 |
“The Seven Acts of Mercy”
by Caravaggio, c. 1607 |
Readings for the Second Sunday
of Easter [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary:[4]
Reading 1: Acts 4:32-35
The community of believers
was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any
of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in
common.
With great power the apostles
bore witness
to the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded
them all.
There was no needy person
among them,
for those who owned property
or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the
sale,
and put them at the feet of
the apostles,
and they were distributed to
each according to need.
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Commentary
on Acts 4:32-35
This
selection from Acts is the second summary describing the community of faith at
Jerusalem. The description is of a community completely unified in the faith of
the risen Lord. The community is living in accordance with the practices
followed by the disciples when they were with Jesus, sharing all material
possessions.
"The
text suggests that the Christians in Jerusalem had an organized system for the
relief of the poor in the community. Judaism had social welfare institutions
and probably the early Church used one of these as a model. However, the
Christian system of helping each according to his need would have had
characteristics of its own, deriving from the charity from which it sprang and
as a result of gradual differentiation from the Jewish way of doing
things." [5]
CCC:
Acts 4:26-27 436; Acts 4:27-28 600; Acts 4:32 952, 2790; Acts 4:33 995
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his
love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures
forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His mercy endures
forever."
Let those who fear the LORD
say,
"His mercy endures
forever."
R. Give thanks to the
LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I was hard pressed and was
falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is
the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R. Give thanks to the
LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders
rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been
done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has
made;
let us be glad and rejoice in
it.
R. Give thanks to the
LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary
on Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
Psalm 118 has been in regular use during the Easter season.
It is a liturgical song of praise and victory. The messianic imagery is so
strong that it has been used for the past three days, reflecting the joy of the
Church in Eastertide. This litany of thanksgiving features the cornerstone
image that, in addition to Acts
4:1-12, was also used in the Gospel of St. Mark (Mark
12:10) and the first epistle of St. Peter (1
Peter 2:7) and the following Old Testament
references: Job 38:6; Isaiah 28:16; Jeremiah
51:26. On Divine Mercy Sunday we begin the
selection appropriately with: “His mercy endures forever.”
CCC: Ps 118:14 1808; Ps 118:22 587, 756; Ps 118:26 559
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Reading II: 1 John 5:1-6
Beloved:
Everyone who believes that
Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the
Father
loves also the one begotten
by him.
In this way we know that we
love the children of God
when we love God and obey his
commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his
commandments.
And his commandments are not
burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by
God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers
the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over
the world
but the one who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came
through water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by
water and blood.
The Spirit is the one that
testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary
on 1 Jn 5:1-6
St. John begins
his discourse with the logic that defines what it means to be Christian.
“Children of God are identified not only by their love for others (1 John 4:7-9) and for God but by their belief in the divine sonship of Jesus
Christ. Faith, the acceptance of Jesus in his true character and the obedience
in love to God's commands, is the source of the Christian's power in the world
and conquers the world of evil, even as Christ overcame the world (John 16:33).” [6]
The
evangelist concludes by referring to blood, which is a symbol of the Cross of
the crucified Christ. Also contained in the passion of Christ was God’s own
testimony about the identity of his Only Son (Matthew 3:16-17).
His logic in this passage teaches that if one does not believe in Jesus as the
Son of God, they call God a liar because he testified to the identity of his
Son.
CCC:
1 Jn 5:1 2780, 2790; 1 Jn
5:6-8 1225
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 20:19-31
On the evening of that first
day of the week,
when the doors were locked,
where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their
midst
and said to them, "Peace
be with you."
When he had said this, he
showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when
they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again,
"Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so
I send you."
And when he had said this, he
breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy
Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are
forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are
retained."
Thomas, called Didymus, one
of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus
came.
So the other disciples said
to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them,
"Unless I see the mark
of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the
nailmarks
and put my hand into his
side, I will not believe."
Now a week later his
disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the
doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and
said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas,
"Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put
it into my side,
and do n ot be unbelieving,
but believe."
Thomas answered and said to
him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have
you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have
not seen and have believed."
Now Jesus did many other
signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this
book.
But these are written that
you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God,
and that through this belief
you may have life in his name.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary
on Jn 20:19-31
St. John gives us the picture of the disciples (now apostles)
in hiding immediately following the Lord’s crucifixion. Twice Jesus comes to
them, once with Thomas absent, and then again when he is present. (Note: no
reference was made to Thomas' absence in Luke
24;36-49, the only other account of this event.)
There are a number of important elements of this
version of the story. First, the Lord’s greeting is “Peace be with you.”
While this may have been a simple shalom, it is more likely
intended to emphasize the rejoicing sense of the meeting. Immediately the Lord
sends them on their mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
As part of this action, we are told, the Lord gives the gift of the Holy Spirit
to strengthen them. He also gives them authority to act in his name.
The significance of Thomas’ absence is used as
an evangelizing moment. Doubting Thomas is confronted in the second visit by
the risen Christ and, almost in recompense for his role as disbeliever, he
provides the title with which Jesus is understood now as True God as well as
True Man: “My Lord and my God.” The Lord then delivers a beatitude for
future generations of Christians: "Blessed are those who have not seen
and have believed."
