HOMILY FOR 2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY) - YEAR B

HOMILY FOR 2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY) – YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: ” BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY”(Matthew 5:7)

BY: Fr. C. C. Aladi

HOMILY:

GOSPEL JOHN 20:19-31.

My dearest people of God, I joyfully welcome you to the house of God today as we celebrate the great feast of DIVINE MERCY, note it, it is divine mercy and not worldly pity. Mercy is godly, it is an attribute of God( Psalm 118 of our responsorial psalm today says…for His mercy endures forever) and an indispensable quality of a true disciple of Christ. Mercy, compassion and forgiveness are all related in the sense that each seeks the good of another, heals the wound of another, and pays the price for another demanding nothing in return even when one deserves to pay the price. William Shakespeare, once said “the quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:It blesses him that gives and him that takes…” This means that mercy must be freely given and not forced. God demonstrated his free gift of His mercy by sending his only son to die for us and to redeem us sinners through His sufferings, death and resurrection. We never deserved it, but God gratuitously shows His mercy because He loves us and not because He stands to gain anything from us.

The first reading of today reminds us of the early Christian community and how they lived out the mercy of God among the Jews through their MERCIFUL COPORAL WORKS, practicing the sharing love, compassion and the mercy. This witnessing community derived its strength from community prayer, “the Breaking of the Bread” and the apostles’ teaching read at the worship service. Prayer, Eucharist and the word of God hence is foundational in building and nurturing mercy in the life of every Christian. It is from the trio that we also draw the strength and conviction to show mercy and compassion. There is so much wickedness and revenge in our world today, let this feast be a great challenge to us all.

While the first reading from the acts of the Apostles focuses on Corporal works of mercy, the second reading from the 1st letter of St. John focuses on spiritual and corporal works of mercy. John urges our obedience to the commandments given by God, especially the commandment of love as clarified by Jesus. Loving others as Jesus loves us demands that we treat others with Jesus’ mercy and compassion. John reminds us that everyone who claims to love God, especially one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, has to love all the others whom God has created. We are to conquer the world by putting our Faith in Jesus and in the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, two sacraments of Divine Mercy that Jesus instituted.

The Gospel of today is one of the scriptural sources of divine mercy of God as it comes to us through the Sacrament of reconciliation dispensed by the church through the Authority of Christ. Jesus entrusted to his apostles and us all his mission of preaching the “Good News” of God’s love, mercy, forgiveness and salvation. This teaches us that Jesus uses the Church as the earthly means of continuing His mission. The Risen Lord gives the Apostles the authority to forgive sins in His Name. He gives the apostles the power of imparting God’s mercy to the sinner, the gift of forgiving sins from God’s treasury of mercy. It is God who forgives sin through the instrumentality of the Priest who are sharers in that Apostolic authority. If God does not need the Apostles(men) to forgive sins, then He wouldn’t have given them then authority to “bind” and “loose”. We obtain God’s mercy and forgiveness at the sacrament of reconciliation. The sacrament of Penance is a tribunal of mercy where every one is discharged and acquitted and not condemned for “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1ff). The clearest way of expressing our belief in the presence of the Risen Jesus among us is through our own forgiveness of others. We can’t form a lasting Christian community without such forgiveness. Let us therefore practice God’s forgiveness and compassion. Unless we forgive others, our celebration of the Eucharist is just an exercise in liturgical rubrics and our Christian life empty.

The early Christians lived together as a community of faith. The Christian community contributes greatly in building up our faith in God. Anything that threatens the Christian community or destroys it, is worst than a nuclear bomb because it touches the very foundation of the Christian life and faith. Thomas doubted the appearance of the risen Lord because he was away from the community when Christ first appeared to the disciples. This should serve as a warning to us. It is difficult for us to believe when we do not strengthen ourselves with the fellowship of other believers. Those who absent themselves wilfully from Sunday masses and other Christian gatherings should begin now to reconsider their options. Don’t forget that Jesus appeared to the disciples where they gathered as community of believers and not in a night Party or Casino. When the Lord appeared to Thomas later, He said: “Blessed are those who have not seen but have believed.” This story of doubting Thomas highlights the importance of signs and also their limitations in terms of bringing people to faith. Thomas overcame his doubts by seeing and touching Jesus. Today we no longer “see” or touch Jesus as Thomas did but we have to believe what we hear, that is why Paul reminds us that “Faith comes from hearing” (Rom 10:17). Faith comes to us in different ways, so we have to appreciate God’s mercy in bringing us closer to himself.

The feast of Divine Mercy began April 30th 2000 when our Lord appeared to St. Faustina and requested that this feast be established in the church to propagate the divine and incomprehensible mercy of God. To tell the world that no sin is beyond God’s forgiveness.That whomever asks for His mercy must surely find it. YOU TOO CAN ALSO BE A MEMBER OF THIS PIOUS SOCIETY OF DIVINE MERCY. It is open to every one.

Let us all as members or non members of divine mercy society show mercy, forgiveness and compassion to all we meet daily. This is the only way to conquer the wickedness of the world and restore peace in our troubled world. IN A COUNTRY LIKE AMERICA WHERE EVERY ONE INSIST ON HIS OWN RIGHTS AS IT IS WRITTEN IN THE LAW OF THE LAND, LET US NOT FORGET THAT YOU CAN YIELD THAT RIGHT TO BE MERCIFUL TO THOSE WHO HURT YOU RATHER THAN HAVE THEM FACE THE WRATH OF THE LAW. IF THE TRAFFIC LAW SAYS “YOU CAN YIELD YOUR RIGHT OF WAY IN SOME SITUATION TO PREVENT ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD, SO TOO WE CAN YIELD OUR LEGAL RIGHTS TO SHOW MERCY TO THOSE WHO HURT US.

May we experience God’s mercy and compassion and in turn show it to others.

I keep you and your Family always in my prayers Always.

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