April 11: Second Sunday of Easter // Divine Mercy Sunday

Reading I: Acts 4:32-35
Responsorial Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
Reading II: 1 John 5:1-6
Gospel: John 20:19-31

Three times in today’s Gospel Jesus says, “Peace be with you.”  Imagine you were huddled in that upper room, scared to death you’d be crucified for following Jesus.  Suddenly there Jesus is, saying, “Peace be with you.” And his peace eases you, soothes you, calms you.  There have been times in each of our lives when we felt something like Jesus’ first followers. Somehow we know he does bring us peace. I recall a terrible time in my life when I asked God to bring me enough peace so I could bring peace to others. You see, I feared my sadness would leak into my attitude and behavior and make people uncomfortable. So I asked for enough peace so I wouldn’t leak unease, so I wouldn’t leak distress. 

In that locked room, the disciples hid in fear. Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit. Every time we’ve been afraid, Jesus breathed on us the Holy Spirit. Maybe we didn’t feel the Spirit. We sure did not see the Spirit but we found ourselves able to do God’s will, do what needs doing. Remember when you had your first baby. I read all those parenting books and tried to learn but I was afraid I would not know how to do everything a baby needs. I sure knew how to hold our baby, caress her, feed her but the rest was uncertain. I saw friends walking around as if they’d had no babies. So, I knew I would heal & I did. Jesus breathed courage on us new parents. 

Jesus’ Spirit-filled those first followers of Christ so richly that they became new people. Until then some were clueless. Remember Peter denied Christ three times and completely misunderstood his nonviolence. Peter cut off a soldier’s ear the night before Jesus was killed. Judas betrayed Jesus. They disbelieved the women who had seen the risen Lord. Devoted women were brave enough to stay at the foot of the cross; many hid in fear in the locked room. They needed Jesus to bring them peace, to breathe on them the Holy Spirit. And we do too.           

Thomas needed more than peace. He needed proof. He needed to put his hand in Jesus’ wounds or he said he would not believe. A good friend, a bishop told me that his motto when he was ordained was, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” Surprise you? Yes, a man of faith prayed for help to overcome his unbelief. That good bishop was mirroring many who told him of their doubts. When Mother Theresa died, some people were shocked to learn that she did not feel God’s closeness. She kept on doing God’s will, caring for the poorest of the poor, the homeless dying in Calcutta. She felt no consolation -- just distance and yearning with no response. I connect with St. Teresa of Calcutta and with the bishop who asked God for help because people have confided their doubts to me over the years. And ever since learning of the sex abuse cover-ups, many people told me they felt betrayed; one man told me his distrust was fed by cruel malfeasance. Jesus is not showing each doubter his open wounds but he shows us humanity’s wounds. In the Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus tells us all that he is in every person who is hungry that we feed, every person who is thirsty that we give a drink, every stranger we welcome, and every sick person and prisoner we visit.  If only we’ve eyes to see, these are Jesus’ open wounds.  If only we have the will to look into the eyes of the hungry person we feed, the stranger we welcome.   

Apparently, that is precisely what the first followers of Jesus did as described in our reading today from the Acts of the Apostles. They were of one heart and one mind sharing what they had. Could this be how God’s will is done? Can the human family become a community so in touch with one another’s needs that we tend and distribute God’s bountiful creation? Each person who tends and distributes the lush fruit of God’s creation is doing his or her part to address the needs of humanity. We do catch glimpses of community responsiveness in the current massive vaccination process and in Foodlink, the Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Family Center’s Refugee Resettlement Program, Catholic Charities, Joining Hearts and Hands, Sr. Norma Pimentel, El Paso, TX and more. What new life is this pandemic calling forth from humanity? What open wound do we tend? 

By Deni Mack, DMin, Pastoral Associate Emerita