Thomas probably felt hurt and angry that he was not present when the other disciples saw the risen Christ. Yet, he must have been hopeful as he was present when Jesus appeared to the group of apostles again. When Jesus appeared to them in the locked room, he could have berated Thomas for his unbelief, perhaps sending Thomas fleeing in fear for his hardness of heart. But, Jesus pours out his mercy upon Thomas, instructing Thomas to touch the wounds of the crucifixion and the nail marks on his side. Besides proving to Thomas that he did indeed rise from the dead, Jesus meets Thomas in the pain and confusion of his disbelief. Jesus knows his pain intimately. He did not dismiss it or punish Thomas for it. In his mercy, Jesus is able to bring Thomas to new life. The encounter between Jesus and Thomas fits so well into our celebration of the feast of Divine Mercy on this second Sunday of Easter.
Divine Mercy calls us to place our hope in our loving and compassionate God, as he is ever-ready to embrace us and forgive our sins. Believing in God goes hand-in-hand with believing in his Divine Mercy. Divine Mercy is often associated with the visions and revelations of St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun and mystic from the first half of the 20th century. Pope John Paul II had a great devotion to Sister Faustina, inspiring him to declare the Second Sunday of Easter to be Divine Mercy Sunday.
In the Nicene Creed, we profess that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, that he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. Yes, Jesus will judge us, but also in his power and authority to judge, we are reminded in today’s feast day that Jesus also grants mercy. I think of the mercy that the priest expresses in the person of Christ, as he pronounces to the penitent at the end of the sacrament of reconciliation: I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In understanding mercy properly, mercy is to be seen as a superabundance of justice, not an exception to it. Justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive. Mercy is a form of justice. Mercy looks at the personal responsibility of the accused and distributes justice precisely by granting mercy. Mercy does not turn a blind eye to justice, but fulfills its obligations to justice by going beyond those obligations.
The Shrine of Divine Mercy in Cracow, Poland has the following inscription: “Those who sincerely say ‘Jesus, I trust in You’ will find comfort in all their anxieties and fears. There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights to the holiness of God.” We the Church announce that Jesus’ divine mercy calls out to us in the reality of life: in the sins we commit; in our struggles, personal hurts, and rejections; in the way we have fallen away for our faith and have just gone through the motions. In a practical way, I see Divine Mercy Sunday calling us to three steps:
First, we are to ask for Christ’s divine mercy, to approach him in prayer, to repent from our sins, and to ask God to pour out his mercy upon us.
Second, we are to be merciful to others, to let Christ’s mercy, love, and forgiveness flow through us to others.
Third, we are called to completely trust in Jesus and in his divine mercy. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.
Blessings to all of you on Divine Mercy Sunday.
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