Homily Easter 2A: Sent on a mission of mercy and reconciliation

 

Homily for 2^nd Sunday of Easter Year A 2023

Introduction

Imagine being one of the disciples of Jesus in that upper room. You are in hiding, having run away from the Lord, having deserted him because you feared to suffer and die with him.  And now suddenly he shows up, and the first words out of his mouth are not, “Why did you abandon me in my suffering?  What kind of friends are you?” Instead he says, “Shalom, Peace be with you.”

These are words of mercy, God’s mercy, divine mercy.  On this Divine Mercy Sunday, I would like us to reflect on how Jesus in these simple words, teaches a twofold message of divine mercy. First he showers God’s mercy upon his disciples and then he charges them with sharing that mercy.

Scripture and Tradition

“Peace be with be you.”  The priest in the prayer of absolution says something similar during confession, saying, “through the ministry of the Church, may the Lord grant you pardon and peace.”  For divine mercy is not just about pardon, but also about peace with God, with each other and with oneself.  That is what Our Blessed Lord is giving to these disciples when he first meets them after his resurrection and greets them, “Peace be with you.”

A week later, when Jesus came back to them, again he greeted them, “Peace be with you.”  And this time round, Thomas who was absent the first time, cared enough to show up.  Again the Lord extends his peace, his mercy even to this disciple who has come down in history as the doubting Thomas. He tells him, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”  Perhaps overwhelmed by this merciful reception Thomas is inspired to profess his faith in Jesus and say, “My Lord and my God!”  Although Jesus chides him a little for his unbelief, he does not berate Thomas and scold him for his unbelief.  He treats him better than he deserves, which is what mercy is.  He slowly brings him to full faith.

But mercy received must be mercy shared.  That is why after saying “Peace be with you,” the Lord adds, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  What he had done, preaching and bringing about mercy through his death and resurrection had to be continued, so that each generation until the end of time, will experience that divine mercy, that saving mystery.  That is why the Lord sends them forth, to do this through teaching, through baptising and many other ways.  But in a special way Jesus he tasks them with forgiving sins: "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

The disciples, the Church, however, cannot do this enormous work on their own.  They need power from on high.  That is why Jesus first "breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"  By doing so, he empowered them to be able to do supernatural things, like believing in things that seemed incredible, being courageous to give up their lives for his name, loving their enemy when every bone in them told them to do otherwise, and being able to receive grace and give grace, which is really the life of God.  They can now share God’s mercy with others, because he has not only shared his mercy with them, but has also empowered them with power from on high to do so, telling them.  "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 

Christian Application

Our Lord also says these words to us today.  He both offers us his mercy and challenges us to share that mercy with others.  This celebration should inspire us to return to our roots, to that upper room where Jesus first appeared to us and hear again the generosity of God who says to us sinners, “Peace be with you.”  We must return to that upper room, to hear the urgency of the mission: "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you."

As Pope Francis has tried to remind us repeatedly, we as Church are on a mission to bring mercy to this world.  The titles of his writings about mercy are very telling of this truth.  One writing is entitled, The Name of God is Mercy reminding us that God is essentially merciful.  And when he proclaimed the Year of Mercy a few years ago, the document with which he did it was called, The Face of Mercy, reminding us that Jesus is indeed the face of the Father’s Mercy.

We are recipients of this mercy in many ways, but especially in the sacraments of the Church.  Consider the three sacraments of initiation.

·        In baptism, original sin, any other sins and all the punishments due to sin are erased and we are set on the road that leads to heaven.

·        In Confirmation, as the Lord did to the disciples in the upper room, he breathes the Holy Spirit upon us, to strengthen us for the journey.

·        In the Eucharist, where we celebrate the Lord’s death and resurrection, the very events that save us, we are brought once again to the upper room, to receive in Word and sacrament, the peace of the Lord.

We are also recipients of God’s mercy in a perhaps more immediate way, in the sacraments of healing.

·       When we are sick and are thus burdened with the weight of pain and suffering, both physical and psychological, burdened with the prospect of death, the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, brings us God’s mercy, so that we can bear this human condition in peace and hope, and receive the healing of our souls.

·       When we sin and are thus burdened with the prospect of the punishment of hell, and the realization that I have offended “thee my God who are all good and deserving of my love”, the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, brings us God’s mercy.  And then we can leave the confessional relieved when the priest says to us, “The Lord has forgiven your sins.  Go in peace.”

We are truly fortunate to be recipients of such a great gift of divine mercy.

Now what do with it?  How do we do share it?  There are plenty of examples in the Scriptures.  But let us turn to the readings of today for some inspiration.

First, how do we treat those who don’t believe as strongly as we do?  How do we treat sinners?  Consider how the disciples handled the unbelieving Thomas.  Did they condemn him or berate him?  No.  They invited him to come with them to the upper room, the next Sunday, just in case the Lord would show up again – and show up he did.

When is the last time you invited a fallen away friend to Mass, or even just to a Church function, to the picnic or fair?  The disciples stepped up to the plate and were the voice of Jesus to Thomas, so that he would then eventually encounter the Lord himself.  Jesus is sending you and me to do the same for our unbelieving friends, to carry out the spiritual works of mercy, namely, (1) To instruct the ignorant, (2) To counsel the doubtful, (3) To admonish sinners, (4) To bear wrongs patiently, (5) To forgive offences willingly, (6) To comfort the afflicted, (7) To pray for the living and the dead.

Secondly, how do we treat the less fortunate among us?  We should follow the example of the first community of disciples we heard about in the first reading, who provide us with a model of how to be Church.  We heard that they devoted themselves to four things: to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.  And then, they also shared what they had in common, sharing with the less fortunate, according to each one’s need, not necessarily, according to their contribution.  Today we do that in carrying out the corporal works of mercy, namely, (1) To feed the hungry, (2) To give drink to the thirsty (3) To clothe the naked (4) To shelter the homeless, (5) To visit the sick, (6) To visit the imprisoned, (7) To bury the dead.

Conclusion

"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  Our response to this message is one of gratitude, as we sang in the Responsorial Psalm.  Let us give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy is everlasting.  But for his peace and mercy to be everlasting, we must not keep it to ourselves, but we must share it with others, now and always.