HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (DIVINE MERCY), YEAR C
Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
The resurrection and the appearances of Jesus were the strongest and deepest foundation for the unity, love and peace lived and experienced by the early Christian community. Any form of unity without a solid foundation crumbles in no far time. The resurrection faith was a great propellant towards more courage and determination to spread the gospel of the risen Jesus. It was a proof that the journey of faith is not ended yet. It opens the way and shines the light for better livelihood and lifestyle. A story is told of an African Muslim who became a Christian. His friends asked: why have you become a Christian? He employed an analogy to answer this question: it’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn’t know which way to go; and there at the fork are two men, one dead and one alive –who would you ask which way to go? His friends replied: of course, the one that is alive. And then he continued: I was confused in my faith journey and discovered that I could only ask the direction from the one who is alive. Jesus is alive. Only he can show us the road. The dialogue of these friends could be likened to the vision of John in the Second Reading (Rev. 1:9-11a,12-13, 17-19). John felt dead and confused at the face of the great image of the son of man who touched him, calmed his fear, and then assured him that even though he was dead, he now lives for ever. The resurrection faith offers a clear and distinct understanding to the identity of Jesus, and so gives the Christian a succinct direction for his/her earthly life.
The Gospel of today (John 20:19-31) gives us a clear message of what the power of the resurrection faith could achieve in the life of the Christian. According to the story, it was most likely that the disciples continued to meet in the upper room where the last supper had been held. However, they did this in fear and thus could be likened as a gathering of confused and anxious people. They constantly locked the entrance doors. Having witnessed how brutal Jesus was killed, they were probably afraid of whose turn would come next. They met every first day of the week; and the content of such a meeting would be to pray and encourage one another, and so that no one would be vulnerable to the pranks of the Jews. As they were together, Jesus suddenly appeared in their midst and greeted them in his normal way: peace be to you. Jesus comes when we are together. He is attracted to a community of faith. It is not enough to have an individual faith. No matter how confused it may seem, there is surely more courage and experiences of faith when we are in the midst of a praying community.
Yes, a family that prays together stays together. Praying was their bond; and thus they were living in unity. And because they were united, Jesus gave them peace. Peace is the consequence of unity. Peace does not come where there is disunity. The reward for peace is the Holy Spirit. After the peace greeting, Jesus proceeded to give them the Holy Spirit. And wherever the Spirit enters, empowerment follows. The empowerment came with the power to forgive and retain sins. The process then goes this way for a worshipping community: Unity – Peace – Holy Spirit – Empowerment, whereby their sequence flows logically. Ubi caritas, et amor, Deus ibi est (where charity and love is, God is there). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of peace, of love and of forgiveness. The Spirit makes the divine mercy available to us. Today is the Divine Mercy Sunday; a day we are reminded of the mercy of God that cleanses us of all sins, and while making us spotless, encourages us to embrace God always to remain the pure status we have worn in Christ.
However, one of the disciples was not around. Thomas was not there during the visit of Jesus. Had it been he knew that Jesus would come that day, he would have been there. We must be aware that whenever we are not where we ought to be, we run the risk of denying ourselves certain privileges and opportunities. It is better to be the direct recipients of God’s favours than to partake in the favours of others. We must be carriers of anointing ourselves. Constant presence matters a lot. We need to be present in the Church always, and not merely hearing from others how lovely the worship was. When Thomas was told about the visit of the resurrected Jesus, he doubted. Jesus visited the second time, and challenged Thomas to touch him. Then came the greatest confession of faith by Thomas, My Lord and my God. Experiencing Christ has to make us move beyond doubts into a solid faith. Solid faith assures more unity. And more unity of faith produces more signs and wonders. In the First Reading (Acts 5:12-16), many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles. This attracted many people to them, and their population increased.
Thomas saw and believed that it was the Lord. We too in so many ways are like Thomas. We are filled with doubts in our faith. But we must recall that doubting Thomas did not stay in doubt. He became a person of solid faith and a courageous witness of the resurrection faith to many lands -in ancient Babylon, South Malaba and even to the East coast of India. And indeed, the doubt of Thomas has many positives. Apart from that great confession of faith, his zeal to feel the Lord’s wounds which are signs of love led him into teaching us that Jesus can only be recognized by his wounds. It is only when we see the wounds of Jesus that we could contemplate the boundless love flowing from his heart, the heart of mercy and the heart that beats for each one of us. Thus, the ‘mine’ in the great confession and this zeal to feel the wounds amount to a sort of love story. The Divine Mercy Sunday reminds us of this love story and our love story in Christ. This love story is summarized in beholding the wounds of Jesus in which lies the source of forgiveness and mercy. And we need to remind ourselves daily that Jesus entrusted to his apostles this gift of forgiving sins, a gift that flows from his heart. His heart was wounded that we might be healed. This heart has given us every sanctification that we need. Oh, blood and water which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, we trust in you. Happy Divine Mercy Sunday. God bless you.
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