Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 118; 1Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
Honest Doubt and Peace
Pope John Paul II calls the second Sunday of Easter “Divine Mercy Sunday”. It is a special day when we give thanks to God for all that we have received from him as we have it in today’s psalm (Ps.118). We thank God for the gift of our redemption in Christ Jesus. “We owe the debt we could not pay; He paid the debt He did not owe…” So we thank God for such unmerited favour. We thank him for his Divine Mercy. Peter says in the second reading of today 1Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we have a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away, because it is being kept for you in the heavens.”
Saint Faustina, a Sister of Mercy from Poland who started the Divine Mercy devotion, received a revelation that led to the creation of Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus made several requests for a Feast of Divine Mercy between 1930 and 1938. The Vatican declared that the Second Sunday of Easter would henceforth be known as Divine Mercy Sunday on May 5, 2000, five days after Saint Faustina was made a saint.
Divine mercy is a mystery of faith that goes far beyond a particular devotion. In his encyclical “Dives in Misericordia”, the Holy Father explains that Divine Mercy is the ultimate manifestation of God’s love in a history injured by sin. The Bible says; all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Mercy restores man back to God’s glory. We are sinners; but mercy found us. God is rich in mercy, not poor; generous not stingy, extravagant not thrifty. Let us weep with relief, repent and be grateful. The readings today offer us the opportunity to further understand the Divine Mercy of God.
DIVINE MERCY IS THE MEDICINE FOR ALL SINNERS: This medicine is administered by a priest through the power of the sacrament of reconciliation as Jesus says in today’s gospel John 20:23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; … Whoever’s sins you retain, they have been retained…” The sacrament of penance is a place where validly ordained priests exercise this mandate. We are all sinners but the confessional makes the difference. At the confessional we are washed. In John 13:8 Jesus said to Peter “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Therefore, if we must have part in Jesus we must be washed. In Rev.7:14 an elder in heaven describes the saints as those who have come out of the great tribulation and are washed in the blood of the lamb. What is that sin that troubles you? Isaiah 1:18 says “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.” Divine mercy is our hope let us immerse ourselves in him.
DIVINE MERCY IS THE HOPE FOR DOUBTING CHRISTIANS: How do we understand Thomas? We need to be clear on how we understand Thomas. The well-liked interpretation puts him in a bad light, as “doubting Thomas”. Beyond this, Thomas was honest about his doubt and honest doubts often produce great faith. Thus, he was the first to declare the Lordship and Divinity of Jesus Christ – He says “My Lord and my God”. If you are in doubt come to the fount of Mercy and your doubt shall be wiped away. Thomas’ honest doubt is a model for modern Christians. Thomas insisted that before he could believe in Jesus’ resurrection he must see the holes the nails made in his hands; put his finger into the holes and his hand into the great wound made by the centurion’s lance. As a matter of fact, the Merciful Jesus honours him by His second appearance where He addressed Thomas directly. Therefore, Thomas’ doubt was a necessary doubt. Necessary doubt saves us from gullibility. His doubt was faith seeking understanding. Christians in this category will always find the mercy of God.
Today, despite the level of awareness it has become so easy to confuse Christians than to convince them. A lot of Christians today are gullible, they believe anything and so they are exploited in the name of faith and Christ. The exploitation in Christianity today strives because many Christians are gullible. Many Christians run after all kinds of oil in the market. Pastors are selling oil the same way babalawos are selling soap. Beloved in Christ, the Church is not a refinery; be careful! Am not condemning articles of faith but am against the absolutist view about them. Do not be gullible. In gullibility a man is so open-minded that his brain falls out. Open your mind; but use your brain. Even the bible does not ask you to believe everything; 1John 4:1 says; “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
On the other hand, in as much as the Divine Mercy honours necessary doubt we should be careful not to fall into the errors of rationalism – The philosophy of reason as the only and authentic source of knowledge. Christianity is a religion of faith and reason. Traditionally, faith and reason have been considered sources of justification for religious belief because they can serve the same epistemic function. That is, no conflicts exists between the two. Reason properly employed and faith properly understood will never produce contradictory or competing claims. Thomas had faith that his reason never knew. Thus, he was seeking for understanding – he was spiritually curious. As soon as he understood; he worshiped, he did not argue further. Beloved, inasmuch as we must guide against gullibility we must know where to draw the line so that we don’t fall into the errors of the rationalists.
DIVINE MERCY IS THE GIVER OF PEACE: “Peace be with you”, these were the very words of Jesus to his disciples when he appeared to them. After Jesus’ death, the society was in disorder – religious and political tensions about Jesus. Amidst these tensions Jesus said to them “Peace be with you”. Beloved in Christ, we need peace as a community and as individuals. In a community where there is no peace things are torn into pieces. Lack of peace is one of the major causes of high blood pressure today. Some families are in real crises, many individuals have no peace of mind and body.
We cannot practice true Christian spirit as we have it in the first reading without peace. The Bible says “The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.” Believers won’t share their possessions for the good of all without peace. If there is no peace the goal of the Christian community shall be defeated.
To restore the confidence of his people Jesus manifested himself as the Peace-Giver. In the Eucharistic celebration Jesus speaks the language of peace in the person of the celebrant; “Peace be with you!” This greeting has both spiritual and physical value. Peace to our body and peace to our soul. In accordance with Col 3:15 I pray that the peace of Christ will rule in our hearts. Amen!
LET US PRAY
God of everlasting mercy, who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast kindle the faith of the people you have made your own, increase, we pray, the grace you have bestowed, that all may grasp and rightly understand in what font they have been washed, by whose Spirit they have been reborn, by whose Blood they have been redeemed.
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
