.
My brothers and sisters, as we
celebrate today Divine Mercy Sunday let us look at the image of the Divine
Mercy. It is the image of the Risen Jesus with nail marks on his hands and
feet. In the silence of our hearts, let us say to Him: “Jesus I trust in you.
Jesus I trust in your mercy. I trust that you can heal my wounds. I entrust
myself to you. Make me an instrument of Your mercy to
others.” Amen.