CCC:
Jn 20:19 575, 643, 645, 659; Jn 20:20 645; Jn 20:21-23 1087, 1120, 1441; Jn 20:21 730, 858; Jn 20:22-23 976, 1485; Jn 20:22 730, 788, 1287; Jn 20:23 1461, 2839; Jn
20:24-27 644; Jn 20:26 645, 659; Jn 20:27 645; Jn 20:28 448; Jn 20:30 514; Jn 20:31 442, 514
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
This Octave Sunday of Easter
or the Second Sunday of Easter has been known as “Divine Mercy” Sunday since
the turn of the current millennium, the year 2000 A.D. St. John Paul II named it so and it has been
connected with the canonization of St. Faustina for these past 24 years.
As we consider what this
means to us, a number of possible responses come to mind.
It could be that we show our
respect for God’s Divine Mercy by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3:00 PM each day as many of the faithful do.
It could be that we recognize
on this, the octave day (or 8th day) since the great celebration of
Easter, that the reason our Savior, Jesus Christ, endured his passion and death
was the ultimate demonstration of God’s Divine Mercy, sacrificing his Only
Begotten Son that we might enjoy eternal life in heaven, something that had
been denied since the gates were slammed shut by Adam and Eve as they disobeyed
God and brought sin into the world.
It could be a remembrance of
that image from St. Luke’s Gospel:
The
Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank
you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or
even like this tax collector.
I
fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But
the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to
heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ (Luke
18:11-13)
From this passage is derived
the “Jesus Prayer” – “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
And it could be that it’s
just another name for this Sunday and not much more.
Since there are options
associated with the label for our celebration today, I would like to ask you a
simple question: What impact does God’s Divine Mercy have on your life? To ask it a little differently: In what way,
if any, does the fact the God gave up his Only Begotten Son to a humiliating
death, so you could enjoy eternal peace, make a difference? I state it this way because that act is the
clearest pragmatic expression of Divine Mercy.
If we think about a person
about to undergo a painful episode (say a difficult medical procedure), we
might hear the silent plea: “Lord please have mercy on me!” Mercy has already been given; Christ walks
with you through your ordeal. If there
is a family crisis, we might hear the cry of a parent or a child: “God, please
have mercy!” Mercy has already been offered, your pain is shared, shared on the
cross.
And what if none of these
things are currently happening, what difference does God’s Divine Mercy make in
your life? (Or is it reserved for those times when the world or events threaten
to bury you?)
Christians should be able to
announce to the world, that Divine Mercy is their strength and their peace, all
in one. But that belief does not come
automatically. It does not just
happen. One does not simply come to Mass
each Sunday and get fed holy food and become strong because of that meal. No, when we call out in our pain: “Lord
please, in your goodness, have mercy on me!”,
the strength and faith behind that plea must be bolstered by the
exercise of that faith.
We use the analogy of
physical strength here. Everyone here
has heard one hundred times; in order to be healthy, you must have proper diet
and exercise. The same is true of your
spiritual self. If a person comes to the
sacraments to be fed but never does anything outside of Mass or the confessional,
all you get is nourishment for yourself.
You don’t build spiritual muscle.
In a sense you get fat because you do not use the spiritual muscles to
do the work for which they were intended.
In order for us to be healthy
and strong in our faith, the gifts we are given, including our sure and certain
knowledge of God’s Divine Mercy, must be put to work. Look at the first reading from the Acts of
the Apostles. We see in the description
of the early Christian communities the expression of Divine Mercy, carried out
by the followers of Jesus, caring for each other, making sure that those
without food were fed, those without clothing were clothed. They were living
the Corporal Works of Mercy as we have defined them these many hears later.
Do you remember them? (No
fair asking your children, if you have them with you.)
The Corporal Works of Mercy
are:
To
feed the hungry;
To
give drink to the thirsty;
To
clothe the naked;
To
shelter the homeless;
To
visit the sick;
To
visit the prisoner;
To bury the dead;
To give alms to the poor.
Acting in accordance with
these impulses builds our own strength.
And if we cannot act for some reason (and it should be a really good
reason), we also have the spiritual works of mercy as well:
To
instruct the ignorant;
To
counsel the doubtful;
To
admonish sinners;
To
bear wrongs patiently;
To
forgive offenses willingly;
To
comfort the sorrowful;
To pray for the living and
the dead.
I know this has been
mentioned before, but even St. Augustine was daunted by the Lord’s
example. He is reported to have said at
his consecration as Bishop of Hippo:
“The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted
cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, its
insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the
indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their
place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled;
the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be
encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved.
“The Gospel terrifies me.”
Many of us have been watching
the series “Chosen” which spoke about the life and times of the Gospel. Now our post-Easter Scripture begins taking
us into the life lived by the early Christian communities. For a cinematic look at that life, we
recommend the movie “Paul, Apostle of Jesus Christ” for those of you who enjoy biblical movies to
enhance your pursuit of a life in Christ. (I will caution you, some scenes are
graphic and I would not encourage it for very young children.)
I want to leave you with a
short piece of Scripture that was not part of our readings today (although I
should mention that St. Thomas did redeem himself when he called Jesus “My Lord and my God”). This is from the letter of my
personal patron saint, St. James. He
says:
“What
good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If
a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of
you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give
them the necessities of the body, what good is it?
So
also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James
2:14-17)
Thank God for his Divine
Mercy, demonstrated through Christ and lived out in us through the Holy Spirit
so the world might see and know of his great love.
Pax
In other years on this date: Memorial of St. John Baptist de
la Salle, Priest
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2]
The picture used is “The Seven Acts of Mercy” by Caravaggio, c. 1607.
[3]
S.S. Commemoratio[4]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible,
with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the
International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is
not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.[5]
The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002,
p. 748.
[6]
NAB footnote on 1 John 5:1-5.
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