The gospel passage that we have just heard gives us a glimpse into the merciful heart of our God. It begins by describing the encounter between the disciples and the risen Jesus inside the house where the disciples had met (cf Jn 20:19). Despite the fact that the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. He didn’t knock; he just appeared among them and showed them his hands and his feet. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord (Jn 20:20). They had heard him speak about rising from the dead, but it wasn’t until they saw him for themselves that they were able to rejoice.
If the other disciples were unable to truly believe that such a miracle was possible, is it any wonder that Thomas, one of the disciples who was not with them when Jesus appeared (Jn 20:24) was skeptical about accepting the witness of the other disciples? ... and what about us? Week after week, we gather here to pray; we recite the words of the Creed: I believe in God ... I believe in Jesus Christ ... who was crucified, died and was buried; ... on the third day, he rose again from the dead (Apostles’ Creed) but do we truly believe that Jesus rose, or is there still a part of us that needs to see the mark of the nails in his hands (Jn 20:25) before we will believe?
It’s interesting to note that Jesus did not give up on Thomas. Even though he was not present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, Jesus came back to give Thomas another chance, and that’s what he does with us too. Jesus wants to give each one of us a chance to encounter him in our lives so that we can come to believe that he is not just the object of a story that is told year after year. Jesus is living in our midst and when we encounter him, he speaks the same words to our hearts as he spoke to the disciples: Peace be with you! (Jn 20:19, 20, 26). Peace is Jesus’ wish for each one of us and mercy is the face that we encounter when we meet him.
This second Sunday of the Easter season is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a special gift for all of us, a reminder that whenever we are in the presence of our God, the first gift He wants to show us is mercy. Recognizing and celebrating God’s mercy has been a long-standing part of the life of our faith. It was because they had encountered Christ’s mercy that the first disciples came to believe in him and it was through personally experiencing mercy that others have also been drawn to learn more about who God is, how he sent Jesus among us to reveal his merciful face to us and how the Holy Spirit continues the work of sharing mercy with us today.
The process of learning about God and about his mercy is called Evangelization. In a few weeks time, we will have an opportunity to hear more about people’s encounters with divine mercy during the New Evangelization Summit. There is more information about the summit in your bulletin today, including a post card that provides all the information you will need and directions about how you can participate. I want to invite each one of you to consider accepting a personal invitation to attend the Summit on April 27 and 28th so that we can all learn more about the great gift of God’s divine mercy.
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