Divine Mercy Sunday Year C
Acts 5:12–16
Psalm 118:2–4, 13–15, 22–24
Revelation 1:9–11a, 12–13, 17–19
John 20:19–31
Signs and wonders were the attractions that drew the first hearers of the Gospel after the resurrection of Jesus to give credence to the preaching of the Apostles. In the Acts of the Apostles, which is the source for many of the readings of the Easter season, we follow Luke’s account of the growth of the early Church.
The disciples of Jesus have been transformed from the companions of Jesus who did not understand into believers whose lives are engaged with revealing the power of the resurrection at work through their actions performed in the name of Jesus.
We live in a time that seeks signs and wonders but is skeptical of them. Even when unusual circumstances present themselves, we tend to doubt the veracity of what we see. Images can be manipulated so easily that we are naturally hesitant to put our trust in them.
Signs and wonders continue to occur in our time. Even though most people do not speak of them, in moments of intimate sharing from the heart, nearly everyone has a story to tell. Nevertheless, people of our era need something “more” to persuade us of the truth of the Gospel.
Lord Jesus calls “blessed” those who do not see and yet come to believe. Our lives and our faith itself, in the testimony of the Scriptures and the teachings of the Apostles handed down to us through the Church, become the means by which new believers are called to faith in Christ. When signs and wonders are lacking, or when skepticism rules the day, the living witness of faith can still prevail.
To be an effective witness, we must confront our own skepticism. What doubts do you harbor that are dispelled in the face of your experience of the God made known to you through the Holy Spirit? What is the “fact” that persuades you personally of the truth of the Gospel? What does the Lord make known to you when you demonstrate your willingness to move from unbelief to belief?
Thomas is the first to acknowledge that Jesus is “Lord and God.” He announces the truth that he knows through experience that Jesus is truly one with God. “My Lord and my God!” is an expression of faith that sets aside all doubt and makes Thomas ready to embrace the truth that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
When the disciples who knew Jesus before His death encountered the risen Lord, it opened them to a new way of seeing and a new manner of living. What followed their encounter with Jesus risen was different from what they experienced before, but it was done in His name and through the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on them because of their faith in Jesus.
Our world needs witnesses. The impact of the Gospel is evident to all who have the eyes to see it. But it has been obscured for many because we who profess faith in the risen Lord do not live fully in the light of the resurrection. Our doubts and our tendencies to compromise with the world get in the way of our witness.
God’s love is offered to us. When it is rejected, it is offered once again as mercy. The Second Sunday of Easter has been designated as Divine Mercy Sunday, a day of special grace that builds on what Lent has accomplished for us.
Easter invites us to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is risen, and Divine Mercy Sunday repeats the message, calling us to receive and share the mercy that has been unleashed on the world through the resurrection.
Jesus, I trust in You! Eternal Father, have mercy on us and on the world!