Second Sunday of Easter/Sunday of Divine Mercy
I am wandering off my trodden path for my homily today. This homily is more of an exposé than a scriptural reflection with my typical three practical implications. I am doing this because today is Divine Mercy Sunday. The celebration of the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday is a very recent development. It was on this Sunday in 2000 that Pope John Paul II canonized Sr. Faustina Kowalska. It is to her that we owe the origin of this celebration. On that day, JP II announced that “from now on throughout the Church this Sunday will be called Divine Mercy Sunday.” Sr. Faustina was born in Poland and she became a nun in the Congregation of the Sister of Mercy. Her life was characterized by deep spiritual interiority. On Feb 22, 1931, Sr. Faustina experienced a life-changing vision of Christ standing in a white robe with two rays of light emerging from his heart. It is the signature image of the Divine mercy devotion. Faustina died at the very young age of 33. In his life-time, John Paul actively promoted the message of Sr. Faustina and this was probably the rationale behind his 1980 encyclical, “Rich in Mercy.”
Unfortunately, the readings for Divine Mercy Sunday were not changed to better suit the celebration. We still use the readings of the second Sunday of Easter on this day. Perhaps, there are many scripture passages that better capture the mercy of God. I am using Pope John Paul’s encyclical “Rich in Mercy” to talk about Divine Mercy. There is another reason for this homily on Divine Mercy. The single most operative word of Pope Francis papacy is mercy. Many of the sentiments he expresses can actually be found in John Paul’s 1980 encyclical. Let me say three things about God’s Mercy as explained in “Rich in Mercy.”
a) The God Jesus Revealed. JP II begins his encyclical with divine revelation ( what God has revealed to us). One of the central aspects of our faith is not only that Jesus was the Son of God, but that Jesus also revealed God. The very first words of John Paul’s encyclical are, “It is “God who is rich in mercy”” whom Jesus has revealed to us as Father. Since Divine Mercy is celebrated on the second Sunday of Easter, John Paul connects the entire events of Holy week to God’s mercy. He says, “God who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” (RM, 1) This mercy of God is not simply a concept. John Paul says that Jesus’ message of mercy preserved a particular divine-human dimension (RM, 3). In other words, Jesus becoming human is itself an act of God’s mercy. And then we have Jesus’ relationship with humanity. In his own suffering and his relationship with the unfortunate and sinners, Jesus incarnates the God who is “rich in mercy.” Jesus, then, is the face of God’s Mercy. Perhaps now we understand the rationale behind Jesus’ ministry with tax collectors and sinners. Perhaps now we can understand why he shielded the adulterous woman, defended the poor widow who put two pennies in the money box, allowed the sinful woman to wash his feet with her tears, and forgave Peter even after he denied Jesus. And for us, this means that we can always, always count on God’s mercy in Jesus Christ.
b) God’s Mercy versus God’s Justice. John Paul then goes on to solve the complex conundrum between God’s mercy and God’s Justice. For many people, one of the greatest blocks to understanding God’s unconditional love and mercy is the question of God’s justice. If God is indeed all mercy, then is there no retribution for sin? Does not justice require punishment for sin? John Paul’s surprisingly derives his answer from the Old Testament, which we often think presents a sterner image of God. He says, “Even the Old Testament teaches that although justice is an authentic virtue in man and signifies the transcendent perfection of God, nevertheless, love is “greater” than justice; greater in the sense that it is primary and fundamental.” (RM, 4) “Love conditions justice and justice serves love,” says John Paul. The primacy and superiority of love is a mark of the whole revelation – and is revealed precisely through mercy. John Paul goes on to strengthen his insight by giving the illustration of the prodigal son in the New Testament. Even though the prodigal son squanders his dignity as the son, the father’s mercy restores him his dignity as a son. It is this kind of mercy that is revealed on the cross and through the resurrection. The cross and the resurrection of Jesus, John Paul says, shows that love is more powerful than death, and more powerful than sin.
In today’s world, this insight of John Paul is very useful. We live in a time when we minimize our sin and exaggerate other people’s sin. This leads to tremendous amount of self-righteousness and equal amount of judgement of other people. We must remember what JP II says, “Love is more powerful than death, and more powerful than sin.”
c) The Mercy of God: The Mission of the Church. John Paul calls the mission of mercy the greatest task of the church. He says, “The church lives an authentic life when she professes and proclaims mercy” (RM 13). John Paul sees the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation as the place when people can experience mercy is a unique way, that is, “the love which is more powerful than sin.” Therefore the church professes and proclaims conversion; conversion understood as discovering the mercy, the love, the patience and the kindness of a God who is Creator and Father. He continues, “The church must consider it one of her principal duties to proclaim and to introduce into life the mystery of mercy revealed in Jesus Christ” (RM, 14). In John Paul’s vision, the church must also practice mercy and appeal for God’s mercy.
If we want to connect today’s readings with today’s feast, perhaps we might say that the community in the Acts of the Apostles in today’s first reading, is a perfect example of a community that is shaped by God’s mercy. What if we can replicate such communities? In today’s gospel reading, Jesus appears to the fear-filled disciples and offers them the gift of the Holy Spirit and the ministry of reconciliation and mercy. Now compare this to Oklahoma’s decision to carry out the death penalty with firing squads and gas poisoning. What does God’s mercy mean for our politics, our economics, our law enforcement, our legal system? If we were indeed touched by God’s mercy, will that change race relations, immigration policy, health care system, and the way we treat those we disagree with?
May today's Eucharist be for us an experience of the divine Mercy of God.
- Fr. Satish Josep