Acts: 2. 42-47
1Pet. 1:3-9
Jn.20:19-31
“As the Father sent me so, I am sending you.” Today we celebrate the divine mercy Sunday. As we journey from the book of Exodus to the book of Revelation, we come across a gradual unveiling of the nature of God. The Old Testament books depict ‘God’ as a strict judge and getting angry quickly. However, when we arrive at Jesus, experience a paradigm shift in this regard. Jesus reveals the face of Divine Mercy through his life, words and deeds. The analogy of the Good Shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, the prodigal father who awaits his lost son, the woman who searches her lost coin are manifestations of this Divine Mercy. Jesus not only shared these analogies but also practiced Divine Mercy in his day to day life.
He forgives unconditionally to the woman who was caught in adultery, according to the Jewish law, she deserves stoning to death. However, Jesus becomes a prodigal father who forgives all her sins and restores all her lost dignity, one who encountered death now blessed with a new life. He goes to Zacchaeus’ house, like a good shepherd to find his lost sheep and blesses his entire household with the hope of salvation. Israelites were terribly afraid to address God as Yahweh; the understanding of the merciful face of God was beyond their comprehension. Jesus clearly taught them that all of us would be judged not by our adherence to the law rather how much we lived the merciful face of God. “I was hungry, thirsty, naked…”
Today’s gospel also presents an instant wherein we encounter the depth of God’s mercy. After the resurrection event, Thomas remained as doubtful with regard to the resurrection of Jesus. He was adamant that unless he experiences the wounds of Jesus personally he would not believe in his resurrection. Jesus could have easily ignored or neglected the stubbornness of Thomas. However, Jesus understands his thirst for experience and invites him to touch on his wounds and believe. In the second reading, Peter acknowledges our Christian vocation is a visible manifestation of God’s mercy. He says: “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in His great MERCY has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”(1Pet. 1:3). The first reading testifies that how the first Christian community practiced this divine mercy in their day to day life: “Each day, with one heart, they regularly went to the temple but met in their houses for the breaking of the bread, they shared their food gladly and generously…” (Acts.2:46)
“As the Father has sent me so I am sending you.” Jesus, the apostle of the Father came to us to reveal the merciful face of God and share the Good News that we should be merciful like our heavenly Father who is full of mercy and compassion. Jesus commissioned his disciples with the same mission to become the face of God’s mercy and preach the gospel through our merciful deeds. As we encounter a difficult phase for our survival due to corona pandemic, let us remember and thank God for his merciful deeds in our history and let us practice this divine mercy in our life by sharing our goods with others like the first Christian community; following their footsteps let us become the merciful face of Jesus…