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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...
Collect for Divine Mercy Sunday |
"A new birth to a living hope"
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First Reading: Acts 2:42-47
Responsorial: Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9 Gospel passage: John 20:19-31 |
In the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry there are a number of instances in which individuals find themselves at the feet of Jesus. The outcast leper, parents desperate for the healing of their children, and a bleeding woman all throw themselves to the ground before Him. A sinful woman falls to cleanse his feet with her tears and hair. Some, such as the paralyzed man or the adulterous woman, are brought before Him by others. In each case, whatever the particular circumstances, we read of those who are lost or desperate or abandoned or at a hopeless point of death. In each case, Jesus offers the remedy for their terror or suffering: healing, forgiveness, cleansing, life. In each case, Jesus raises the person up to stand whole again through the power of His love.
In this passage from the Gospel of John, the disciples of Jesus have been laid low by the trauma of His crucifixion and death. They are helpless in their fear and remorse. And as He did so many times before, Jesus comes to lift them up. He appears in their midst and speaks peace. This peace is no mere absence of strife. It is all good things, the restoration of relationship with the Lord and of their hope in Him. Jesus seals the gift of peace with the breath of the Spirit. They will now breathe Him. In the intimacy of that relationship, they will now offer peace to others. They will go forth to lift the fallen and the broken, even from the very power of sin.
In the passage from Acts we witness the overwhelming effects of this remarkable moment. Here Luke sums up the life of the early Christian community as they evolve in the aftermath of the resurrection. His description of their zeal, prayerfulness, and generous good works is almost too good to imagine until we consider the road these men and women traveled. When they thought all lost and pointless, they experienced a new world- a world where Jesus lives again and all is made new. How could they fail to dwell in that new world with every fiber of their being? Can we not imagine them singing the very Psalm of praise and thanksgiving we raise up this day: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love is everlasting!”? Can we not imagine the joy on their faces and the fervor of their voices?
Even decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and addressed to those who did not witness the events, the First Letter of Peter still thrills with the power of the resurrection. The letter acclaims the loving mercy of God and the great wonder of Jesus’ rising. The Christian now has a living and enduring hope that cannot be extinguished even by the most difficult trials. With this hope, even such trials are only steps towards the goal of life in Christ.
Like the Christians who received that Letter of Peter, we were not there then. Even so, we now rejoice in the power of the resurrection- we are there now. The Gospel passage concluded with an appeal to us- that we might come to believe and have life in His name. The passage even gives us encouragement from the Lord Himself as he addresses Himself to “doubting Thomas.” Thomas believes because he has seen, but Jesus pronounces blessing upon us: those who have not seen and have believed. With these words proclaimed today, Jesus breathes His Spirit upon us and offers us His peace.
Some of us may find ourselves brought low this Eastertide. Perhaps life has left us feeling lost or hopeless. Others may have abused or abandoned us. Some may have fallen before the demons of addiction or cruel poverty. Still others find themselves helpless in physical or spiritual illness. Whatever the cause, those among us who have the least to celebrate have the most to gain from this Easter proclamation. We may be prostrate, but we lie at the feet of the One Who loves us to the end. We lie at the feet of the one Who heals, forgives, liberates. We lie at the feet of the Risen One Who offers His still wounded hands to lift us up to new life and a new way of living.
In this passage from the Gospel of John, the disciples of Jesus have been laid low by the trauma of His crucifixion and death. They are helpless in their fear and remorse. And as He did so many times before, Jesus comes to lift them up. He appears in their midst and speaks peace. This peace is no mere absence of strife. It is all good things, the restoration of relationship with the Lord and of their hope in Him. Jesus seals the gift of peace with the breath of the Spirit. They will now breathe Him. In the intimacy of that relationship, they will now offer peace to others. They will go forth to lift the fallen and the broken, even from the very power of sin.
In the passage from Acts we witness the overwhelming effects of this remarkable moment. Here Luke sums up the life of the early Christian community as they evolve in the aftermath of the resurrection. His description of their zeal, prayerfulness, and generous good works is almost too good to imagine until we consider the road these men and women traveled. When they thought all lost and pointless, they experienced a new world- a world where Jesus lives again and all is made new. How could they fail to dwell in that new world with every fiber of their being? Can we not imagine them singing the very Psalm of praise and thanksgiving we raise up this day: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love is everlasting!”? Can we not imagine the joy on their faces and the fervor of their voices?
Even decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and addressed to those who did not witness the events, the First Letter of Peter still thrills with the power of the resurrection. The letter acclaims the loving mercy of God and the great wonder of Jesus’ rising. The Christian now has a living and enduring hope that cannot be extinguished even by the most difficult trials. With this hope, even such trials are only steps towards the goal of life in Christ.
Like the Christians who received that Letter of Peter, we were not there then. Even so, we now rejoice in the power of the resurrection- we are there now. The Gospel passage concluded with an appeal to us- that we might come to believe and have life in His name. The passage even gives us encouragement from the Lord Himself as he addresses Himself to “doubting Thomas.” Thomas believes because he has seen, but Jesus pronounces blessing upon us: those who have not seen and have believed. With these words proclaimed today, Jesus breathes His Spirit upon us and offers us His peace.
Some of us may find ourselves brought low this Eastertide. Perhaps life has left us feeling lost or hopeless. Others may have abused or abandoned us. Some may have fallen before the demons of addiction or cruel poverty. Still others find themselves helpless in physical or spiritual illness. Whatever the cause, those among us who have the least to celebrate have the most to gain from this Easter proclamation. We may be prostrate, but we lie at the feet of the One Who loves us to the end. We lie at the feet of the one Who heals, forgives, liberates. We lie at the feet of the Risen One Who offers His still wounded hands to lift us up to new life and a new way of living.
