Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

The Gift Of Divine Mercy

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, April 16, 2023

If there is anyone out there who still doubts the relentlessness of Divine Mercy; who still wonders if their sins will ever be forgiven by God; who still questions God’s ability to forgive all sins no matter how grave and heinous those sins are, today’s amazing Gospel (John 20:19-31) is your answer. In the Old Testament, God is described in one word, Hesed which means “tender-mercy.” It is this attribute of God, this hesed (tender-mercy) that is fully disclosed in our today’s Gospel. It is fully disclosed as the mercy that swallows our sins. 

Hiding in the upper room are the disciples of Jesus, who at the moment of truth had denied, betrayed, and abandoned their Master. Jesus comes, despite the locked doors and stands in their midst. What does locked doors symbolize? Fear! They are mortally fearful that the same people who killed Jesus will come after them. Standing in their midst, the risen Christ says to them, Shalom! (“Peace be with you”). To this day, wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, he is right in their midst. So, anytime we gather for the Mass, the same risen Christ is in our midst. Despite the locked doors of their fear, apprehension and doubt, he comes and stands in their midst. Then he does something worth noting: he shows his wounds. Why is the showing of his wounds so important? Just in case they forget what the world did to him. The wounds of Jesus are signs that all is not well with us. For the second time, he says to them, Shalom! (Peace be with you). What does his Shalom indicate? That he returns not in anger, not to seek revenge or retribution. It indicates he comes in peace to those who had denied, betrayed, and abandoned him and therefore contributed to his death. He returns with Shalom and weathers the storm of their fears. All of Christian redemption is contained in those four words, “Peace be with you.” We sinners wound Jesus too, but he stands in our midst and says, Shalom to us. That is the offer of Divine Mercy. That is why Divine Mercy Sunday matters. 

After the greeting of peace, the risen Christ breathed on them. What does that mean? At creation, “God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; then he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). That breath of God (Ruach Yahweh) which gives life to all things is being breathed into the disciples by Jesus who is the very incarnation of Yahweh. By breathing on them, he is waking them up from their spiritual slumber. Spiritually they were like the lifeless clay image that God formed at the beginning of creation. But now Jesus is breathing into them the very Ruach Yahweh (the breath of God). He is knocking off their fear, their doubt, and their apprehension. He is resuscitating them to the new life they were meant to live. Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into them so that they might become bearers of God’s mercy to the world.

We then get to the story of Thomas. Up and down the centuries, many people are attracted to Thomas because they identify with him. The Gospel says “Thomas, called Didymus (which means twin) one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.” When he returned, the other disciples joyfully said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” His response? I’m not going to believe until I can see him with my own eyes, and put my finger in his wounds. Thomas is in a probing mood. He is making an aggressive self-centered attempt to be in control. But divine mercy is received as a gift. A week later, the risen Christ comes again. This time, Thomas was around. Despite Thomas’ doubt, Jesus invites him and says to 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. Is Jesus mocking Thomas? Not at all! He is taking Thomas’s aggressive attempt to control and also inviting him into the right attitude. Jesus is basically saying to him: accept what has been offered to you. It was at this time that Thomas the empiricist, Thomas the doubter, Thomas the rationalist, Thomas the scientist, Thomas the “I have to see it myself” surrenders his belligerent attempt to control, surrenders his ego and makes the greatest confession of faith in the Bible: “My Lord and my God!” It took him a while to come to know who Jesus really was, but he did get there. People saw Jesus as a prophet, as a seer, a truth-teller, a miracle worker etc. Yes, Jesus is all of those, but the person who got it most right is Thomas. He has the most doctrinally, most convincing and thorough confession of Jesus. Having seen the risen Christ, having received Divine Mercy, Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and my God!” It was the doubter who gets it. It was him who gives us the greatest confession of faith. 

Think about this! Despite the disciples’ denial, betrayal, and abandonment of their Master on Good Friday, their Master returns, not with vengeance, but with mercy. Even Thomas who initially doubted his Resurrection also received mercy. More to it, Jesus breathed on them with the Spirit of life. If you are baptized and confirmed, Christ also breathed on you the Holy Spirit that you might be fully alive and also become to the world, a bearer of God’s life and mercy. What’s the most important thing in the life of many? Going to college, getting a degree and another degree and getting a job and a certain position they dreamed about. Those are good. But that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is receiving Divine Mercy and becoming a bearer of Divine Mercy to the world. If you attain those, you are fulfilling your vocation and mission as a baptized member of the Church. This is all that matters, sisters and brothers. Today, I enjoin you to give to your brothers and sisters what the risen Lord has given to you. And that’s mercy!