Today's Message: 2nd Sunday of Easter A: Divine Mercy Sunday
Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday and hear in the Gospel about Thomas, who has been given a bad rap; we also delve deeper into the understanding of faith. Each of the readings has a element of "show me," a wonderful teaching tool that is necessary for us to comprehend that our faith is based on the person of Jesus. What did Jesus show consistently? His love, His compassion, His forgiveness, His mercy and His presence to each person, leading to an understanding of God’s total, unconditional love. How often do I take time just to sit with this loving God? How often do I express my gratitude for all the people God has sent to teach me that I am important and loved? How often have I reflected that the people I have touched with caring and love have received a portion of God’s love in turn, and God is so grateful for my sharing and wants to thank me? Why not? Don’t we thank people who touch us? Don’t we teach our little ones table manners, the top of which is saying please, thank you and I’m sorry? The readings share the early Church’s growth and its developing faith.
Peter’s Pentecost speech is followed by an illustration of what life was like in the early Jerusalem community. Many had seen Jesus, many had heard Him talk. I’m sure many had seen some of His miracles and a few might have been recipients of His healings. For the most part, they were faithful to their Jewish faith. They had expected a Messiah, and it was easy to pass on this belief in seeing Jesus as the Messiah promised by Isaiah, Jeremiah and the prophets. In Acts, Luke identifies four characteristics of the struggling new Church: First he mentions the Church's devotion to the teaching of the Apostles, who received their instructions directly from the risen Lord; second, the Church was characterized by its communal life which certainly flowed from Jesus’ teaching to love one another as God loves us. This love is one that strives to bring each person closely in tune to God’s love. Third, the Church celebrated the breaking of the bread as Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, displaying total reliance on the sustenance that only God provides. Lastly, the Church continued to praise God in prayer, continually keeping its focus on the Kingdom of heaven. The lives of these early Christians were marked by simplicity and sharing, contrasting against the cultural tendencies of selfishness popular at the time. They presented a powerful and positive witness to what it means to follow Jesus not only in what they said, but also in how they acted and prayed to God.
This sounds very nice and pleasant, and we experienced much of it a month ago ... but things changed. The COVID-19 virus attacked and attacked us. We thought we could escape or be immune because of our scientific advantages. It didn’t happen. Deaths upon deaths continue to feed fear and a tearing apart of the fellowship and sharing we experience so much in our Liturgies. The Church of Jerusalem could say so easily that it happened to them too, and look who the instigator was: Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul who persecuted the Church.
Peter is addressing the Christian communities located in five provinces of Asia Minor, including some areas Paul had evangelized. Persecution has begun and Peter is encouraging them to remain faithful to their standards of belief and conduct in spite of the jailing, torture and deaths. An added problem exists because many have left their old religious roots, relatives and culture, and are alone in their new faith. Their support staff have left them and now are even reported and ostracized by family and living in fear of death. How can they remain faithful to their baptismal calling? Peter shares that they have been given an imperishable treasure that others cannot touch, steal or destroy, because it is not from here but from God. Have faith, Peter encourages. Suffering is cause for joy because it strengthens faith. I visited the Colosseum in Rome, where as many as 80,000 people cheered the gruesome, bloody events that destroyed those first martyrs. What faith, what strength, what confidence in the power of love, an image of God’s love, “... no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life. …” (John 15:13)
It’s kind of surprising that Thomas is remembered for his doubting rather than for his act of faith. Yet the most important single step in the art of doubting is to be willing to confront the possible truth. Look at Thomas, who came face-to-face with Jesus and wanted to see for himself this Tremendous Lover, His Savior, His God. And he did, and He believed. Imagine the scene. Seeing Jesus, the others were too frightened to understand what was happening. We don’t know Thomas’ occupation; maybe he was more of a thinker or had a scientific mind. He merely was echoing the human cry for certainty. Yet here on Earth, there is no such thing as absolute certainty about spiritual things. If there was, faith would not be necessary. My faith might be strong now to enable me to help to carry someone else. To the father whose son is possessed by a mute spirit in Mark, Jesus explains all is possible for one who has faith, and the father responds: “I do believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Being a believer or even just a spiritual believer in the world of the COVID-19 virus can be a lonely business. We need support, and here is where the community comes in. Do I help? Do I care? Do I realize I’m God’s witness to my world?
So I reflect on:
“Are the doors of my heart locked? Do I not expect Jesus to show up and visit me? Am I afraid — afraid that my well-ordered ways of thinking and doing things might be turned upside down if I let Jesus in?
“Brave, honest Thomas had gone off to grieve on his own, so he missed that meeting with the Lord. I have suffered in this way when I isolated myself from the community of faith. It is when I am stunned by sorrow that I most need the company of friends and the support of faith.”
Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday and hear in the Gospel about Thomas, who has been given a bad rap; we also delve deeper into the understanding of faith. Each of the readings has a element of "show me," a wonderful teaching tool that is necessary for us to comprehend that our faith is based on the person of Jesus. What did Jesus show consistently? His love, His compassion, His forgiveness, His mercy and His presence to each person, leading to an understanding of God’s total, unconditional love. How often do I take time just to sit with this loving God? How often do I express my gratitude for all the people God has sent to teach me that I am important and loved? How often have I reflected that the people I have touched with caring and love have received a portion of God’s love in turn, and God is so grateful for my sharing and wants to thank me? Why not? Don’t we thank people who touch us? Don’t we teach our little ones table manners, the top of which is saying please, thank you and I’m sorry? The readings share the early Church’s growth and its developing faith.
Peter’s Pentecost speech is followed by an illustration of what life was like in the early Jerusalem community. Many had seen Jesus, many had heard Him talk. I’m sure many had seen some of His miracles and a few might have been recipients of His healings. For the most part, they were faithful to their Jewish faith. They had expected a Messiah, and it was easy to pass on this belief in seeing Jesus as the Messiah promised by Isaiah, Jeremiah and the prophets. In Acts, Luke identifies four characteristics of the struggling new Church: First he mentions the Church's devotion to the teaching of the Apostles, who received their instructions directly from the risen Lord; second, the Church was characterized by its communal life which certainly flowed from Jesus’ teaching to love one another as God loves us. This love is one that strives to bring each person closely in tune to God’s love. Third, the Church celebrated the breaking of the bread as Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, displaying total reliance on the sustenance that only God provides. Lastly, the Church continued to praise God in prayer, continually keeping its focus on the Kingdom of heaven. The lives of these early Christians were marked by simplicity and sharing, contrasting against the cultural tendencies of selfishness popular at the time. They presented a powerful and positive witness to what it means to follow Jesus not only in what they said, but also in how they acted and prayed to God.
This sounds very nice and pleasant, and we experienced much of it a month ago ... but things changed. The COVID-19 virus attacked and attacked us. We thought we could escape or be immune because of our scientific advantages. It didn’t happen. Deaths upon deaths continue to feed fear and a tearing apart of the fellowship and sharing we experience so much in our Liturgies. The Church of Jerusalem could say so easily that it happened to them too, and look who the instigator was: Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul who persecuted the Church.
Peter is addressing the Christian communities located in five provinces of Asia Minor, including some areas Paul had evangelized. Persecution has begun and Peter is encouraging them to remain faithful to their standards of belief and conduct in spite of the jailing, torture and deaths. An added problem exists because many have left their old religious roots, relatives and culture, and are alone in their new faith. Their support staff have left them and now are even reported and ostracized by family and living in fear of death. How can they remain faithful to their baptismal calling? Peter shares that they have been given an imperishable treasure that others cannot touch, steal or destroy, because it is not from here but from God. Have faith, Peter encourages. Suffering is cause for joy because it strengthens faith. I visited the Colosseum in Rome, where as many as 80,000 people cheered the gruesome, bloody events that destroyed those first martyrs. What faith, what strength, what confidence in the power of love, an image of God’s love, “... no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life. …” (John 15:13)
It’s kind of surprising that Thomas is remembered for his doubting rather than for his act of faith. Yet the most important single step in the art of doubting is to be willing to confront the possible truth. Look at Thomas, who came face-to-face with Jesus and wanted to see for himself this Tremendous Lover, His Savior, His God. And he did, and He believed. Imagine the scene. Seeing Jesus, the others were too frightened to understand what was happening. We don’t know Thomas’ occupation; maybe he was more of a thinker or had a scientific mind. He merely was echoing the human cry for certainty. Yet here on Earth, there is no such thing as absolute certainty about spiritual things. If there was, faith would not be necessary. My faith might be strong now to enable me to help to carry someone else. To the father whose son is possessed by a mute spirit in Mark, Jesus explains all is possible for one who has faith, and the father responds: “I do believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Being a believer or even just a spiritual believer in the world of the COVID-19 virus can be a lonely business. We need support, and here is where the community comes in. Do I help? Do I care? Do I realize I’m God’s witness to my world?
So I reflect on:
- Faith is a gift I have been given. On this Mercy Sunday, how can I have greater mercy for those who may not believe or are troubled in their belief?
- In today’s story in Acts, the early community showed the risen Lord by the way they lived their lives. How can I build a faith community that is so loving that others are attracted?
- Is part of my doubt tied up in how I feel about myself? Am I harder on myself than I am on other people?
- What about Jesus gives me hope and helps me overcome doubt? About Scripture? The Church?
“Are the doors of my heart locked? Do I not expect Jesus to show up and visit me? Am I afraid — afraid that my well-ordered ways of thinking and doing things might be turned upside down if I let Jesus in?
“Brave, honest Thomas had gone off to grieve on his own, so he missed that meeting with the Lord. I have suffered in this way when I isolated myself from the community of faith. It is when I am stunned by sorrow that I most need the company of friends and the support of faith.”
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