Peace Be with You! Divine Mercy Sunday
Sermon by Emmanuel Suntheni OSB – Divine Mercy Sunday – Year A
Sermon And Christian Act In The Word
Theme: Peace Be with You! A Call to Continue the Mission of the Lord! Divine Mercy!
Point of Reflection: It is Divine Mercy Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter, the Lord has truly risen Alleluia! But do we have peace in our hearts, in our families, at our workplaces, and in our countries? Jesus Christ is telling us today in our hearts, families, working places, and in our countries that PEACE BE WITH YOU. There is nothing we need after his resurrection other than PEACE. The Lord has truly Risen, Hallelujah!
First Reading: Acts 10:34, 37–43
Psalm: Psalm 118:1–2, 16–17, 22–23
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1–4
Gospel: John 20:1
The Divine Sunday Message: The message of The Divine Mercy is simple. It is that God loves us, all of us. And, he wants us to recognise that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy.
Sermon (Reflection): First, we thank God our Father for sending his Son into the world, and for allowing us to conduct the mission which he entrusted to his Son. This shows the divine mercy of God that we are given the mission. The same mission of continuing God’s saving work is given now to us. The first word in today´s Gospel narration is ‘Peace’. Why peace? What disturbs and hinders the proclamation of the Word of God is the absence of peace. Even today, we cannot talk about evangelisation if there is no peace.
We need peace in our hearts, we need peace in our families, we need peace in our working places, we need peace in our Church gatherings, and we need peace in this World.
The Gospel passage of today narrates two appearances of the Risen Jesus to his disciples, to send them on a mission that will be a continuation of his own. Jesus first appeared to them with the greeting of peace. By announcing peace and then showing the disciples the signs of his passion, Jesus attested to his victory in death and confirmed that he has truly risen. He then commissioned them stating, “as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Thus, the disciples were to continue the mission of Jesus which he had received from the Father. But what aspect of Jesus’ complex mission were they to continue?
Firstly, the chief purpose of Jesus’ mission was to reveal the Father to the world (Cf. John 1:18). He came manifesting God in and through himself, as is best summarized in his statement, “whoever sees me sees him who sent me” (Cf. John 12:45). Therefore, the disciples were commissioned to continue with the mission of revealing God to the world through their words and their lives, following Jesus’ guidance. This mission is love and mercy. As Saint John Paul II referred it to ‘merciful love’. In the encyclical Dives in Misericordia he wrote that ”mercy is an indispensable dimension of love; it is as it were love’s second name“ (DM 7). This defines our Divine Mercy Sunday message.
Secondly, Jesus came to “take away the sin of the world” (Cf. John 1:29). Like him, the disciples were to forgive or to retain sins, which implies having authority over sin. Sin separates people from God, and one another, and the greatest sin in this Gospel is the lack of faith. By pointing out sin and calling for repentance the disciples will bring people to God, thus “removing” sin.
However, those who refuse to respond to their message will have their sins “retained.” Because they refuse to repent and believe, their sin cannot be forgiven as they do not ask for forgiveness.
Thirdly, Jesus came to give life to the world (Cf. John 6:40). The disciples are entrusted with the same mission. This is revealed when Jesus appeared to them for the second time, especially for the sake of Thomas. This disciple was not present during Jesus’ first appearance and refused to believe in the resurrection unless offered physical proof of it. Jesus gave him that proof, and Thomas believed. However, the real point of this appearance is made when Jesus blesses those who, unlike Thomas, did not have a personal encounter with the Risen Jesus but still believed. Their faith would have to be based on the testimony of Thomas and the others. Jesus refers here to the future generations of Christians whose faith, based on the apostolic testimony, would be even greater than that of Thomas.
The connection between faith and life is highlighted in the final lines of this Gospel reading, where Jesus announces that faith in him brings life. Thus, the disciples’ task of bringing people to faith in Jesus equals bringing them to life.
The first reading of today reminds us that if we cannot see the Risen Lord, there is however something else we can see in the community which, through its life, we witness and get evidence that Christ is alive and is with us. Let us give praise to the Lord for he is good and his mercy endures forever (Psalm of today).
As witnessed by St Peter in the second reading, we call all say, we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. His mercy endures forever.
Christian Act in Word of God “The Divine Mercy of God”
As Christians, let us view our life with the Divine Mercy of God by remembering and understanding ABC:
A – Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.
B – Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.
C – Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.
As Christians, let us spend time with the risen Lord and to learn more about the mercy of God, we must learn to trust in Jesus Christ, and live our life as merciful to others, as Christ is merciful to us. Be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful.
As we conclude our Cristian act in today’s liturgical celebration let us reflect on the Risen Christ where we tap the graces for the feast of Divine Mercy: In her Diary, St. Faustina (699) records a special promise given to her by Jesus. He told her to communicate it to the whole world: My daughter, tell the whole world about my inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of my mercy.
As Christians, let us also go out and tell the world that the Lord is risen and be merciful to others as the father has shown us his father-the Divine Mercy of God.
Action: From today onwards I will be peaceful in my family and all people I encounter. I will open my heart to receive God’s mercy.
Prayer: God our Father, we thank you for sending your beloved Son to be our redeemer and for showing to us your compassionate face. As we celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday open our hearts to receive your mercy. In the Gospel of today, Jesus Christ has given us peace ‘peace be with you’, may we be peaceful people in our families and in the societies we live in. We ask this through Christ our risen Lord, Amen.
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