1 May 2011
I would like to tell you a story for you of a mother and daughter: the daughter (15 years old) ran away from home to seek what the bright lights of the city had to offer and Mom went looking for her. Mom posted a picture of herself everywhere she went with a note on the back. She never found her daughter and went back home after her money ran out. A month later, her daughter, after finding that her new life was miserable and a trap, she saw a picture of her mother taped to a mirror. On the back was a note that said: "Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn't matter. Please come home."
We all have a similar story. One in which we think we know best and take off and then find out how little we actually know. Then our pride gets in the way and we think we’re stuck. No one will take us back because of what we have done: we are unforgiveable.
As God’s people we are called to trust in the mercy of Jesus.
In today’s Gospel we are told that when Jesus appeared in the upper room to the 10 his first words were: “Peace be with you.” He said this not once but twice. Why?
He wanted those 10 to have his peace. They were probably as shocked as they could be to see him standing in their midst, behind closed and locked doors. Then, upon recovering somewhat, they probably started remembering the details of the events of the past Thursday and Friday. How they all ran away and abandoned him in his worst hour or his hour of most need of human friendship. Peter even denied he knew him. Some friends! So, I would imagine there was some guilt upon seeing Jesus. When our human limitations are confronted by divine presence we sense just how imperfect we really are and then we understand our need for mercy.
How do we react when we realize we have sinned? Do we have peace, Christ’s peace? I don’t think so. There is guilt and remorse and maybe a question for ourselves from our self: “Why did I do that? I am a jerk!” Or, a conditional, “I must be a jerk!”
So, the 10 are standing there in their jerkiness and Jesus says “peace.” Our translation says “Peace be with you.” The Greek says “peace to you.” Peace is already among them – Jesus, just as he is among us. We have him here in the tabernacle and Father will soon make Divine Mercy himself present on the altar. In a few minutes we will receive him: body, blood, soul and divinity. We will receive Divine Mercy himself. The Eucharist is not a reward for those who are holy; it is the real bread of life for all of us who are on the journey. In this receiving Divine Mercy all of our venial sins are forgiven (CCC 1394-1395). Our unconfessed mortal sins are not and, if we have any mortal sins, we shouldn’t be receiving him anyway without having confessed those sins.
Then Jesus tells them “as the Father has sent me, I send you” and breathes on them. Is this not the Trinitarian breath of Divine Mercy?
This breathing is reminiscent of the creation story in Genesis where God breathed into the clay of Adam and made him alive. Jesus breathes on the 11 and makes them new and he gives the Holy Spirit. This is John’s version of Pentecost (footnote on 20:22 NAB).
In his breathing on the 11 Jesus gives them the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive sin. This power to forgive sin is a continuance of Jesus’ saving and redemptive act of Good Friday. It is a continuance of the Divine Mercy of the Old Testament and today, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, that is, Divine Mercy Sunday, is our day to take advantage of this new Pentecost.
When we go to confession we experience the continuance of the Divine Mercy of Good Friday. We fall: we are helped up. This is the story of the Old Testament. The Israelites constantly are redeemed, forgiven by God and they constantly reject him and then, rediscover his goodness, his mercy. We do the same… and when we partake of the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation we are redeemed and rediscover Divine Mercy. We daily sin, we daily reject God’s love – we substitute our will for his, and we are redeemed and forgiven by God’s mercy, if we but ask. Is it no wonder that in today’s Responsorial Psalm we acclaim, “his mercy endures forever”! Trust in God’s mercy.
As we receive the mercy of God, we are then also commanded to be merciful to others. If we aren’t, we will not receive God’s mercy. In Matthew, chapter 5 verse 7 we are told: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” This means we should be the first to extend mercy to our brothers and sisters. We should be the one to dispense mercy, our mercy. Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful (Luke 6:36). We cannot run from this part of Divine Mercy. Trust in the mercy of Jesus!
“Mercy”, or merciful, appears in the Bible a total of 238 times. One might wonder where I am going with this, but bear with me. I used the Ignatian Bible. I choose that one because it doesn’t have a lot in the way of explanation, footnotes study guides and so on. That bible totals 1,065 pages, plus or minus a few. If we divide the number of times “mercy”, or it’s equivalent appears, into 1,065 we get an answer of 4.47. Amazing! The word “mercy”, or something like it, would, statistically, appear every 4 and a half pages in the Bible. I think God is trying to tell us something here! Mercy is very important for us. Trust in His mercy!
I would like for all of us to try this exercise. It’s called the ABC's of mercy: A = ask for God's mercy through confession, B = be merciful as we are commanded to be and do and C = Completely trust in Jesus and he will give us his grace and send us to be ambassadors of his mercy just as he sent the 11.
So, as in the story of the mother taping her picture everywhere she went in looking for her daughter, Jesus is God's picture taped to the cross, inviting us to come home, come home from whatever we have done, from whatever we have become, it doesn’t matter, please come home so his mercy can save us from the power of sin.
