2nd Sunday of Easter / Divine Mercy Sunday 2021 Resurrection & Mercy: Christ redeems, returns, and reconciles because he loves Acts 4: 32-35 / Psalm 118 / 1 John 5: 1-6 / John 20: 19-31
If someone repeats the obvious to you, you might wonder, “I understood, once was enough.” Repetition of a message can even become bothersome. Why does someone repeat a message? Perhaps they think that we didn’t get it or that the meaning of what was said did not sink in.
“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’….” (John 20: 19b-21a)
“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’….” (John 20: 26).
Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” three times to the disciples. They heard him, he knew. However, he also knew that the disciples were filled with fear, not peace. After most of them had abandoned Jesus as he died on the cross, those disciples gathered behind locked doors were likely filled with much regret. The Risen Lord knew that they needed forgiveness; they needed to be reconciled.
More than hear him and his message, the Risen Lord wanted them to absorb and experience what he gives the most: Mercy. He repeats his message because he also wants them to put into practice his words, to go and show mercy, to reconcile.
There is neither anger nor frustration in Jesus. He knows that it is hard for the disciples to understand and believe in him, now the Risen Lord. No surprise there, for Jesus also knew well how they were slow to receive his peace and mercy and slow to forgive.
When they were slow to forgive and be forgiven and when we are, too, Jesus simply responds by giving more peace and more forgiveness.
I’ve always been amazed by this reading. The Lord had just endured a most brutal treatment of his very self, body & spirit, on Good Friday, on the cross. Now his risen and glorified body shines. If we are worth saving in his eyes, then the body is worth redeeming. Today, the reading makes it obvious; Jesus doesn’t need to say that; He just does it.
He has just redeemed human suffering and death! The wounds, however, remain. Yes, they remain for us to see and be convinced – convinced of his love for us. On Friday, the wounds were the result of human sinfulness, expressed in a most hateful, violent and brutal manner. Now, having risen from the dead, the wounds are trustworthy signs of his fidelity to us, his mercy.
The Resurrection of the Lord can be difficult to comprehend, but not for Jesus. You can say that through the Resurrection, he returns. Through the Resurrection, Christ redeems, he loves and forgives; he reconciles.
When we struggle to understand the meaning of the Resurrection, just stop and reflect, there’s Jesus, the Risen Lord, proud of his wounds. There is the Risen Lord giving what he most wants to give: Mercy. Christ is not only willing to show his wounds, he wants us to find refuge in them.
Peace in the Risen Lord! Fr. Charles Johnson, O.P.