Jesus’ Mercy To Us All 耶穌對所有人慈悲

Divine Mercy Sunday, Year A
Theme: Jesus’ Mercy To Us All 耶穌對所有人慈悲

It is unfair to nickname St. Thomas the Apostle “Doubting Thomas”. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the apostles. They were like “caged animals” anticipating their being rounded up any time after Sabbath. Who would not fear and was able to maintain their calm? The first time Jesus appeared to the apostles, Thomas was absent. Perhaps they had drawn lots to see who should venture out to scout around any movements of the Jewish authorities. Thomas was the “unlucky” one chosen to go ...
When Jesus appeared to the ten apostles in a locked room, He took the initiative to show them the wounds. As the story goes, after granting the apostles peace, Jesus “showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20). The ten apostles were “lucky” in the sense that before they had the opportunity to publicly express their doubt, Jesus had shown them physical evidences of His resurrection. Thomas earned the nickname because he had spoken frankly his mind which the other apostles perhaps also shared but did not need to speak! Perhaps John would be an exception because early in the morning, Peter and he visited the empty tomb after the report of Mary Magdalene. He saw “the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place … and believed” (20:7-8).

The apostles had been guilt-ridden because they had forsaken and even denied their Master in face of dangers. At that time, they were frightened and confused. Scolding and punishing them would push them further down the abyss of no return. Jesus supported them by showing them mercy as He had always done before. Let us contrast what happened to two of The Twelve. Judas Iscariot chose to go to the chief priests, naively hoping to save Jesus by returning the blood money only to realize that he had always been a disposable pawn in the scheme. Judas made a further mistake of committing suicide, thus denying himself of the opportunity to receive Jesus’ mercy. On the other hand, Simon Peter remembered Jesus’ prophecy of his denials and wept bitterly after hearing the cock crowed (Matthew 26:75, Mark 14:72, Luke 22:62). Peter had survived and were given three chances to compensate for his three denials (John 21:15-17)! These two apostles show us how it is possible to receive or to reject the Lord’s mercy.

Not only did Jesus show mercy to His apostles, but He also showed it whenever occasions arose. Jesus is well-known for befriending public sinners and righteous figures, rich people as well as the sick, political enemies and even colonial officials! Thus we find celebrities of the early Church such as the Samaritan woman and Nicodemus, Zacchaeus and Bartimaeus, Jairus and the Roman centurion in the gospels. More specifically, when the Penitent Thief confessed his faith in Jesus, he was received in Paradise with Jesus on the same day (Luke 23:43). Again the first prayer Jesus said on the cross was to seek the Father’s forgiveness of the people who crucified him (23:34). During the Agony in Gethsemane, the apostles fell asleep instead of accompanying Jesus in prayer. Surely this would amplify the sense of abandonment Jesus was suffering. Yet, instead of venting His frustrations on them, Jesus showed His understanding and mercy by saying, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38). Previously after Transfiguration, Jesus came down from the mountain and found a large crowd and scribes complaining about the nine apostles who were unable to drive out a deaf-mute demon from a boy (Mark 9:14). The nine apostles were already crest-fallen when they failed to exorcise. Jesus took over and pinned the blame where it should go (9:19). It was the lack of faith on the part of the people in particular the father of the possessed boy rather than on the part of the apostles that accounted for their failure to exorcise. Of course early in His public ministry when the apostles knew next to nothing His teachings on mercy, Jesus always came to the front to defend the apostles when they were challenged by the Pharisees. In fact Jesus is teaching us, especially those people in power, NOT to impose our views on to the others, in particular the weaker ones, however righteous and correct the views may be. Doing so would not build the weaker ones up but would instead destroy their capability to follow.

I have been worrying about people who refuse or abandon believing in Jesus for various reasons. How does the Lord show them mercy when they withdraw and shut themselves out of God’s saving graces while respecting their freewill? The gospel passage today is reassuring. “When the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst …” (John 20:19) Jesus literally broke in without breaking the walls or the doors! He simply penetrated the materials while retaining their structures just as He emerged from the tomb without removing the stone at the entrance; and from the womb of Mary without interfering her virginity! In other words, the risen Lord is able to break into our lives while respecting our freewill at the same time. In His ineffable wisdom, He is able to achieve this without raising any contradiction. Praise be the Lord!

Why does He insisting on showing us mercy? The gospel passage today is clear. The Son of God wants us to continue His mission. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (20:21). What mission is this? A mission of mercy, of reconciliation. “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (20:22b-23). Though we can interpret this verse as Jesus’ mandate to the Church to forgive sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we should bear in mind that this sacrament is one of service rather than an exercise of authority. Priests and bishops serve the People of God in reconciling them with God and with each other. When they administer the Sacrament of Confession, they forgive sins in the person of Jesus who teaches us to pray for forgiveness, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12) and at the same time teaches us to lead a life of mercy, “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy” (5:7). Among the Beatitudes, only being merciful is reciprocal like forgiveness. Thus mercy and forgiveness are isomorphic. Therefore, there is no greater mercy than the forgiveness of wrongs. Jesus has demonstrated it while He was crucified on the cross.

Brethren! Bear in mind that to forgive hurts. The pains are inevitable because you give up part of your being when you forgive. Bear in mind too that the sacrifice you make will not go away in vain. It will bear fruit and help edify your debtors. The Son of God has shown His divine mercy on us. Let’s follow His footsteps and be merciful with the help of the Holy Spirit and become a channel of the Father’s mercy. Amen.
God bless!

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2020 Reflection
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